This examination is used in a psychiatric setting for examining a patient's mental state. Appearance and behaviour Dress - appropriate for weather and day? Well kempt or showing signs of self neglect Excessive or very little movements (agitation vs depression) Additional movements, e.g.: abnormal posturing, tardive dyskinesia etc. Eye contact Facial expression Speech Volume Pitch Rate Fluency Articulation Stammering Stuttering Dysarthria Quantity - pressure of speech vs. poverty of speech Mood Objective Subjective Affect - how the patient is right now Congruous on incongruous to thoughts and/or actions? Thoughts Content of the thoughts Thought disorders Thought insertion Thought withdrawal Thought broadcasting Delusions Of control - passivity Grandiose Paranoid Obsessional thoughts Phobic thoughts Circumstantiality Tangentiality Flight of ideas (seen in mania) Loosening of associations (seen in schizophrenia) Perseveration Echolalia Neologisms (seen in schizophrenia) Perception Illusions Hallucinations Auditory. 3rd person - schizophrenia Visual Somatic Olfactory Gustatory Depersonalisation Derealisation Cognition MMSE Insight Does the patient have insight into any abnormalities in their mental state? Risk Of harm to self Include self harm and suicide risk Harm to others Include criminal record Harm to children Harm from others Any accidents Substance abuse Previous psychiatric illness Family history of psychiatric illness Support - family and friends Source
Checking the Appearance and behaviour of the patient is an extremely important factor while examining a patient's mental state.
