MENTAL HEALTH HESI EXAM QUESTIONS &
CORRECT ANSWERS LATEST 2026
Which is necessary as a defining feature in mental illness?
• The individual must have difficulties in functioning that cause distress
and/or impairment of some type.
Which provides the best definition for mental illness?
• Inability to function in a manner that manages both external and internal
stressors effectively
Which skill is in the psychiatric–mental health registered nurse's scope of practice?
• Evaluating the effectiveness of psychiatric medications
A nurse is providing community education about the prevention of mental illness. In
response to the question, "What does it mean to be mentally healthy?" which is the
nurse's best response?
• “Mental health is marked by productivity, fulfilling relationships, and adaptability.”
Which intervention is appropriate for a psychiatric–mental health nurse at the basic
level of practice?
• Promoting symptom management
Which is the greatest barrier to an individual's ability to obtain the most effective
and safest psychiatric medication?
• These medications are often not covered by the managed care system
because they are expensive.
What percentage of adults requiring mental health services get the care they need?
• 25% (Only about 25%, or 1 in 4, of adults requiring mental health services get
the care that they need)
Chlorpromazine is a drug in which classification?
• Antipsychotic
• When providing care to a client, the psychiatric–mental health nurse is
implementing the therapeutic use of self. The nurse is applying the concepts
based on the work of which individual? Hildegard Peplau
,During the mid-20th century, the focus of treatment centered on treating
neurotransmitter dysfunction in the brain. As a result hospital stays were shortened due
to the introduction of which?
• Psychopharmacology
Which is an inaccurate depiction of self-awareness?
• It involves changing one's values or beliefs.
The nurse has been unsuccessful in the psychiatric clinical placement and will be obliged to
repeat it next semester. The criteria for passing or failing were based on the Psychiatric–
Mental Health Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice, which are?
• Descriptions of the responsibilities for which nurses are accountable
Which is a difference between counseling and psychotherapy?
• Generalist psychiatric nurses may perform counseling interventions,
but psychotherapy is an advanced practice role.
A client diagnosed with schizophrenia has recently become divorced and is living in public
housing. How would the DSM-5 best help in planning this client's care?
• It is used by the mental health team to identify the psychosocial and
environmental factors currently affecting the client.
A client demonstrates sexually inappropriate behavior toward a student nurse. What is an
effective way for the student to respond while protecting and respecting the client?
• Report the incident to staff and the clinical instructor so boundaries can
be reenforced with the client.
Which is a true statement regarding Medicaid?
• It covers individuals and families with low incomes.
When comparing the theories of mental illness popular in ancient Greece with those
popular in the Middle Ages, which is more applicable to the Middle Ages?
• Belief in demonic possession and exorcism was common.
In the 1970s, state mental hospitals came under increasing scrutiny and many were closed.
What was the end result of this trend?
, • A lack of suitable housing for persons with mental illness
In the early Christian period, who treated clients thought to be possessed by demons
causing their mental illness?
• Clergymen
A psychiatric-mental health nurse is preparing a presentation about the historical
evolution of current psychiatric-mental health treatment. When describing the impact of
Sigmund Freud's work on care, which information would the nurse most likely include?
Select all that apply.
• A disturbance in personality development as an underlying issue
• Use of psychoanalysis to address the underlying injury
Which skill is in the psychiatric–mental health registered nurse's scope of practice?
• Evaluating the effectiveness of psychiatric medications
A nurse is providing community education about the prevention of mental illness. In
response to the question, "What does it mean to be mentally healthy?" which is the
nurse's best response?
• “Mental health is marked by productivity, fulfilling relationships, and adaptability.”
Which is the most influencing factor that complicates the treatment of people with mental
illness in the Unites States?
• Insurers' reimbursement decisions
Which individual has experienced the consequences of deinstitutionalization?
• A woman who was transferred from a psychiatric hospital to the
community because of the hospital's impending closure
Which is a clinical activity of only the advanced practice registered nurse?
• Psychotherapy
Maintaining a therapeutic environment and promoting growth through role
modeling are components of which basic level function?
• Milieu therapy
, Which intervention is appropriate for a psychiatric–mental health nurse at the basic
level of practice?
• Promoting symptom management
When providing care to a client, the psychiatric–mental health nurse is implementing the
therapeutic use of self. The nurse is applying the concepts based on the work of which
individual?
• Hildegard Peplau
One of the primary reforms accomplished by Dorothea Lynde Dix was the ...
• establishment or enlargement of state hospitals.
The psychiatric mental health nurse is planning the care of a client. What
action best addresses the client's needs in the social domain?
• Collaborating with the client's family to organize
support Which is a result of deinstitutionalization?
• A "revolving door" of repetitive hospital admissions
During the moral treatment period, clients were routinely placed into which environment?
• Asylums
Who was the first to introduce the concept of interpersonal relations and the therapeutic
relationship?
• Hildegard Peplau
In early Christian times, what was thought to cause mental illness?
• Demonic control
A client demonstrates sexually inappropriate behavior toward a student nurse. What is an
effective way for the student to respond while protecting and respecting the client?
• Report the incident to staff and the clinical instructor so boundaries can
be reenforced with the client.
