Mental Status Examination

After reviewing the history, this examination is based on the psychiatrist's observations and impressions of the patient. It is the most essential component of the psychiatric examination and therefore requires a thorough understanding of the patient's psychological life. It has various components and subcomponents that can provide important information leading to a clear diagnosis.

• General appearance
  • Overall appearance
  • Gait
  • Grooming
  • Posture
  • Gestures
  • Facial expression
  • Emotional appearance
    • Anxious
    • Tense
    • Panicky
    • Sad
    • Unhappy
  • Voice
    • Faint or loud
    • Hoarse
  • Eye contact
• Motoric Behaviour
  • Level of activity
    • Psychomotor agitation or retardation
  • Tics or tremours
  • Automatisms
  • Mannerisms
  • Grimacing
  • Stereotypes
  • Negativism
  • Apraxia
• Attitude
  • Irritable
  • Aggressive
  • Seductive
  • Guarded
  • Defensive
  • Indifferent
  • Cooperative
  • Sarcastic
• Mood (should be in patient's own words)
  • Gloomy
  • Tense
  • Hopeless
  • Ecstatic
  • Resentful
  • Happy
• Affect
  • Labile
  • Blunted
  • Constricted
  • Flat
  • Mood congruity and appropriateness
  • Range and intensity
• Speech
  • Rate
    • Slow or fast
    • Pressured
    • Interruptable
  • Spontaneous
  • Stammering
  • Stuttering
  • Slurring
  • Pitch
  • Articulation
  • Aphasia
  • Echolalia
  • Incoherent
  • Mute
• Perceptual Disorders
  • Hallucinations
    • Olfactory
    • Auditory
    • Tactile
    • Gustatory
    • Visual
  • Illusions
  • Hypnopompic or hypnagogic experiences
  • Feelings of unreality
  • Deja vu
• Thought Process
  • Logical
  • Goal directed
  • Loosening of associations
  • Flight of ideas
  • Tangential
  • Relevant
  • Circumstantial
  • Rambling
  • Clang association
  • Perseveration
• Thought Content
  • Suicidal or homicidal ideation
  • Delusions
    • Persecution
    • Grandiose
    • Infidelity
    • Somatic
    • Sensory
  • Thought broadcasting or insertion
  • Ideas of reference
  • Phobias
  • Obsessions
  • Compulsions
  • Thought blocking
  • Depersonalization
  • Magical thinking
• Sensorium
  • Level of consciousness
    • Alert
    • Clear
    • Confused
    • Clouded
    • Comatose
    • Stuporous
  • Orientation to person, place, time, situation
  • Cognition
• Memory
  • Remote
  • Recent
  • Immediate
• Concentration and Calculations
  • Ability to pay attention
  • Distractibility
• Information and Intelligence
  • Use of vocabulary
  • Level of education
  • Fund of knowledge
• Judgement
  • Ability to understand facts
  • Draw conclusions
• Insight Level
  • Poor
  • Limited
  • Fair
  • Good