This mental status exam provides an overview of Raban King's presentation and functioning based on observations from his initial interview. The exam addresses his appearance, behavior, mood, affect, thought processes, orientation, memory, judgment, and insight. Overall, Raban's functioning is described as being within normal limits, which is consistent with him being a relatively well-adjusted individual who passed the initial screening process.

1. Running head: INITIAL INTERVIEW 1
INITIAL INTERVIEW 2
Identifying Information
Raban King is a 45 male adult married with three children. He
lives in Allston, Boston and his phone number is +1 845-892-
3344. Raban is a substance abuse social worker working with
the Avernus Rehabilitation Center which a not-for-profit
organization that helps members of community suffering from
any form of substance abuse to overcome the addiction. The
Avernus Rehabilitation Center contact are +1 615-615-9090 and
+1 615-655- 3939. Raban is scheduled to be interviewed on the
25th of May 2020 to determine whether he is a suitable
candidate for participation in a summer mission’s trip in a very
challenging environment.
Reason for Referral
Raban was referred to me for evaluation by the mission’s board
for further consultation. The mission’s board found Raban
eligible for the summer mission’s trip that is expected to take
place in a very challenging environment and they believe his

2. type of work and personality can help him push through with
the mission.
Current Situation and Functioning
From the information obtained from Raban, he is a substance
abuse social worker and has been in the career for twelve years.
He claims he is passionate about substance abuse and his desire
is to help as many people to overcome the challenge and make a
positive transition. He further claims that his typical day is
spent either in the field seeking and collecting substance abuse
victims or in the facility offering assistance and treatment to
those already admitted. He spends the day counselling them and
also making sure they take their medication and feed properly.
On some occasional, he has to travel far and wide after
receiving information about substance abuse victims so as to
carry them using facility vans to the center.
Raban claims that due to his great passion, he has the ability to
accomplish his daily tasks within the stipulated time. From
assessment made, he has high coping skills since he is calm,
patient, and humble. Also, despite being put through
uncomfortable situations, he appeared sensitive and emotionally
balanced. Also, it is evident that he has a high problem-solving
and conflict resolution abilities from the many situations and
cases he has faced in his line of duty and compelled to handle
them. He also appears empathic, cooperative, and good manager
of stress. One of the main weaknesses noted is that he rarely
speaks and he seemed to agree with a lot of things a personality
that appears easy to manipulate. Nevertheless, he has a main
strength in the sense that whenever he set out to do something,
he pushes through with it no matter how hard.
Relevant Medical History
According to Raban, there is no major illness or injury that
he has ever suffered from or he is suffering from and physically
he appears strong. He is not on medication and does not have
any form of disability. He only has one brother and two sisters
who are all healthy and his parents do not also suffer from any

3. major ailment.
Psychiatric Treatment History
Raban claims that ever since leaving university, he has
been committed at helping people with substance abuse that
have further developed to mental challenge and this made him
to take good care of his mental health. There is no record of
psychiatric and substance abuse disorders even his close family
members.
Family History
Raban King come from a complete family and the parents he
consider and terms them as strict disciplinarians who have
always been there for their children and making sure that
children are on their best behavior and well provided for. The
two parents were career people where his mother was a high
school teacher while his father is an accountant. His brother and
two sisters are currently working and his brother resides in New
York and he is a successful business man, one of the sisters is
married and resides in Boston with her family while as the other
sister lives in Australia where she lives with her family and she
works as a nurse. When he was a child, Raban was brought up
in a normal family setting and he went through all levels of
learning. He was allowed to have social relationships especially
with friends who the parents found suitable and of good
influence to him as on numerous occasions, the parents could
advise him on friend to avoid. The feeling of togetherness that
the family has shared and gotten used to is the same that keeps
Raban’s extended and nuclear family ties strong and reliable.
Social and Developmental History
The current good working situation that Raban has is
contributed by a good and reliable family that he is bringing up
as well as the social circles that he keeps. It is evident that
Raban is sensitive when it comes to choosing friends as he
ensures that he keeps friends of positive influence. Secondly,
Raban engages in physical exercises in the gym and also in

