MENTAL STATUS ASSESSMENT CLINICAL

GUIDE TOOLS PRESENTATION

Appearance: how observation of: hygiene; bizarre make-up or clothing may alert
the client looks; the clothing; general you to the possibility of a manic illness;
overall image observation of how the grooming may be a good indication of
projected by the client client looks; cosmetics/ the person’s ability to function
make-up; odors; hair independently; depression and
grooming/style/ adornment psychosis may prevent normally well-
groomed individuals from attending to
personal hygiene; manner of dress can
provide clues to a client’s self image;
any change in appearance should be
explored with the client and family,
documenting when the change
occurred and under what
circumstances; clothes are costumes-
what people wear is what they choose
to communicate; facial expression
often mirrors the client’s mental state
Affect: observable observation of the client increase reactivity is common among
expression of during the interview to histrionic individuals; blunted and flat
emotion; “affect is to determine the client’s affect are often seen in schizophrenia;
mood what weather is feelings state; observation blunted affect may be seen with clients
to climate”; the more of the client’s nonverbal on anti-psychotic medications;
immediate emotional expression of feelings; depressed clients may be unable to
tone includes range, control sudden tearful outbursts; manic
appropriateness, stability individuals may experience
and intensity uncontrollable bouts of rage or
laughter; people with borderline
personality disorder may display labile
affect
Mood: a pervasive client’s description of his/her own feeling state over the past few
and subjectively weeks or longer; “how would you describe your general mood
experienced feeling recently?”; ask about usual mood level and how it has varied with
state; colors the life’s events; “how do you feel?”; note the duration of the mood
person’s world view; states; can the moods be attributed to events or circumstances in the
mood is a more long- client’s life
termed sustained
emotion
Memory: the client’s Immediate: digit span-ask if a client can register the three words
ability to recall client to repeat a series of but not recall them this may indicate
random numbers, first dementia; if the client can recall with
forward and then backward cueing (e.g. “I’ll give you a hint...the
Recent: Say 3 emotionally first word is a color), then this may
neutral object words; ask indicate dementia; sensing their failing
the client to repeat the memories, some clients may conceal it
words; tell the client you will with confabulation, denial, and
ask again for these words to circumstantiality; when concentration is
be repeated; later in the impaired the client may be unable to
interview, ask the client to attend to tasks and will appear to have
repeat the name of the a memory deficit when none exists;
three objects clients who recognize their memory
Remote: ask about the impairment may react to your
names and dates from the questions with anxiety, depression or
client’s earlier life; ask the hostility
client to name the
Philippines Presidents
beginning with the current
one and going backwards
 MENTAL STATUS ASSESSMENT CLINICAL
GUIDE TOOLS PRESENTATION
Attention: the ability count by threes-1,4,7 (1-40)
to sustain a focus on count backwards from 21-1
one task or activity spell world or state forward
and backward
Concentration: the serial 7's (or 3's)- ask client
lack of concentration is another
ability to focus and to subtract 7's (or 3's) in indicator of thought disturbance; many
maintain attention to succession, starting from people with thought disorders cannot
outside stimuli as well 100; count backward from perform more than one or two
as to mental 20 calculations in the serial 7 test; the
operations such as norm for persons under 65 on the
puzzle solving and serial 7 test is to reach 1 in 60 seconds
calculations with 4 or less errors; depression,
anxiety, dementia, and psychosis are
often associated with disturbance in
concentration
Eye Contact observation during interview eye contact often decreases with
increasing anxiety or paranoia; clients
with psychosis or dementia who can
not concentrate on the interview may
not focus on you visually
Motor Activity: the observe the clients physical gives further indications of the client’s
way the client activity during the interview ability to maintain normal control;
moves posture and body movements can be
related to attitude, mannerisms
particular to specific psychiatric
disorders, mediation side effects, or
physical disorders; rigid posture and
gait may indicate a client’s anxiety or
vigilance; seriously depressed clients
may demonstrate slumped posture and
slow gait; physical handicaps often are
almost always of great emotional
significance to the client and should be
noted; constant restlessness
(psychomotor agitation) and pacing
may signal anxiety, agitated
depression, or mania; slow movements
and little reactivity (psychomotor
retardation) may indicate depression,
drug reactions, and catatonia;
Speech: speech is a observation of client; the provides information about the thought
hybrid of what one way the client speaks; the processes; pressured speech is often
may observe and quality (relevance, present in the manic phase of bipolar
the thought appropriateness to topic, disorder; rapid speech is found in a
processes of the coherence, clarity, and variety of conditions, most commonly
client voice volume) and quantity in acute anxiety states; slowed speech
(amount and rate of speech, is common among depressed people;
and any sense of pressure) absence of speech occurs in some
of the client’s speech severely psychotic people; some
psychotic clients can be inappropriately
loud; extremely shy clients may
