Mental Status Exams
We used the Mini-Mental Status Exam (MMSE) at the neuropsychology clinic I used to work at. Most of our patient population was there for memory disturbances, but the MMSE was useful even in clients without a memory problem. Sometimes the reaction to taking the MMSE told me a lot about the patient. It was the first assessment I gave patients so it was my first impression of them per se. Some clients would really struggle and become upset, some would struggle but not care, and others would get very angry if it was difficult for them. Younger clients who did not have memory concerns would sometimes become defensive as if the test was insulting them or laugh it off as if the assessments were dumb. It was a good assessment to begin our five to six hours session with as it gave me a small understanding of the patient and gave the patient a taste of what we would be doing. I like that the article mentioned the limitations of the MMSE. I found that the same score could look different in f...