Mental Health Nursing Exam1 2026 QUESTION AND
CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS WITH RATIONALES
NEWEST UPDATE
On admission to the mental health unit, a client tells the nurse she's afraid to leave the
house for fear of criticism. She informs the nurse, "My nose is so big. I know everyone is
looking at me and making fun of me. I had plastic surgery and it still looks awful!" These
symptoms are an indication of which disorder?
1. Paranoid personality disorder
2. Body dysmorphic disorder
3. Paranoid schizophrenia
4. Antisocial disorder - ANSWER---2. Body dysmorphic disorder
This disorder is characterized by a belief that the body is deformed or defective in a
specific way. Although elements of paranoia are evident, the focus on a defective body
part is the clue. There is some evidence of a thought disorder; however, paranoid
schizophrenia isn't likely. Antisocial personality is characterized by manipulative
behavior.
When should the nurse introduce information about the end of the nurse-client
relationship?
1. During the orientation phase
2. As the goals of the relationship are reached
3. At least one or two sessions before the last meeting
4. When the client can tolerate it - ANSWER---1. During the orientation phase
Preparation for ending the nurse-client relationship should begin during the orientation
phase, when realistic limits of the relationship are established. Termination should also
be discussed as goals are achieved and the relationship nears an end. Although the
nurse should remind the client that only one or two sessions are left, the nurse must not
wait until then to prepare the client for termination. The client's ability to tolerate the end
of a relationship shouldn't dictate its timing. Because many clients have had negative
experiences when ending relationships, the nurse can use termination of the nurse-
client relationship to prepare the client for and work the client through positive
termination experiences with others.
, Mental Health Nursing Exam1 2026 QUESTION AND
CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS WITH RATIONALES
NEWEST UPDATE
The nurse is explaining the Bill of Rights for psychiatric patients to a client who has
voluntarily sought admission to an inpatient psychiatric facility. Which of the following
rights should the nurse include in the discussion?
1. Right to select health care team members
2. Right to refuse treatment
3. Right to a written treatment plan
4. Right to obtain disability
5. Right to confidentiality
6. Right to personal mail - ANSWER---2. Right to refuse treatment
3. Right to a written treatment plan
5. Right to confidentiality
6. Right to personal mail
An inpatient client usually receives a copy of the Bill of Rights for psychiatric patients,
where they would find options 2, 3, 5, and 6 in writing. However, a client in an inpatient
setting can't select health team members. A client may apply for disability as a result of
a chronic, incapacitating illness; however, disability isn't a patient right, and members of
a psychiatric institution don't decide who should receive it.
Which nursing intervention is most important when restraining a violent client?
1. Reviewing facility policy regarding how long the client can be restrained
2. Preparing an as-needed dose of the client's psychotropic medication
3. Checking that the restraints have been applied correctly
4. Asking if the client needs to use the bathroom or is thirsty - ANSWER---3. Checking
that the restraints have been applied correctly
, Mental Health Nursing Exam1 2026 QUESTION AND
CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS WITH RATIONALES
NEWEST UPDATE
The nurse must determine whether the restraints have been applied correctly to make
sure that the client's circulation and respiration aren't restricted and that adequate
padding has been used. The nurse should document the client's response and status
carefully after the restraints are applied. All staff members involved in restraining clients
should be aware of facility policy before using restraints. If an as needed medication is
ordered, it should be given before the restraints are in place and with the assistance of
other team members. The nurse should attend to the client's elimination and hydration
needs after the client is properly restrained.
An adolescent, age 17, rarely expresses feelings and usually remains passive.
However, when angry, her face becomes flushed and her blood pressure rises to
170/100 mm Hg. Her parents are passive and easygoing. The adolescent may be using
which defense mechanism to handle anger?
1. Displacement
2. Introjection
3. Projection
4. Sublimation - ANSWER---2. Introjection
The adolescent may be introjecting (assuming as her own) her parents' belief that anger
shouldn't be outwardly expressed. She may also be holding in and somatizing her angry
feelings, as evidenced by her increased blood pressure. (A blood pressure rise is a
common physiological reaction to the fight-or-flight response that may be brought on by
strong emotions. Habitual failure to express anger may contribute to hypertension.)