whisper; garbled speech is found in
some alcoholic clients; note any
speech impediments or other speech
abnormalities
 MENTAL STATUS ASSESSMENT CLINICAL
GUIDE TOOLS PRESENTATION
Delusions: a false “do you feel you have Delusions are hallmarks of psychotic
belief firmly held special knowledge or illness, although they do not occur in
despite powers?”; “do you think all psychotic individuals; ask questions
incontrovertible and anyone wants to hurt you or in a naturalistic conversational manner
obvious proof or has spread lies about to avoid evoking paranoia or
evidence to the you?”; “have you felt that minimization
contrary; the belief your thoughts were
is not one ordinarily influenced or controlled by
accepted by other some outside force?”; “do
members of the you feel that you can control
client’s culture or the thoughts of others?”;
subculture “has anything unusual
happened to your body?”;
“do you have any particular
worries about your body?”;
“have you had any unusual
spiritual experiences?”; “has
anything unusual happened
around your home lately
Intellect: the client’s observation of client’s may be helpful in determining the
basic knowledge general fund of knowledge; level/type of treatment for the client
and awareness of affected by the client’s
social events culture, education,
performance anxiety,
willingness to cooperate
and psychopathology;
evaluating the client’s fund
of information involves
questioning the client’s
general knowledge and
awareness of current
events, geared to the
client’s background;
observation of clients
diction and vocabulary
Judgment: the observation during the Note the client’s response to family
ability to make and interview; ask what the situations, jobs, school, use of money,
carry out plans and client would do in a social and interpersonal conflicts. Note
to discriminate situation that requires whether decisions and actions are
accurately and judgment; “what would you based on reality or are based on
behave do if you smelled smoke in impulse, wish fulfillment, or disordered
appropriately in a crowded theater?”; “what thought content; what values seem to
social situations would you do if you found a underlie the clients decisions and
stamped, addressed behaviors; allow for cultural variations;
envelope lying on the how do these compare to the norm for
street?”; “what would you others in the same age bracket;
do if you were given a
$1000?”; “what should you
do if you are stopped for
speeding?”;” what should
you do if you lose a library
book?”; “why are criminals
put in prison?”
 MENTAL STATUS ASSESSMENT CLINICAL
GUIDE TOOLS PRESENTATION
Hallucinations: “do you ever hear voices or visual hallucinations alone may
perceptions the see things other people do suggest an organic psychosis or
client believes to be not hear or see?”; “does delirium; in schizophrenia auditory
real despite your mind ever play tricks hallucinations are prominent; in
evidence to the on you?”; note the stimulant induced psychosis, tactile
contrary; the client circumstances in which the hallucinations may be seen; tactile
perceives hallucinations occur, with an hallucinations may be associated with
something that eye to possible precipitating delirium; visual may indicate drug use;
does not exist; may factors; note the content of clients may be hallucinating when their
involve any of the the hallucination; evaluate eyes dart from side to side, when they
five senses whether hallucinations are stare at nothing, or when they seem
drug/alcohol related; be preoccupied as if they are listening to
alert to unreported voices; some clients may refer to their
hallucinatory experiences thoughts as voices if the voices come
during the interview from inside or outside of the persons
head; hallucinations may be seen in all
types of psychotic illness but may also
be induced by such factors as drugs,
alcohol, and stress
Insight into “what are your reasons for Assesses the client’s ability to identify
Problems: client’s seeking help?”; “do you feel the existence of a problem (does not
awareness and you have refer to etiology or psychodynamics
understanding of emotional/substance abuse aspects of the illness) and to have an
their illness problems right now?”; “how understanding of its nature; this is an
serious are these important factor in assessing the
problems?”; “do you feel clients potential for compliance with
you need help in treatment; insight into illness is
understanding and learning particularly impaired in psychotic
to cope with these illnesses and later stage dementias.
problems?”
Orientation: “what is today’s date?”; Determines the presence of confusion
awareness of time, “what is the day of the or clouding of consciousness; is an
place, person, week?”; “what is the name important information for determining
situation of this place?”; “what is your whether a client has organic mental
full name?”; “do you know impairment; orientation to self is
who I am?”; “Why are you usually retained with early stages of
here?” confusion or disorientation; with
increasing impairment, the client will
tend to have more difficulty with these
questions; disturbances in orientation
may be an indicator of substance
misuse or toxicity from medication,
especially antidepressants
Thought Content: always ask for clarification Depersonalization and derealization
ideas the client when you do not are common in anxiety states as well
communicates; understand something the as in borderline personality disorder;
clients’ ideas about client said; begin with morbid preoccupations are often found
themselves and the general questions and in depressed people
world move to specific ones;
“have you had any unusual
or troublesome
experiences?”; “have you
had thoughts you feel other
people would not
understand?”; “have you
had any strange or
disturbing thoughts?”
