Mental state examination

The mental status examination, MSE, is an important step in a "clinical assessment" of an individual. The purpose of the MSE is to get an over-all description of the patient's mental state. This, with information about the person, lets the clinician make a diagnosis. Then a plan is chosen for the person's treatment.
The examination is a way of describing a patient's current state of mind. Some parts of the MSE are done by observing, asking questions and noting; some parts are done using psychological tests. It works by looking at attitude, behavior, mood and "affect" (feeling), speech, thinking, perception, cognition, insight and judgment.
The MSE is different from the mini-mental state examination (MMSE), which is a brief test for dementia.