4. different sport clubs where he is a member. This is in
collaboration with quality academic background and the series
of activities that he takes part in on a daily basis as they act as a
major motivator and inspiration for Raban.
Educational and Occupational History
Raban studied at the Brighton High School and later he joined
the Massachusetts University where he pursued social work
course and managed to attain a master’s degree. Since leaving
university, he has worked in two different organizations for
three and five years respectively. The current workplace is the
third and he has lasted there for ten years and this means he has
worked for eighteen years in the same career. At the current
workplace, Raban works as a senior supervisor and he oversee
the operations of all employees within the facility. This is
making sure that all patients are fed, given medication, and
engaged in the right activities that would help them recover. He
is also incharge of recommending patients that have recovered
and are ready for discharge. Lastly, he constantly engages the
families and friends of substance abuse victims to help them run
on how to cope and support the victim to avoid a relapse.
Cultural Influences
As a social worker in substance abuse specialization, Raban
works with all types of people and this makes cultural influence
a reality that cannot be avoided. Culture comes in the sense that
there are some cultures that are not against drug use and abuse
while others are against such acts. Raban operations are
sometimes compromised when he tries to offer help to people
who do not believe or value the importance of substance abuse
rehabilitation. There are also instances that Raban faces
challenges with members of public due to cultural beliefs
refuses to easily accept back recovered substance abuse victims
and such practices have contributed to massive relapses. For

5. this reason, Raban has been forced to go an extra mile to
counsel members of the public as well so that they can be
embracive and supportive of substance abuse victims both
ailing, recovering, and the recovered.
Running head: QUESTION DEVELOPMENT
1
QUESTION DEVELOPMENT
4
Question Development
Student’s name
Institution affiliation
Question one
The reason for selecting Alzheimer's disease news story is that
it has resulted in many deaths (Alzheimer's Association, 2016).
Also, millions of US citizens were diagnosed with this disorder

6. in one year, and so the disease is becoming a deadly disease that
needed addressing. What seems compelling from the news story
is that a person can develop the disease after 66 seconds.
Scientifically, the disease is so dangerous that it devastates the
brain so quickly.
Question two
I didn't recognize much of Alzheimer's disease; all I discerned
was that it is a disorder that affects the brain cell (Alzheimer's
Association, 2016). I also knew that amnesia and dementia are
symptoms of AD. Well, I didn't know the disease is a killer one,
so some of my assumptions included that only a few people are
victims.
Question three
Some concepts from the course that link with the news story
include exploring the topic, making observations about the
problem, interpreting data from the news story, and making
final judgments about the issue (Avin, 2019). By examining and
exploring the topic, I can acquire skills and knowledge of how
deadly it is, including its symptoms
Question four
What measures can be put in place to ensure death cases caused
by Alzheimer's disease are lowered?
Question five
This question is appropriate to natural scientists because, by
finding measures to curb this disease, the cases of people dying
will lessen. Also, scientists will pull up their socks to ensure
appropriate measures are identified to help minimize the cases
of patients dying (Avin, 2019). They will do researches to come
up with the measures

7. References
Alzheimer's Association. (2016). 2016 Alzheimer's disease facts
and figures. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 12(4), 459-509. Retrieved
from
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1552526016
000856
Avin, S. (2019). Centralized funding and epistemic
exploration. The British Journal for the Philosophy of
Science, 70(3), 629-656. Retrieved from
https://academic.oup.com/bjps/article-
abstract/70/3/629/4675327
Running head: RESEARCH
1
RESEARCH
2

