MENTAL STATUS EXAMINATION

PART ONE

Dr Derrick Johnson
Senior Resident
Dept of Psychiatry
PIMS & RC
“To seize the true character of mental derangement in

a given case, and to pronounce an infallible prognosis

of the event, is often a task of particular delicacy, and

requires the united exertion of great discernment, of

extensive knowledge and of incorruptible integrity.”

-Philippe Pinel
Treatise on Insanity,
published in 1801
OBJECTIVES
• Brief Outline of Mental Status
Examination
 MSE
1. General appearance and behavior:

2. Psychomotor activity:

3. Speech

4. Thought

5. Mood & Affect:

6. Perception:
 General Appearance and Behavior

• Tidy and well kempt? Dress and grooming.

• Eye Contact
• Awareness of surroundings
• Co - operation in this examination. Rapport
• Posture
• Hygiene
• Relaxed or nervous?
• Interested/ bored/ hostile/defensive/ guarded?
 Psychomotor Activity
• Overall Motor Activity :Note if the psychomotor
activity is increased, decreased or normal.

 Gestures

 Twitches

 Stereotyped behavior

 Hyperactivity/Hypoactivity

 Agitation, Combativeness
 Speech
• Volume
• Tone
• Reaction Time
• Relevant
• Coherent
 Thought
• Form
• Stream & Flow
• Content
• Posession
 Mood and Affect
• Mood: defined as a pervasive and sustained
emotion that colors the person's perception of the
world.

• Affect: is the external expression of the internal

feeling tone
or
the patient's present emotional responsiveness,
inferred from the patient's facial expression.
 Perceptions

• Hallucinations -False sensory perception

occurring in the absence of any relevant
external stimulation of the sensory modality
involved.

• Illusions - Perceptual misinterpretation of a

real external stimulus.
 Types of Hallucination
• Ear-Auditory (1st, 2nd, 3rd person)
• Eyes-Visual
• Nose-Olfactory
• Tongue-Gustatory
• Skin-Tactile
Thank You