What is the mental status exam, and why do we use it so much in psychiatry? In the first part of our Mental Status Exam series, we will start by reviewing the purpose of the mental status exam in psychiatric practice. We will then introduce the first three components of the mental status exam- appearance, behavior, and speech. How do we decide what information to include, and what are some terms to help us describe what we’re seeing in these domains? We will discuss all of this and more!

Photo Credit: Henk Sijgers, “f8 and here,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/henk-sijgers/14204446132/

Episode Music Credit: Javier Suárez, Tumbling Dishes, Better With Music