Design completed 12/11/10 (when in graduate school; 2nd year just prior to being diagnosed with large masses): photograph taken approx. two years after
Design your own Mental Status Exam (MSE) and describe or list 8
(eight) important topics to explore within your MSE, and provide three
subcategories for each topic. For example you might decide that your
client’s IQ is the an important topic (TOPIC 1). Subcategories within
that topic might be an estimation of IQ level (above average, average,
below average (SUBCATEGORY EXAMPLE 1). Perhaps your client’s IQ level
impacts basic functioning some way, so you might list these
(SUBCATEGORY EXAMPLE 2), and last, you may want to note if your
client’s IQ impacts their social functioning (SUBCATEGORY EXAMPLE 3).
Please choose eight topical areas other than your client’s estimated
intelligence or IQ (in other words, if you use my example, you won’t
get credit for that topic). There is no need to write this out in
paragraph form, even though this question is listed as an essay.
Instead, you may create a list, use bullet points, or a table format.
Question 1 answers
Selected Answer: Mental Status Exam (for seemingly high functioning
Adults) Topic 1: Emotional Intelligence Subcategory 1: Self-Awareness
(1) Describe how you feel most often? (a) Describe an activity that
you do most days where you know that you experience this way of
feeling? (b) How do you feel right now? Subcategory 2: Self-Regulation
(2) Do you ever feel (have you ever felt) a way that you find
overwhelming or difficult? (a) If yes, what were the feelings that you
felt in this instance? (b) Explain what you believe might have led you
to feel this way? (c) How do you deal with this type of feeling (these
feelings)? Subcategory 3: Empathy (3) When other people tell you about
their problems, how do you feel? (a) Would you say that you are able
to discern the way that others feel without their use of words? (b)
What would be your guess as to how I am feeling right now (Measures
ability to read non-verbal cues also)? Note: This requires that the
interviewer also have a high level of EI. (c) What would be your guess
as to why I am feeling this way? Topic 2: Interpersonal relationships
Subcategory 1: Number of people closely attached to or in close
relationship with (a) Please count in your head how many people you
consider yourself close to. How many are there? Subcategory 2: Adult
Attachment style (a) Describe what being “close to” means to you
today? (b) Name one person that you are close to now and describe how
so Subcategory 3: Childhood Attachment Style (a) As a child who was
your primary caregiver? (b) Did you feel “close to” this person? (c)
How is this relationship different from, similar to, the relationship
with the person you just described? Topic 3: Suicidal Ideation
Subcategory 1: Current state (a) Have you today, or in the past couple
of weeks thought about hurting yourself in any way? (b) If yes, how
so? (c) If yes, why do you think that this is? (d) If yes, how often
would you say you feel this way? (e) If yes, do you ever follow up on
this feeling? Subcategory 2: Past history (a) Did you think about
hurting yourself in the past? (b) If yes, when do you remember this
feeling as first starting? (c) If yes, did you ever act out on this?
Subcategory 3: Knowledge and feelings about others with suicidal
behavior or ideation (a) Have you ever known of anyone else who has
thought about or actually hurt him or herself? (b) If yes, how did
this make you feel? Topic 4: Daily Habits, Self-Care and Life’s
Purpose Subcategory 1: Time Spent (a) How would you say the majority
of your time is spent? (b) How do you feel about this activity? (c)
Would you make a change if you could? That is, would you spend the
majority of your time some other way if you could? Subcategory 2:
Self-Care (a) How well would you say you take care of yourself? (b)
Describe what this means to you? (c) What is that you do specifically
to take care of yourself, and if nothing, are there any changes you
would like to make in this area? (d) What if anything is stopping you
from making these changes? Subcategory 3: Life’s Purpose (a) Do you
see your life as having any purpose? (b) If so, do you think you are
living out this purpose? or If not, how do you see your life? Topic 5:
Anger Management, Physical Abuse and Substance Abuse Subcategory 1:
Anger Management (a) Would you say anger is an emotion you feel often?
(b) If so, what is your usual response to anger? or If not, when was
the last time you remember feeling angry? How do you respond? (c) Do
you ever think about causing anyone else physical harm? (d) Have you
ever caused anyone else physical harm? Subcategory 2: Physical Abuse
(a) Has anyone ever hit you? (b) Have you ever been in (or are you in
one now) a relationship where this happened? If so, how often?
Subcategory 3: Substance Abuse (a) Do you or have you ever engaged in
any kind of substance abuse? (b) How often would you say this happened
or happens? (c) Do you know of anyone beside yourself who has engaged
in this kind of behavior? Topic 6: Orientation Subcategory 1: Time (a)
What time does the clock say? (b) What time does your watch or phone
say? (c) (If there is a mismatch) What is your explanation as to the
mismatch between the two? Subcategory 2: Place (a) What city or town
do you live in? (b) What city or town do you work in? (c) What city or
town do you spend most of your time in? (d) What city or town are you
in now? Subcategory 3: Age (a) How old are you? (b) When were you born
in terms of date (Month, Day, Year)? Topic 7: Fear, Death and
Neuroticism Subcategory 1: Fear (a) You are afraid (often, some of the
time, not often)? (b) What are you afraid of? (c) How likely is this
fear to become a reality for you? Subcategory 2: Death (a) What are
your views on your death (fearful, happy, peaceful, indifferent)? (b)
When do you want to die? (c) Do you know how you will die? If not,
what would be your guess? Subcategory 3: Neuroticism (a) You feel
agitated (often, some of the time, not often)? (b) You feel anxious
(often, some of the time, not often)? Topic 8: Prosocial Subcategory
1: Goodwill (a) When you see others succeed close to you, your
reaction is one of? (b) When you hear or see others distant from you
or those that you do not know succeed, you feel? (c) For both cases,
why do you think you feel this way? Subcategory 2: Success (a) What is
your definition of success? (b) Are you successful by your definition?
(c) How do you feel about this? Subcategory 3: Altruism (a) When you
see others that are worse of than you, you feel? (b) Why do you think
you feel this way? (c) What if anything do you do when you feel this
way? (d) How does this make you feel?
Correct Answer: [None]
Feedback: WOW! This is excellent! Why am I not surprised?
gourafotadar 