Displacement is the discharge of negative feelings onto another person or an object.
Projection is the attribution of one's own thoughts or impulses to another person.
Sublimation is the channeling of unbearable or socially unacceptable behaviors into
more socially acceptable outlets.
A client is brought to the facility in an agitated state and is admitted to the psychiatric
unit for observation and treatment. While putting personal items away, the client talks
rapidly and folds and unfolds garments several times. The client can't seem to settle
down. Which nursing diagnosis is most applicable at this time?
, Mental Health Nursing Exam1 2026 QUESTION AND
CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS WITH RATIONALES
NEWEST UPDATE
1. Disturbed personal identity
2. Anxiety
3. Compromised family coping
4. Powerlessness - ANSWER---2. Anxiety
Anxiety is the most applicable nursing diagnosis at this time because the client's
behavior mimics some of the objective signs of anxiety, which include restlessness,
irritability, rapid speech, inability to complete tasks, and verbal expressions of tension.
The other options would be premature diagnoses because the nurse hasn't had an
opportunity to complete a thorough nursing assessment.
A busy attorney with a successful law practice is admitted to an acute care facility with
epigastric pain. Since admission, the client has called the nurse every 15 minutes with
one request or another. This client is most likely exhibiting:
1. repression.
2. somatization.
3. regression.
4. conversion. - ANSWER---3. regression.
The client is exhibiting the defense mechanism regression, a return to behavior that is
characteristic of an earlier developmental level. Dependent, attention-seeking behavior
is an attempt to relieve anxiety. Repression manifests as a denial of the symptoms.
Somatization is the channeling of anxiety into a preoccupation with physical complaints.
Conversion involves the transfer of a mental conflict into a physical symptom to relieve
anxiety.
A client in an acute care mental health program refuses his morning dose of an oral
antipsychotic medication and believes he's being poisoned. The nurse should respond
by taking which action?
1. Administering the medication by injection
CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS WITH RATIONALES
NEWEST UPDATE
On admission to the mental health unit, a client tells the nurse she's afraid to leave the
house for fear of criticism. She informs the nurse, "My nose is so big. I know everyone is
looking at me and making fun of me. I had plastic surgery and it still looks awful!" These
symptoms are an indication of which disorder?
1. Paranoid personality disorder
2. Body dysmorphic disorder
3. Paranoid schizophrenia
4. Antisocial disorder - ANSWER---2. Body dysmorphic disorder
This disorder is characterized by a belief that the body is deformed or defective in a
specific way. Although elements of paranoia are evident, the focus on a defective body
part is the clue. There is some evidence of a thought disorder; however, paranoid
schizophrenia isn't likely. Antisocial personality is characterized by manipulative
behavior.
When should the nurse introduce information about the end of the nurse-client
relationship?
1. During the orientation phase
2. As the goals of the relationship are reached
3. At least one or two sessions before the last meeting
4. When the client can tolerate it - ANSWER---1. During the orientation phase
Preparation for ending the nurse-client relationship should begin during the orientation
phase, when realistic limits of the relationship are established. Termination should also
be discussed as goals are achieved and the relationship nears an end. Although the
nurse should remind the client that only one or two sessions are left, the nurse must not
wait until then to prepare the client for termination. The client's ability to tolerate the end
of a relationship shouldn't dictate its timing. Because many clients have had negative
experiences when ending relationships, the nurse can use termination of the nurse-
client relationship to prepare the client for and work the client through positive
termination experiences with others.
, Mental Health Nursing Exam1 2026 QUESTION AND
CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS WITH RATIONALES
NEWEST UPDATE
The nurse is explaining the Bill of Rights for psychiatric patients to a client who has
voluntarily sought admission to an inpatient psychiatric facility. Which of the following
rights should the nurse include in the discussion?