8. Research
Student Name
Institution Affiliation
Research
The big petroleum and tobacco companies used scientific
research to undermine the scientific research conducted that
linked the second-hand cigarette smoke to cardiovascular
diseases. Tong & Glantz, 2007, explained that the tobacco
company has invested much in research to fight against
scientific evidence that proves second-hand smoke is harmful to
human health by influencing the research with contradicting
information. Tobacco Company has funded studies that targets
on developing their product describing as a ‘reduced-harm’
cigarettes (Tong & Glantz, 2007). The tobacco company
focused on funding research that also influence on ways of
evaluating the so called ‘reduced-harm cigarette to avoid the
truth concerning its effects and harm on human body.
According to the research concerning tobacco companies, it has
indicated on how powerful ‘big money’ in research (Enserink,
2018). Tobacco Company sponsored several researches both in
biology and epidemiology. Tobacco Company succeeded to
suppress the side effects of cigarette smokers including the
second-hand smokers using their funded research and
successfully publish the information in the scientific journals.
Tobacco companies used blackmail on the research institutions
that were funded by the company because in 1990s the company
criticized finding that indicated that second-hand smoke
increases the cases of atherosclerosis and withdrew funding
which is key in research (Enserink, 2018). Tobacco companies
succeeded to influence their research results using huge funding
to the research institution because the institution cannot operate
without enough funding.
References
Enserink, M. (2018). Big tobacco’s offer: $1 billion for

9. research. Should scientists take it?. Science | AAAS. Retrieved
27 May 2020, from
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/02/big-tobacco-s-offer-
1-billion-research-should-scientists-take-it.
Tong, E., & Glantz, S. (2007). Tobacco Industry Efforts
Undermining Evidence Linking Secondhand Smoke With
Cardiovascular Disease. Circulation, 116(16), 1845-1854.
https://doi.org/10.1161/circulationaha.107.715888
Mental Status Exam
One task in the initial interview is a gathering of information
about the client’s mental status. You already have gathered
background information in the initial interview. In this
assignment, you will write up the Mental Status Exam (MSE)
portion of that initial interview. In the initial interview report,
you primarily focused on what the client revealed to you. For
the MSE, most of what you report on will be based on your
observations from that initial interview (appearance, behaviors,
mood, affect, thought processes, etc.), from specific questions
you would ask in the initial interview. These observations
provide information about the client that is not readily
discernable from the initial interview data.
For this assignment, you will continue to use yourself or the
character, the “alter ego,” that you interviewed for the initial
interview. Remember, the client that you selected is a relatively
well-adjusted individual who has already passed the initial
interview process with the referring agency. Therefore, your
MSE will mainly indicate functioning that is considered within
the normal limits (WNL) of adaptive functioning.
Your paper will be structured according to the headings

10. provided in the Sheperis, Drummond, and Jones (2020) text on
pages 345-346. This project must be 600-900 words (not
including the title page), double-spaced, APA formatted in a
Word document, with no abstract.
Important points regarding the Initial Interview:
1. Because the psychological evaluation was not performed for
clinical, forensic, or legal reasons, your character did not have a
life-threatening medical condition, a chronic or debilitating
psychological disorder, or an extensive criminal history.
2. Report all applicable MSE information. The MSE is worth
100 points, so be thorough.
Format of the Mental Status Exam:
1. Gather the MSE information using the categories from pages
345-346 of the text and the “How to Conduct a Mental Status
Exam” handout. Report the information using the Mental Status
Exam Rubric as a guideline. Remember, you will use this
information for another project. As you can see, there are
various ways to organize and present MSE information (e.g., the
text, the handout, and the sample is up to you). However, for
the purposes of this assignment, make sure that you have all of
the information required on the grading rubric.
2. Please make sure to note if the functioning is adaptive. For
example, if no delusional thoughts are present, state it. If you
do not specifically note this, the reader does not know if the
client did not have delusions or if the counselor simply forgot
to ask.
3. Written in the third person (e.g., “Mr. Jones is a 42 years
old…,” or “His greatest strengths are...”).
4. Your paper requires a title page (not included in the word

