California MFT > Mental Status and Clinical Assessment > Flashcards

Mental Status and Clinical Assessment Flashcards

Understand how to assess and describe clients’ mental status using common clinical terminology. (52 cards)

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1
Q

Mood versus affect

A
  • Mood is how a person reports feeling inside
  • Affect is the outward expression of emotion; these may not be congruent
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2
Q

Depressed

A

Feeling of sadness and unhappiness; “blue”, “down”.

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3
Q

Anxious

A

Generalized worry about the possible occurrence of unspecified or vague negative events.

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4
Q

Dysphoric

A

General state of unease or dissatisfaction with life.

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5
Q

Angry

A

Feeling indignant or wronged about a specific event, interaction, occurrence, etc.

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6
Q

Irritability

A

Generalized feeling of anger or upset without a specific object of anger; angry reactions are easily triggered.

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7
Q

Manic

A

Unusually energetic feelings of elation, euphoria, or irritability.

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8
Q

Constricted affect

A

Emotional expression is restrained, but emotions are evident.

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9
Q

Blunt (blunted) affect

A

Emotional expression is severely restrained; little emotional reactivity.

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10
Q

Flat affect

A

Affect associated with psychosis and severe pathology; emotional expression is virtually nonexistent.

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11
Q

Labile

A

Mood vacillates frequently, rapidly, and abruptly.

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12
Q

Incongruent

A

Expressed affect distinctly not consistent with described mood.

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13
Q

Hypersomnia

A

Sleeping more than usual.

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14
Q

Insomnia

A

Unable to get usual amounts of sleep due to difficulties falling or staying asleep.

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15
Q

Disrupted sleep

A

Sleep disturbed by nightmares, night terrors, or other issues.

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16
Q

Nightmares

A

Dreams that frighten the dreamer; occur during REM sleep.

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17
Q

Night terrors

A

A general sense of panic or terror experienced while sleeping without dream content; the sleeper generally cannot be roused during night terrors, although he/she may scream or act panicked; occur in slow-wave sleep.

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18
Q

Anorectic restriction

A

Restrictive eating that characterizes anorexia.

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19
Q

Bingeing

A

Episodes of uncontrolled overeating.

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20
Q

Purging

A

Following a binge episode, an attempt to rid the body of food by vomiting, overexercising, fasting, or laxative abuse.

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21
Q

Body Image Distortion

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A

Image of the body, particularly related to weight, is grossly inconsistent with others’ perceptions and medical weight norms.

22
Q

Anxiety

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A

Anticipation of danger, problems, or misfortune that creates uneasiness, tension, and/or somatic symptoms.

23
Q

Chronic worry

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A

A specific form of anxiety that involves dwelling on anticipated problems.

24
Q

Panic attacks

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A

Discrete periods of intense anxiety or terror that may be characterized by shortness of breath, pounding heart, sense of losing control, or sense of doom; may be unexpected or situationally bound.

25
Phobias
Persistent, irrational fears of specific objects or situations.
26
Obsessions
Intrusive and recurrent thoughts, impulses, or images that cause marked distress.
27
Compulsions
**Repetitive behaviors** or mental acts (counting, praying, etc.) that one is driven to perform to reduce some form of **distress**; generally the act is not realistically related to the perceived source of distress.
28
Hypervigilance
State of **constant alertness** for potential danger that is out of proportion to the actual situation.
29
Flashbacks/intrusive memories
**Sudden and disturbing memory** or visceral sensations; may be cued or uncued.
30
Dissociation
**Disruption** in integration of **consciousness**, memory, identity, and/or perception; may come on suddenly or gradually.
31
Emotional numbing
**Inability** to access **emotional experiences**; may be general or related to specific events.
32
Avoidance efforts
Avoiding triggers and associations to past trauma.
33
Hallucinations
**Sensory perceptions** (sight, sound, touch, smell, or taste) that have no **external stimuli**; perceptions are experienced as real.
34
Delusions
**False beliefs** based on an incorrect inference about external reality that is rigidly maintained despite substantial evidence to the contrary.
35
Paranoia
**Suspicion** that one is being harassed or persecuted with **little corroborating evidence**; less severe than delusion.
36
Loose associations
Thought disorder characterized by frequent **derailment** from topic of conversation, jumping from thought to thought often triggered by a **"loose" connection** to a word or phrase.
37
Low energy
Little movement or little energy behind movement.
38
Hyperactive
**Excessive motor activity** such as fidgeting or moving about; not necessarily associated with tension or discomfort.
39
Agitated
Excessive activity associated with inner **tension** or **frustration**.
40
Inattentive
Unable/unwilling to pay attention.
41
Impulsive
**Acting on urges** without reflecting on potential or likely consequences.
42
Pressured speech
Speech that is **rapid**, **frenetic**, and **urgent** beyond what seems appropriate for context or content.
43
Slow speech
Speech that is **unusually slow** and/or deliberate for context or content.
44
Poor concentration or attention
Inability to sustain the attention expected for the developmental level.
45
Denial
Unable or unwilling to **acknowledge** clearly evident problems that most others in the situation identify as problems.
46
Self-blame
Tendency to blame self for things that are **outside of personal control** and/or that others hold greater responsibility for.
47
Other-blame
Tendency to blame others for things that are primarily a **personal responsibility**.
48
Ruminative
Compulsively **focused attention** on a particular topic or problem.
49
Tangential
Tendency to make comments that **move conversation away from the original topic** to a tangentially or loosely related topic; typically done when discussing a difficult subject.
50
Concrete
Thinking focused on **actual objects and events** with little use of concepts or higher-order thinking.
51
Poor insight
Unusually great **difficulty identifying** one's own thoughts, feelings, and motivations.
52
Impaired Decision Making
Pattern of decision making that results in **negative consequences** for self and others.
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