Mental State Examination

Introduction

1. Wash hands

Wash your hands using the Ayliffe technique

2. Introduce yourself

Introduce yourself and give your name and grade

3. Check patient details

Clarify patient's identity by confirming their name and asking for their DOB

4. Explain what exactly what you will be doing, how long the interview will take and that you will maintain patient confidentiality.

5. Gain verbal consent

Appearance

The general demeanor of the patient. This gives you a clue about the patient’s self hygiene and current state of mind.  

• Hygiene - Are they unkempt? evidence of neglect?
• Clothing - Unusually bright coloured/multi-coloured (? mania)
• Physical appearance - Evidence of malnutrition, withdrawn body posture?
• Distinct marks - Self harm or needle track marks

Behaviour

An assessment of what the person is doing during the consultation.

• Body language - Are they withdrawn? Restless?
• Eye contact
• Facial expression - flat, apathy
• Arousal and movement - hyperactive/ hypoactive
• Rapport - co-operative, engaged?
• Additional movements - tremor, tardive dyskinesia, tics

Mood and Affect

It's often difficult to differentiate between a patient’s mood and affect. The easiest way to make a distinction is to think of the patient’s mood is what they tell you they are feeling, and affect is your observation of the apparent emotions externally shown by the patient.

• Mood - subjective, the patient’s words. Cover biological aspects if low mood e.g sleep, appetite, memory.
• Affect - objective, ? flat affect

Are the two congruous or incongruous?

Speech

The patient’s speech can often be important in helping the clinician make a diagnosis. Special considerations for the content of the speech will be covered in the “Thought” section.

• Rate - increased, pressured speech, poverty of speech
• Tone
• Quantity - minimal or over expressive to questions
• Quality - quiet/loud, rhythm

Thought

A patient's thinking can be subdivided into the thought content and the thought process.
Thought Content:

• Delusions - strongly held beliefs held even in the face of contrary evidence
• Obsessions/Phobias - obsessive preoccupation with certain thoughts
• Overvalued ideas - Anorexia nervosa - think they are fat
• Suicide ideation - self harm or suicidal thoughts
• Possessions - thought insertion, thought withdrawal

Thought Process

• Speed - slow/fast
• Tempo - flight of ideas/ poverty of thought
• Pressured - thought blocking

Perception

Perception is how we  process sensory information and form an understanding of our environment. It is an important aspect of the mental state exam, as it allows detection of perception disturbances in severe mental health conditions. One of schneider’s first rank symptoms suggestive of schizophrenia.

1. Hallucinations - false sensory perception in the absence of stimuli. One of schneider’s first rank symptoms suggestive of schizophrenia.

• Any sensory modality, auditory and visual most common
• Nature of hallucination - third person (?schizophrenia), second person
• Note distress caused by hallucination to patient

2. Illusion - distortions of reality.

• Patient can be aware of disparity between what they and others perceive

Cognition

Looks at how the patient is able to process information at their current state.

• Alertness - drowsy, stupor
• Orientation - time, place & person
• Processing ability tested by a separate exam known as the Mini Mental State Examination

Insight

The patient’s understanding of their current mental health problems. Important aspect for risk assessing and also evaluating prognosis.

• Recognition
• Compliance
• Identify pathological process (hallucination/delusion)

Judgement

Patient’s basic capacity to make decisions

• Discussion through a scenario/life event to assess decision making skills

Summary

1. Thank the patient
2. Turn to the examiner and summarise your findings