11. count). Title the first page of your paper “Mental Status Exam.”
Your report must be APA formatted.
5. Be sure that the information is consistent with the Initial
Interview. Remember that your client is a well-adjusted
individual that does not present with severe pathology.
Categories ofMental Status Exam from the Text
Appearance: How was the client dressed and groomed (e.g.,
neat, disheveled, unkempt)?
Behavior/Psychomotor Activity: Did the client exhibit slow
movement, restlessness, or agitation? Did the client have any
unusual behaviors such as tics, mannerisms, gestures?
Attitude toward Examiner: Was the client’s attitude toward the
examiner cooperative, friendly, attentive, defensive, hostile,
evasive, guarded, and so forth?
Affect and Mood: Did the client have sad, angry, depressed, or
anxious mood? Was the client emotionally responsive (affect)?
Was affect congruent with mood?
Speech: How was the quantity, rate of production, and quality
of the client’s speech (e.g., minimal – mostly yes and no
answers; talkative; rapid/pressured speech)?
Perceptual Disturbances: Did the client experience
hallucinations or illusions? If so, what sensory system did they
involve (e.g., auditory, visual, olfactory, tactile)?
Thought: Did the client have any disturbances in thought
process, which involves the rate of thoughts and how they flow
and are connected (e.g., racing thoughts, flight of ideas,
tangential). Were there any disturbances in thought content,

12. such as delusions, obsessions, preoccupations, or suicidal or
homicidal thoughts?
Orientation: Was the client aware of (a) the date and time, (b)
where he or she was, and
(c) who the people around him or her were (i.e., oriented to
time, place, and person)?
Memory: How was the client’s recent memory (e.g., what did he
or she have for breakfast?) and remote memory (e.g., memories
from childhood)?
Concentration and Attention: Was the client’s concentration or
attention impaired? Was the client distractible?
Information and Intelligence: Can the client accomplish mental
tasks that would be expected of a person of his or her
educational level and background?
Judgment and Insight: Does the client have the capacity for
social judgment? Does the client have insight into the nature of
his or her illness?
Reliability: How accurately was the client able to report his or
her situation?
Categories ofMental Status Exam from the Handout
Appearance:Presenting Appearance (including sex,
chronological and apparent age, ethnicity, build, physical
deformities; Basic Grooming and Hygiene (plus appropriateness
of attire, accessories like glasses or a cane; Gait and Motor
Coordination (plus posture, work speed, any noteworthy
mannerisms or gestures).
Manner and Approach: Interpersonal Characteristics and

13. Approach to Evaluation (resistant, submissive, defensive, open
and friendly, candid and cooperative, showed subdued mistrust
and hostility, excessive shyness); Behavioral Approach (distant,
indifferent, anxious, alert, etc.) Speech (normal rate and
volume, pressured, slow, etc.); Eye Contact (makes, avoids,
etc.); Expressive Language (circumstantial and tangential
responses, mumbling, etc.); Receptive Language (normal,
difficulty understanding questions); Recall and Memory (can
explain recent and past events in their personal history, recalls
three words, etc.).
Orientation, Alertness, and Thought Processes: Orientation
(person, place, time); Alertness (sleepy, alert); Coherence
(coherent and easy to understand, overly detailed and difficult
to follow); Concentration and Attention (naming the days of the
week in reverse order, ABC's backwards); Thought Processes
(loose associations, flight of ideas, delusions); Hallucinations
and Delusions; Judgment and Insight; Intellectual Ability;
Abstraction Skills
Mood and Affect: Mood (feels most days: happy, sad, anxious,
angry); Affect (felt at any given moment); Rapport (easy to
establish, easily upset); Facial and Emotional Expressions
(relaxed, tense, smiled, laughed); Suicidal and Homicidal
Ideation; Risk for Violence; Impulsivity
2
Page 3 of 3
Mental Status Exam Report Sample
Note: The brackets help to identify the specific area each
paragraph addresses. You do not have to include this in your

