We realize that not all students have field placements with direct client work o

We realize that not all students have field placements with direct client work or that students may work with clients in a capacity that does not lend itself to opportunities for conducting a mental status exam—but that is not a problem. The mental status assignment can be completed in several ways. In the past, students have completed this assignment by doing any of the following:
Choosing a client in a group to focus on.
Choosing an individual client with who, you are working even though you may not have completed any formal assessment with this client.
Choosing a client with whom you met for intake but the intake did not include an MSE.
Choosing a client you met with once or twice, which allowed you to make an observation to assess for the MSE.
I encourage all students to ask their field instructor or supervisor for feedback about how best to complete this assignment at your field placement. Your agency may have a policy as to whether interns can formally complete assessments or mental status exams, and that is not a problem. For students choosing clients that they have limited interaction with, inquiring with your supervisor about reviewing the client’s chart can be helpful for answering some of the responses on this assignment. For any student who does not have access to information, you have two options:
Report hypothetically on your client.
Document in your paper that this information was not available.
Throughout the previous modules, you have been working on your mental status exam assignment. Now you have arrived to a point in the course where you are required to submit your completed MSE midterm assignment.
This is a written assignment to measure your assessment skills. You will be required to use the current evaluation system in the DSM-5 to hypothesize a possible diagnosis and to discuss possible recommendations. You should use 2-3 outside readings from professional journals or texts in addition to any assigned readings. Do not use online computer sites such as Wikipedia or sites that provide psycho-educational information. Use APA 7th Edition style for writing, citations, and references.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The main part of this assignment is the mental status evaluation. Numbers 1-13 should be reported in a thorough manner (minimum 2 pages), with a rationale for your assessment to justify your reported evaluation as you have learned to do in the discussion boards and from the textbook. It is important to closely follow the outline and be sure not to leave any area of mental status out. The impression, diagnosis and recommendations are only a small part of this assignment. This is an opportunity for you to begin practicing the process of diagnosis.
Ways to Complete Your Mental Status Exam
We realize that not all students have field placements with direct client work or that students may work with clients in a capacity that does not lend itself to opportunities for conducting a mental status exam—but that is not a problem. The mental status assignment can be completed in several ways. In the past, students have completed this assignment by doing any of the following:
Choosing a client in a group to focus on.
Choosing an individual client with who, you are working even though you may not have completed any formal assessment with this client.
Choosing a client with whom you met for intake but the intake did not include an MSE.
Choosing a client you met with once or twice, which allowed you to make an observation to assess for the MSE.
I encourage all students to ask their field instructor or supervisor for feedback about how best to complete this assignment at your field placement. Your agency may have a policy as to whether interns can formally complete assessments or mental status exams, and that is not a problem. For students choosing clients that they have limited interaction with, inquiring with your supervisor about reviewing the client’s chart can be helpful for answering some of the responses on this assignment. For any student who does not have access to information, you have two options:
Report hypothetically on your client.
Document in your paper that this information was not available.
The content in this module focused on preparing you for completing this assignment successfully, offering you a great deal of resources! Please use these resources to your advantage and incorporate into your paper what you have learned, in terms of clinical language to report your chosen client’s mental status.