Which is an inaccurate depiction of self-awareness?
CORRECT ANSWERS LATEST 2026
Which is necessary as a defining feature in mental illness?
• The individual must have difficulties in functioning that cause distress
and/or impairment of some type.
Which provides the best definition for mental illness?
• Inability to function in a manner that manages both external and internal
stressors effectively
Which skill is in the psychiatric–mental health registered nurse's scope of practice?
• Evaluating the effectiveness of psychiatric medications
A nurse is providing community education about the prevention of mental illness. In
response to the question, "What does it mean to be mentally healthy?" which is the
nurse's best response?
• “Mental health is marked by productivity, fulfilling relationships, and adaptability.”
Which intervention is appropriate for a psychiatric–mental health nurse at the basic
level of practice?
• Promoting symptom management
Which is the greatest barrier to an individual's ability to obtain the most effective
and safest psychiatric medication?
• These medications are often not covered by the managed care system
because they are expensive.
What percentage of adults requiring mental health services get the care they need?
• 25% (Only about 25%, or 1 in 4, of adults requiring mental health services get
the care that they need)
Chlorpromazine is a drug in which classification?
• Antipsychotic
• When providing care to a client, the psychiatric–mental health nurse is
implementing the therapeutic use of self. The nurse is applying the concepts
based on the work of which individual? Hildegard Peplau
,During the mid-20th century, the focus of treatment centered on treating
neurotransmitter dysfunction in the brain. As a result hospital stays were shortened due
to the introduction of which?
• Psychopharmacology
Which is an inaccurate depiction of self-awareness?
• It involves changing one's values or beliefs.
The nurse has been unsuccessful in the psychiatric clinical placement and will be obliged to
repeat it next semester. The criteria for passing or failing were based on the Psychiatric–
Mental Health Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice, which are?
• Descriptions of the responsibilities for which nurses are accountable
Which is a difference between counseling and psychotherapy?
• Generalist psychiatric nurses may perform counseling interventions,
but psychotherapy is an advanced practice role.
A client diagnosed with schizophrenia has recently become divorced and is living in public
housing. How would the DSM-5 best help in planning this client's care?
• It is used by the mental health team to identify the psychosocial and
environmental factors currently affecting the client.
A client demonstrates sexually inappropriate behavior toward a student nurse. What is an
effective way for the student to respond while protecting and respecting the client?
• Report the incident to staff and the clinical instructor so boundaries can
be reenforced with the client.
Which is a true statement regarding Medicaid?
• It covers individuals and families with low incomes.
When comparing the theories of mental illness popular in ancient Greece with those
popular in the Middle Ages, which is more applicable to the Middle Ages?
• Belief in demonic possession and exorcism was common.
In the 1970s, state mental hospitals came under increasing scrutiny and many were closed.
What was the end result of this trend?
, • A lack of suitable housing for persons with mental illness
In the early Christian period, who treated clients thought to be possessed by demons
causing their mental illness?
• Clergymen
A psychiatric-mental health nurse is preparing a presentation about the historical
evolution of current psychiatric-mental health treatment. When describing the impact of
Sigmund Freud's work on care, which information would the nurse most likely include?
Select all that apply.
• A disturbance in personality development as an underlying issue
• Use of psychoanalysis to address the underlying injury
Which skill is in the psychiatric–mental health registered nurse's scope of practice?
• Evaluating the effectiveness of psychiatric medications
A nurse is providing community education about the prevention of mental illness. In
response to the question, "What does it mean to be mentally healthy?" which is the
nurse's best response?
• “Mental health is marked by productivity, fulfilling relationships, and adaptability.”
Which is the most influencing factor that complicates the treatment of people with mental
illness in the Unites States?
• Insurers' reimbursement decisions
Which individual has experienced the consequences of deinstitutionalization?
• A woman who was transferred from a psychiatric hospital to the
community because of the hospital's impending closure
Which is a clinical activity of only the advanced practice registered nurse?
• Psychotherapy
Maintaining a therapeutic environment and promoting growth through role
modeling are components of which basic level function?
• Milieu therapy
, Which intervention is appropriate for a psychiatric–mental health nurse at the basic
level of practice?
• Promoting symptom management
When providing care to a client, the psychiatric–mental health nurse is implementing the
therapeutic use of self. The nurse is applying the concepts based on the work of which
individual?
• Hildegard Peplau
One of the primary reforms accomplished by Dorothea Lynde Dix was the ...
• establishment or enlargement of state hospitals.
The psychiatric mental health nurse is planning the care of a client. What
action best addresses the client's needs in the social domain?
• Collaborating with the client's family to organize
support Which is a result of deinstitutionalization?
• A "revolving door" of repetitive hospital admissions
During the moral treatment period, clients were routinely placed into which environment?
• Asylums
Who was the first to introduce the concept of interpersonal relations and the therapeutic
relationship?
• Hildegard Peplau
In early Christian times, what was thought to cause mental illness?
• Demonic control
A client demonstrates sexually inappropriate behavior toward a student nurse. What is an
effective way for the student to respond while protecting and respecting the client?
• Report the incident to staff and the clinical instructor so boundaries can
be reenforced with the client.
Which is an inaccurate depiction of self-awareness?