 MENTAL STATUS ASSESSMENT CLINICAL
GUIDE TOOLS PRESENTATION
Suicidal Ideation: actively raise questions Can the person guarantee that they will
desire to harm related to suicidal thoughts; contact you or some other person if
oneself or end one’s assess thoughts, plans, they feel like acting on their suicidal or
life potential for action, self harm ideas?; be specific in
deterrents to action, and the contracting with the client; does the
client’s feelings about these client need supervision of
suicidal ideas family/friends?; does the client need
“Do you ever feel that life is screening for hospitalization
not worth living?”; “have you Some studies suggest that contracting
ever had thoughts of for no self harm with clients has little if
harming yourself?”; “have any efficacy
you ever wanted to kill individuals lacking resources/a
yourself?”; “do you wish that significant support system as well as
you were dead, even if you individuals facing seemingly dire
would not do harm to circumstances have an increased risk
yourself?”; “have you ever for acting on their ideations
tried to kill or harm
yourself?”; “has anyone in
your family or a close friend
tried to harm themselves?”;
“are you having feelings or
thoughts now about
harming yourself?”; “do you
have a plan for harming
yourself?”; note whether the
client makes reference to
future events
someone who hears voices
commanding or suggesting
that they kill themselves is
at extreme high risk for
suicide
assess specificity, lethality
and availability of means;
the person with a very
specific plan, for a highly
lethal and not easily
reversed plan, who also has
ready access to the means
to harm themselves is at
high risk.
Homicidal Ideation: actively raise questions individuals lacking resources/a
desire to do serious related to homicidal significant support system as well as
harm to or to take thoughts; assess thoughts, individuals facing seeming dire
the life of another plans, potential for action, circumstances have an increased risk
person deterrents to action, and the for acting on their ideations
client’s feelings about these
homicidal ideas
“Is there anyone that you
are angry with?”; “have you
ever had thoughts of
harming others?”; ”have you
ever wanted to kill another
person?”; “do you wish
someone else were dead,
even if you would not
directly cause them harm?”;
“have you ever tried to kill
or harm another?”; “has
MENTAL STATUS ASSESSMENT CLINICAL
GUIDE TOOLS PRESENTATION
anyone in your family or a
close friend tried to harm
another?”; “are you having
feelings or thoughts now
about harming another?”;
“do you have a plan for
harming another?”
someone who hears voices
commanding or suggesting
that they harm or kill
another is at extreme high
risk for homicide
assess specificity, lethality
and availability of means;
the person with a very
specific plan, for a highly
lethal and not easily
reversed plan, who also has
ready access to the means
to harm another is at high
risk.
Thought Process: inferred from client’s speech racing thoughts often seen in clients
the way the client and behavior; evaluate rate with anxiety, mania or schizophrenia;
puts ideas together; and flow of ideas and depression may cause clients to have
the association association of ideas (the slowed or retarded thoughts;
between ideas and relationship between ideas) obsessional or schizophrenic clients be
to the form and flow circumstantial; Blocking is seen in the
of thoughts in client with severe anxiety and
conversation schizophrenia; loose associations are
often seen in clients in psychotic
states; flight of ideas is common in
clients who are manic; clanging is
sometimes present in mania; punning
is seen in mania; neologisms are seen
in schizophrenia, word salad is
characteristic of schizophrenia;
echolalia is observed in mania
Interview Behavior: in what ways does the client provides an indication of the client’s
the client’s engage or distance you; motivation for treatment; clients may
response to you the does the client become adopt surface attitudes to compensate
interviewer more or less comfortable as for deeper problems ( a frightened
the interview proceeds; person acts angry or hostile); attitudes
does the client show an provide important clues as to how
ability to form an alliance people defend themselves against
and work with you unpleasant feelings; paranoid
individuals are typically suspicious,
evasive, and arrogant; a manic person
may be inpatient and uncooperative;
schizophrenics may be reserved,
remote, and seemingly unfeeling; a
depressed person may appear
apathetic, hopeless, and helpless;
people with dementia may
demonstrate distractibility and
apparent indifference to their condition
MENTAL STATUS ASSESSMENT CLINICAL
GUIDE TOOLS PRESENTATION
Other assess for self mutilation ask questions related to self mutilation
and risk taking behaviors to include type of mutilation, frequency,
assess for potential for any medical attention needed as a
violence result
this is difficult to assess with any
degree of accuracy; the assessment is
based on known history for violent
behavior, collateral information from
others about the person’s behavior
previous to the assessment, and upon
the words and behavior of the person
during the interview (e.g. anger,
swearing, threats, agitation); substance
abuse increases the risk for violent
behavior as does irrational fear arising
from states of delirium, dementia or
psychosis
individuals lacking resources/a
significant support system as well as
individuals facing seemingly dire
circumstances have an increased risk
for acting on their ideations
note any repetitive gestures such as
tics or grimacing; agitated behaviors
such as hand wringing, hair pulling
may be seen in clients with
depression or anxiety; people taking
anti-psychotic medications should be
observed for involuntary movements of
the tongue, mouth or extremities.