Additionally, the questioner should know that some mood disorders can present themselves somatically: someone who is anxious may have a racing pulse, and someone who is depressed may have difficulty sleeping, eating, or engaging in basic self-care.
Perception
Aspects of the client's presentation to consider when evaluating his or her perception may include orientation (knowing where he or she is), alertness, coherence and ability to concentrate. Recall can be tested by asking questions about the date, who is president, etcetera; concentration can be tested by using a Digit Span test -- asking the client to count backwards from 100 to 50 by 7s or 3s (Niolin 2000). Noting the presence of delusions or hallucinations, gaining a rough estimate of the client's intellectual ability, thought processes, and judgment (ability to understand why he or she is being assessed), and assessing his or her ability to engage in abstraction (such as understanding proverbs) must be part of evaluation (Niolin 2000).
This assessment must be culturally specific:...
mental health system or abstraction, and may be more difficult to assess for intellectual ability because of language barriers.
Interpreting interview data
It must be kept in mind that such interview data is merely preliminary, and merely intended to guide the initial approach. The interpretation of the results must be carried out by a qualified individual, particularly if projective, neurological or multiple choice tests are used.
Assessments may involve simply meeting with the client or encompass a battery of tests designed to determine the client's level of functioning. Setting and previous knowledge of the client will influence the types of assessment that are used, but past history should not be allowed to over-influence the interpretation of the results of a new assessment.
Reference
Niolin. (2000). The mental status examination. Psych Page. Retrieved January 20, 2010 at http://www.psychpage.com/learning/library/assess/mse.htm
