a mental status evaluation

Philosophy: a mental status evaluation and part of a clinical interview.

PART A

You are going to be writing up a mental status evaluation and part of a clinical interview. Then, write up the interview. Please include the following information:

As you read others’ postings, think about: Do you get a full sense of the person and their symptoms? Is the GAF accurate or too high? How severe is the person’s problems.

To write up your own mental status evaluation, please follow the following steps:

Find a friend or family member that likes acting. You will interview them and tell them to pretend to be either depressed or schizophrenic. OR watch a web video or DVD with someone interesting in it. Pretend that you can ask them certain questions and they provide answers. Please make sure and tell who you have “interviewed”.

Age and ethnicity of “client”
Presenting problem
History of presenting problem
Any relevant family history
Any medical issues of client
Mental status Exam:
Are they alert and well-orientated x3 (person, place, and situation)
Speech-rate and tone
Affect
Presence or absence of tics
Presence or absence of auditory or visual hallucinations
Presence or absence of Suicidal or homicidal ideation. Past attempts
Presence or absence of Obsessive thoughts
Physical appearance
Is thinking logical? Goal directed?
Sleep problems?
Eating problems?

Then give the person a Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) Score.

PART B

The GAF was removed from the DSM-V, which is the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Do you think the GAF should have been included in this new edition? Should the GAF still be used by mental health professionals? Why or why not?

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