Mental Status Exam Cheat Sheet

3 IX. Thought Processes or Thought Form (Inquired/Observed): logic, relevance, organization, flow and coherence of thought in response to general questioning during the interview. - Possible descriptors: • Linear, goal-directed, circumstantial, tangential, loose associations, incoherent, evasive, racing, blocking, perseveration, neologisms. X. Thought Content (Inquired/Observed) – Possible questions for client: • “What do you think about when you are sad/angry?” • “What’s been on your mind lately?” • “Do you find yourself ruminating about things?” • “Are there thoughts or images that you have a really difficult time getting out of your head?” • “Are you worried/scared/frightened about something or other?” • “Do you have personal beliefs that are not shared by others?” (Delusions are fixed, false, unshared beliefs.) • “Do you ever feel detached/removed/changed/different from others around you?” • “Do things seem unnatural/unreal to you?” • “Do you think someone, or some group intend to harm you in some way?” • [In response to something the client says] “What do you think they meant by that?” • “Does it ever seem like people are stealing your thoughts, or perhaps inserting thoughts into your head? Does it ever seem like your own thoughts are broadcast out loud?” • “Do you ever see (visual), hear (auditory), smell (olfactory), taste (gustatory), and feel (tactile) things that are not really there, such as voices or visions?” (Hallucinations are false perceptions) • “Do you sometimes misinterpret real things that are around you, such as muffled noises or shadows?” (Illusions are misinterpreted perceptions) XI. Suicidality and Homicidality A. Suicidality – Possible questions for client: • “Have you ever thought about killing yourself? If so, how” • “Do you ever feel that life isn’t worth living? Or that you would just as soon be dead?” • “Have you ever thought of doing away with yourself? If so, how?” • “What would happen after you were dead?” B. Homicidality – Possible questions for client: • “Do you think about hurting others or getting even with people who have wronged you?” • “Have you had desires to hurt others? If so, how?” XII. Insight and Judgment (Inquired/Observed) – Possible questions for client: • “What brings you here today?” • “What seems to be the problem?” • “What do you think is causing your problems?” • “How do you understand your problems?” • “How would you describe your role in this situation?” • “How do you plan to get help for this problem?” • “What will you do when _____________ occurs?” • “How will you manage if ____________ happens?” • “If you found a stamped, addressed envelope on the street, what would you do with it?” • “If you were in a movie theater and smelled smoke, what would you do?”