DEFINITION

• The mental status examination (MSE) provides a cross-sectional assessment of a patient’s current mental life at the time of the exam, serving as a key component of the psychiatric evaluation.
• The MSE involves both objective observation of the patient and eliciting the patient’s subjective experience.[1] It is not only critical for diagnosis and risk assessment but also plays a role in monitoring treatment response over time.
• Different templates for the MSE exist, but most follow a format similar to that described below.[2][3]