14. write-up (i.e., leave the bracketed material out).
[Appearance & Behavior] Susan C. is a 5’4” single White
female of average weight. At the time of the interview, she had
a pasty white complexion and several scars from adolescent
acne. She presented herself in a cooperative, friendly manner
during the interview, was appropriately dressed for the season,
and answered questions in a direct fashion. Her eye contact was
appropriate. Psychomotor activity was within normal limits as
she moved comfortably during the interview. No atypical
physical characteristics were noted. Her speech patterns and
expressive/receptive language were within normal limits. No
evidence of current drug or alcohol intoxication was observed.
[Sensorium and Mental Ability] During the interview, Susan C.
appeared alert and oriented x4. While not formally assessed, she
appears to have average to above average intelligence as
evidenced by her vocabulary and reported GPA in college.
There was no difficulty with questions assessing her recent or
remote memory, or mathematical calculations. Some abstract
thinking difficulty was observed in her difficulty describing
what the difference was between a lie and a mistake.
[Thought] Susan displayed a logical, sequential, coherent flow
of thought. No tangential thinking, flight of ideas, or looseness
of associations were noted. Thought content appeared to be
within normal limits. No evidence of hallucinations, delusions,
paranoid ideation, or ruminations was apparent. No compulsions
or obsessions were reported.
[Sensory Motor and Perceptual Processes] Sensory motor and
perceptual processes appeared within normal limits. Susan C.
was able to adequately duplicate the drawing of a clock. There
was no evidence of fine motor tremor, auditory, or perceptual
difficulties.

15. [Affect and Mood] During the interview, Susan displayed a
moderately depressed affect. While eye contact was appropriate,
she seldom smiled even when an amusing incident occurred
while we were in the office. Her voice tone had monotone
qualities and she often sighed during the interview. She
verbalized feeling depressed since her recent miscarriage (3
weeks ago). No history of manic-like symptoms was reported.
She denied suicidal and homicidal ideation. There was no
evidence of a risk for violence or impulsivity.
[Self-regulation] Susan C. displayed adequate impulse control
and judgment. These interview qualities are consistent with her
history.
CONDUCTING A MENTAL STATUS EXAM
The Mental Status Exam is the basis for understanding the
client's presentation and beginning to conceptualize their
current functioning into a diagnosis. At first, this might seem
overwhelming and time consuming, but it is not difficult to do.
It can generally be done in a few minutes as the vast majority of
this information is obtained through your careful observations
of the client during the intake interview. This is why developing
your observation skills is important.
APPEARANCE
· Presenting Appearance, including sex, chronological and
apparent age, ethnicity, apparent height and weight (average,
stocky, healthy, petite), any physical deformities (hearing
impaired, injured and bandaged right hand)
· Basic Grooming and Hygiene, dress and whether it was
appropriate attire for the weather, for a doctor’s interview,
accessories like glasses or a cane

16. · Gait and Motor Coordination (awkward, staggering, shuffling,
rigid, trembling with intentional movement or at rest), posture
(slouched, erect), work speed, any noteworthy mannerisms or
gestures
MANNER & APPROACH
· Interpersonal Characteristics and Approach to Evaluation
(oppositional/resistant, submissive, defensive, open and
friendly, candid and cooperative, shows subdued mistrust and
hostility, excessive shyness)
· Behavioral Approach (distant, indifferent, unconcerned,
evasive, negative, irritable, depressive, anxious, sullen, angry,
assaultive, exhibitionistic, seductive, frightened, alert, agitated,
lethargic, needed minor/considerable reinforcement and
soothing)
· Speech (normal rate and volume, pressured, slow, accent,
enunciation quality, loud, quiet, impoverished)
· Eye Contact (makes, avoids, seems hesitant to make eye
contact)
· Expressive Language (no problems expressing self,
circumstantial and tangential responses, anomia, difficulties
finding words, misuse of words in a low-vocabulary-skills way,
misuse of words in a bizarre-thinking-processes way, echolalia
or perseveration, mumbling)
· Note if English is not the primary language here and comment
on their command of the language
· Receptive Language (normal, able to comprehend questions,
difficulty understanding questions)
· Recall and Memory (could explain recent and past events in
their personal history, recalls three words (e.g., Cadillac, zebra,
and purple) immediately after two rehearsals, and then again
five minutes later (five minutes is how long it takes for
information to move from short-term to long term memory). If
they cannot, you can prompt them (e.g., “Was the first one a
kind of tree, color, or car? A car, OK was it a Camaro,
Continental, or Cadillac?”)

