Psychiatric assessment Flashcards
_____ describes the prevailing emotional state of the patient.
Mood
_____ refers to how the patient’s mood is expressed or exuded.
Affect
___________ is characterized by general hopelessness, passivity, lifelessness, dysphoria, demoralization, and pessimism.
Depressed mood
In ______, the mood is inappropriately euphoric, giddy, silly, disinhibited, or extremely irritable.
mania
________ implies a compromised ability to organize, coherently associate, and effectively use information and ideas
Thought disorder
This refers to the abundance of thought as evidenced by a person’s interactional capabilities.
Disorders of the Production of Thought
_________ is characterized by a decrease in the apparent ability or interest in interacting with the environment and other people.
Poverty of thought
______ is characterized by an abrupt cessation of communication before the topic of discussion is completed.
Thought blocking
________ refers to the manner in which thoughts are connected or associated.
Form of thought or thought process
_______ is goal-directed, with sequential thoughts having logical connections.
Normal thinking
The __________ can be easily followed, and the communicant reaches the intended goal.
“train of thought”
Marked by tedious and unnecessary details but eventually reaches the point.
Circumstantiality
Marked by skirting the question rather than answering it. Connections between subsequent thoughts are apparent, but goal is never reached.
Tangentiality
A jumping from subject to subject without apparent connection.
Loosening of associations
Conveys little information despite adequate volume of speech due to vagueness, empty repetitions, or obscure phrases
Verbigeration
An incoherent collection of words and phrases.
Word Salad
Made-up words that have meaning only for the patient.
Neologisms
Words or phrases connected due to characteristics of the words themselves (rhyming, punning) rather than the meaning they convey.
Clang Associations
Repetitive, often playful repetition of the words of others.
Echolalia
An irrational, pathologic dread of a specific type of stimulus or situation that results in marked anxiety and avoidance of the situation.
Phobias
A disturbing, persistent, and usually intrusive thought, feeling, or impulse that cannot be eliminated from consciousness.
Obsession
Irresistible urges to perform meaningless, often ritualistic motor acts, such as hand washing.
Compulsion
Fixed, false beliefs that have no basis in reality, are not held by one’s culture, and from which the patient will not be dissuaded despite evidence to the contrary.
Delusions
Life or world is ending.
Nihilism
All life possessions have been lost.
Poverty
Special powers are claimed.
Grandeur
_________ involves disordered processing of sensory information.
Perceptual disturbance
_____ that occur in the absence of actual stimuli.
Perceptions
Misinterpretations of existing stimuli.
Illusions
It is best to describe patient’s levels of consciousness by their ability to respond to the environmental stimuli.
Level of consciousness
Characterized by hypervigilance, often with agitation or tremulousness, and is seen most often in mania or delirium.
Hyperalertness
Describes normal wakefulness and awareness of the environment.
Alert
Indicates the patient has a tendency to drift into unresponsiveness if left alone but is easily roused to verbal stimulus.
Lethargic
Reflects the need for continual stimulation to maintain consciousness.
Stupor
Characterized by unconsciousness.
Coma
Refers to the ability to direct and sustain attention.
Concentration (Attention)
Assessment of the individual’s ability to learn new information, process information, and solve problems.
Intelligence
Refers to awareness of factors influencing one’s situation.
Insight
Refers to the appreciation that an illness or psychiatric difficulty is occurring, recognition of its impact on the ability to function and awareness of the need to take steps to correct it.
Insight
Refers to a person’s ability to handle finances; manage day to day activities; and avoid danger, including exposure to heat, cold, malnutrition, and crime.
Judgement
