The
mental status examination or
mental state examination, abbreviated
MSE, is an important part of the clinical
assessment process in
psychiatric practice. It is a structured way of observing and describing a
patient's current state of
mind, under the domains of appearance,
attitude, behavior, mood and affect, speech,
thought process, thought content,
perception,
cognition, insight and
judgment. There are some minor variations in the subdivision of the MSE and the sequence and names of MSE domains.