Cover Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Preface -- Contents -- 1. What Is a Mental Status Examination -- Learning the mental status examination -- The mental status examination -- Usefulness of the mental status examination -- The interview as a means to elicit information -- The clinician's demeanor -- More on interviewing patients -- The written mental status examination -- Organization of this text -- References -- 2. Appearance, Attitude, and Activity -- Application -- Appearance -- Attitude -- Activity -- Definitions -- References -- 3. Mood and Affect -- Application -- Mood -- Affect -- Definitions -- References -- 4. Speech and Language -- Application -- Fluency -- Aphasias -- Word-finding difficulty -- Prosody of speech -- Quality of speech -- The examination -- Special situations -- Fluency -- Repetition -- Comprehension -- Naming -- Reading -- Prosody -- Quality of speech -- Definitions -- References -- 5. Thought Process, Thought Content, and Perception -- Application -- General comments -- Thought process -- Thought content -- Perception -- Definitions -- References -- 6. Cognition -- Application -- General comments -- Orientation -- Attention and concentration -- Memory -- Constructional ability -- Abstraction and conceptualization -- Standardized tests -- Integration of findings -- Definitions -- References -- 7. Insight and Judgment -- Application -- Insight -- Judgment -- Defense mechanisms -- Definitions -- References -- 8. Case Examples -- Case 1. Major depression -- Case 2. Primary degenerative dementia of the Alzheimer's type -- Case 3. Delirium -- Case 4. Alcohol abuse and dependence -- Case 5. Organic personality disorder, frontal lobe (aggressive) type -- Case 6. Obsessive-compulsive disorder -- Case 7. Chronic paranoid schizophrenia with acute exacerbation -- Case 8. Bipolar disorder, manic.

Appendix: General outline of written MSE report -- Index.