This section includes the videos demonstrating the mental status examination as a medical skill. The observation and exploration of a patient’s emotions and behaviour are independent from the patient’s presentation of experiences and complaints. Because psychopathological phenomena are addressed or expressed differently by each patient, multiple cases are shown below. By emphasising specific phenomena exemplified in a particular case, we focus and further elaborate on the systematic structure of the mental status examination.
The first interview entails a woman suffering from a pain disorder.
The second interview entails a woman suffering from dyspareunia.
The third interview entails a woman suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The fourth interview entails a man suffering from schizophrenia.
These four interviews show the unique and specific aspects of the pathology under consideration. First, the interview is shown in its entirety, allowing the student to observe the structure of the mental status examination, and concentrate on each key domain of the mental status examination. For each interview, each domain is discussed separately and explained in more detail with the use of film fragments.
This section is not about general physician-patient interviewing techniques, but on how the mental status is observed and explored, and how information resulting from this examination is interpreted and recorded.