17. ORIENTATION, ALERTNESS, & THOUGHT PROCESSES
· Orientation (person, place, time, presidents, your name)
· Alertness (sleepy, alert, tired for working late, dull and
uninterested, highly distractible)
· Coherence (responses were coherent and easy to understand,
simplistic and concrete, lacking in necessary detail, overly
detailed and difficult to follow)
· Concentration and Attention (based on Digit Span and
attention to your questions, serial 7’s or 3’s (count backwards
from 100 to 50 by 7’s or 3’s), naming the days of the week or
months of the year in reverse order, spelling their last name, or
the ABC’s backwards)
· Thought Processes (could/could not recall the plot of a
favorite movie or book logically, difficult to understand line of
reasoning, showed loose associations, confabulations, flight of
ideas, ideas of reference, illogical thinking, grandiosity,
magical thinking, obsessions, perseveration, delusions, reports
of experiences of depersonalization)
· Hallucinations and Delusions (presence, absence, denied
visual but admitted olfactory and auditory, denied but showed
signs of them during testing, denied except for times associated
with the use of substances, denied while taking medications)
· Judgment and Insight (based on explanations of what they did,
what happened, and if they expected the outcome, good, poor,
fair, strong)
· Intellectual Ability (roughly average, above average, or below
average based on answers to questions like “name last four
presidents” or “who is the governor of the state?” or “what is
the capitol of the state?” or “what direction does the sun set?,”
etc…)
· Abstraction Skills that are based on proverbs and sayings
(“What do people mean when they say…”), similarities (“How
are a ______ and a ______ alike? Different?”), and giving both

18. definitions for word (“What are two different meanings for
‘right,’ ‘bit,’ and ‘left?’”)
MOOD & AFFECT
· Mood or how they feel most days (happy, sad, despondent,
melancholic, euphoric, elevated, depressed, irritable, anxious,
angry)
· Affect or how they felt at a given moment (comments can
include range of emotions like broad, restricted, blunted, flat,
inappropriate, labile, consistent with the content of the
conversation and facial expressions, pessimistic, optimistic) as
well as inappropriate signs (began dancing in the office,
verbally threatened examiner, cried while discussing a happy
event and cannot explain why) or consider the weather, which
varies slightly from day to day
· Rapport (easy to establish, initially difficult but easier over
time, difficult to establish, tenuous, easily upset)
· Facial and Emotional Expressions (relaxed, tense, smiled,
laughed, became insulting, yelled, happy, sad, alert, day-
dreamy, angry, smiling, distrustful/suspicious, tearful when
discussing such and such)
· Suicidal and Homicidal Ideation (ideation but no plan or
intent, clear/unclear plan but no intent, ideation coupled with
clear plan and intent to carry it out)
· Risk for Violence (fair, low, high, uncertain, effected by
substance use)
· Response to Failure on Test Items (unaware, frustrated,
anxious, obsessed, unaffected)
· Impulsivity (low medium, high, effected by substance use)
· Anxiety (note level of anxiety, any behaviors that indicated
anxiety, ways they handled it)
· Defense Mechanisms observed
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