Mental Status Examination

The Art and Science of the Clinical Interview
  • Hagop S. Akiskal
  • Kareen Akiskal
Chapter

Abstract

The mental status examination represents the most important step in the clinical evaluation of individuals suffering from or suspected of having mental disorders. The evaluation is based on observations of a patient’s overt and verbal behavior as well as on his or her subjective experiences. Patients’ presenting problems dictate both the types of questions asked and the depth of inquiry necessary for a relevant and complete assessment of the mental status. In general, the more deviant and severely disturbed the patient, the more probing the mental status examination should be.

Keywords

Paranoid Schizophrenia Delirium Tremens Thought Content Formal Thought Disorder Psychomotor Activity 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 1994

Authors and Affiliations

  • Hagop S. Akiskal
    • 1
  • Kareen Akiskal
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of PsychiatryUniversity of California at San DiegoLa JollaUSA

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