Mental Status Exam (MSE) Parts I & II Paper (100pts.)

Note: This is a two-part assignment. Part I and Part II of the Mental Status Exam will be combined and you will submit one document with everything on the same date.

Mental Status Exam (Part I)

As a part of a clinical assessment process, the initial clinical assessment usually begins with a Mental Status Examination (MSE), in which clinicians describe the individual in terms easily understood by health care professionals.

This Mental Status Examination is typically performed, in some form or another, during each and every interaction with a client. This assignment is designed to help students look at the MSE in some more depth, apply it to the case, get some feedback on their use of the clinical language of the MSE and also to get some sense of what the professional literature has to say about the MSE. For this assignment, students are asked to either interview a family member/ friend or use a fake client they find on a movie or television show.

This clinical approach to assessment is critical when interfacing with other healthcare professionals and is an important part of the continuum of care. Below is an outline of a typical MSE. Students will use this MSE format when reporting on their initial encounter with their client. The MSE describes the individual’s appearance, behavior, speech, emotions, and cognitive perceptual processes. It presents concrete illustrations to justify every conclusion. Students will read the article posted on Canvas about differential diagnosis. Then, students will use the form below as a guide to explain the mental status of the client used in class.

Every student must speak to the appearance, behavior, speech, mood and affect, thought processes and content, perception, attention and concentration, orientation, memory, judgment, intelligence and information, and insight.

This should serve as an objective report of the individual’s current mental state as observed by the therapist. For purposes of MSE (Part I), students will complete this part of the assignment in a format as listed below and NOT in a research paper format.

Mental Status Exam—Part II

As the second half of this project, students will answer questions regarding the Mental Status Exam (MSE). Below are the questions that must be answered on a 1-2 page document at the end of the MSE-Part I. Though APA is heavily used in this program, this does NOT require a cover page and references page. Students must then upload this assignment to Canvas as the final part of the MSE overall.

Mental Status Exam—Part II

As the second half of this project, students will answer questions regarding the Mental Status Exam (MSE).

Below are the questions that must be answered on a 1–2-page document at the end of the MSE-Part I.

APA is heavily used in this program, you are required to use a cover page and references page.

Students must then upload this assignment to Canvas as the final part of the MSE overall.

• Please refer to the example below and insure that you use intext citations in your response:

1. What value might an MSE have in various settings: school, a counseling office for a session, in a

hospital setting, et

2. Are there drawbacks to reporting on the Mental Status of an individual?

3. What are the limitations of the Mental Status Exam?

4. Should you report the full results of the MSE to the client? Why or why not?