ChoiceHub
Sign in
A 62-year-old woman brought to the emergency department after a fall at home tells the registrar that her recent illness was sent by an ancestor spirit, and that a healer from her community must be consulted before she takes any tablets. She migrated to Australia at 40. Her daughter says the belief is widely shared in their community and that her mother has always thought this way. She is fully oriented, her speech and thought form are normal, she describes no hallucinations, and she shops, cooks and banks for herself. Which one of the following should be recorded under thought content in her mental state examination?
Shared by Mornienmiddle twist

Keep going — a set of ten like this one, one at a time.

Practise more

More from Psychiatry

See all

A 34-year-old man who came to Australia from Somalia six years ago is reviewed by his general practitioner for a depressive episode. After eight weeks of sertra…

Pre-internship · niche

A 40-year-old man who came to Australia from Iraq as a refugee eight years ago attends a general practice with six months of broken sleep, nightmares and daily…

Clinical rotations · middle twist

A 71-year-old woman who migrated from Hong Kong 40 years ago is admitted to a psychiatric ward with a severe depressive episode. She speaks Cantonese and almost…

Pre-internship · middle twist

A metropolitan mental health service is examining why Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander inpatients leave the ward against medical advice far more often than…

Clinical rotations · middle twist

A 52-year-old man born in Vietnam, who has had schizophrenia for 25 years, comes to an emergency department with six hours of epigastric pain. He speaks limited…

Pre-internship · niche