1. Right to select health care team members
2. Right to refuse treatment
3. Right to a written treatment plan
4. Right to obtain disability
5. Right to confidentiality
6. Right to personal mail - ANSWER---2. Right to refuse treatment
3. Right to a written treatment plan
5. Right to confidentiality
6. Right to personal mail
An inpatient client usually receives a copy of the Bill of Rights for psychiatric patients,
where they would find options 2, 3, 5, and 6 in writing. However, a client in an inpatient
setting can't select health team members. A client may apply for disability as a result of
a chronic, incapacitating illness; however, disability isn't a patient right, and members of
a psychiatric institution don't decide who should receive it.
Which nursing intervention is most important when restraining a violent client?
1. Reviewing facility policy regarding how long the client can be restrained
2. Preparing an as-needed dose of the client's psychotropic medication
3. Checking that the restraints have been applied correctly
4. Asking if the client needs to use the bathroom or is thirsty - ANSWER---3. Checking
that the restraints have been applied correctly
, Mental Health Nursing Exam1 2026 QUESTION AND
CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS WITH RATIONALES
NEWEST UPDATE
The nurse must determine whether the restraints have been applied correctly to make
sure that the client's circulation and respiration aren't restricted and that adequate
padding has been used. The nurse should document the client's response and status
carefully after the restraints are applied. All staff members involved in restraining clients
should be aware of facility policy before using restraints. If an as needed medication is
ordered, it should be given before the restraints are in place and with the assistance of
other team members. The nurse should attend to the client's elimination and hydration
needs after the client is properly restrained.
An adolescent, age 17, rarely expresses feelings and usually remains passive.
However, when angry, her face becomes flushed and her blood pressure rises to
170/100 mm Hg. Her parents are passive and easygoing. The adolescent may be using
which defense mechanism to handle anger?
1. Displacement
2. Introjection
3. Projection
4. Sublimation - ANSWER---2. Introjection
The adolescent may be introjecting (assuming as her own) her parents' belief that anger
shouldn't be outwardly expressed. She may also be holding in and somatizing her angry
feelings, as evidenced by her increased blood pressure. (A blood pressure rise is a
common physiological reaction to the fight-or-flight response that may be brought on by
strong emotions. Habitual failure to express anger may contribute to hypertension.)
Displacement is the discharge of negative feelings onto another person or an object.
Projection is the attribution of one's own thoughts or impulses to another person.
Sublimation is the channeling of unbearable or socially unacceptable behaviors into
more socially acceptable outlets.
A client is brought to the facility in an agitated state and is admitted to the psychiatric
unit for observation and treatment. While putting personal items away, the client talks
rapidly and folds and unfolds garments several times. The client can't seem to settle
down. Which nursing diagnosis is most applicable at this time?
, Mental Health Nursing Exam1 2026 QUESTION AND
CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS WITH RATIONALES
NEWEST UPDATE
1. Disturbed personal identity
2. Anxiety
3. Compromised family coping
4. Powerlessness - ANSWER---2. Anxiety
Anxiety is the most applicable nursing diagnosis at this time because the client's
behavior mimics some of the objective signs of anxiety, which include restlessness,
irritability, rapid speech, inability to complete tasks, and verbal expressions of tension.
The other options would be premature diagnoses because the nurse hasn't had an
opportunity to complete a thorough nursing assessment.
A busy attorney with a successful law practice is admitted to an acute care facility with
epigastric pain. Since admission, the client has called the nurse every 15 minutes with
one request or another. This client is most likely exhibiting:
1. repression.
2. somatization.
3. regression.
4. conversion. - ANSWER---3. regression.
The client is exhibiting the defense mechanism regression, a return to behavior that is
characteristic of an earlier developmental level. Dependent, attention-seeking behavior
is an attempt to relieve anxiety. Repression manifests as a denial of the symptoms.
Somatization is the channeling of anxiety into a preoccupation with physical complaints.
Conversion involves the transfer of a mental conflict into a physical symptom to relieve
anxiety.
A client in an acute care mental health program refuses his morning dose of an oral
antipsychotic medication and believes he's being poisoned. The nurse should respond
by taking which action?
1. Administering the medication by injection
