Summary – Mental Status

Assessment of a client’s level of consciousness and mental status includes the assessment of appearance and behaviours, speech and language, mood and affect, thoughts and perceptions, and cognitive function. Assessment of LOC and mental status is completed through inspection and is continuous throughout the entire patient encounter. Awareness of normal versus abnormal LOC and MSE provides valuable information to the examiner and helps direct the flow of the assessment and provides valuable examiner insight into potential patient pathology and mental dysfunction.

Common or concerning mental status assessment findings include impaired cognition and thought processes and altered environmental perceptions such as hallucinations, illusions, delusions, obsessions, and phobias, such as occur in dementia, delirium, depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia.