2026 ATI Capstone Mental Health Exam
2026 ATI Capstone Mental Health Exam 5
Questions and Verified Answers with
Detailed Rationales Graded A+ Guaranteed
Pass
A depressed client has been sitting alone in a chair most of the day and displays no interest in
eating. How should the nurse plan to meet this client's nutritional needs?
1. Stay with the client during meals
2. Take the client to the dining room
3. Bring the client a tray of finger foods
4. Talk with the client about the importance of nutrition
1. Stay with the client during meals
A+ TEST BANK 1
, 2026 ATI Capstone Mental Health Exam
Active support is demonstrated when the nurse sits with the client during meals. Even if taken
to the dining room, a depressed client may lack the physical or emotional energy to eat.
Finger foods are more effectively given to clients experiencing mania. Discussing the
importance of nutrition is too passive an intervention for a depressed client and usually will
not stimulate the client to take action or change eating behaviors.
The parent of a child with a tentative diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD) arrives at the pediatric clinic insisting on getting a prescription for medication that will
control the child's behavior. What is best response by the nurse?
1. "It must be frustrating to deal with your child's behavior."
2. "Have you considered any alternatives to using medication?"
3. "Perhaps you're looking for an easy solution to the problem."
4. "Let me teach you about the side effects of medications used for ADHD."
1. "It must be frustrating to deal with your child's behavior."
Stating that it must be frustrating acknowledges the parent's distress and encourages
verbalization of feelings. Asking whether any alternatives have been considered is insensitive
to the parent's feelings; it may be more appropriate later, when the parent's stress has
diminished. Although the parent may be looking for an easy answer to the problem, this
response is confrontational and may close off communication. Asking to teach the parent
about the side effects of ADHD medications is insensitive to the parent's feelings; it may be
more appropriate later if medication is prescribed and health teaching is started.
A client tells the nurse, "That man on the television is talking only to me." What should the
nurse document that the client is exhibiting?
1. Illusion
2. Hallucination
3. Idea of reference
4. Autistic thinking
A+ TEST BANK 2
, 2026 ATI Capstone Mental Health Exam
3. Idea of reference
An idea of reference, also called a delusion of reference, is a fixed, false personal belief that
public events and people are connected directly to the client. An illusion is a misinterpretation
of a sensory stimulus. A hallucination is a perceived experience that occurs in the absence of
an actual sensory stimulus. Autistic thinking is a distortion in the thought process that is
associated with schizophrenic disorders.
A nurse is caring for a client during the manic phase of bipolar disorder. What should the nurse
do to best help meet the nutritional needs of this client?
1. Provide a tray in the client's room
2. Assure the client that the food is deserved
3. Point out that the energy the client is burning up must be replaced
4. Order foods that the client can hold in the hand to eat while moving around
4. Order foods that the client can hold in the hand to eat while moving around
The hyperactive client should be given handheld foods that do not require sitting down to
eat. The client most likely will ignore a tray. Unworthy feelings may be part of a depressive,
not manic, episode. It is unlikely that the client will understand or care about the need to
replenish lost energy.
It is determined that a staff nurse has a drug abuse problem. What should happen as an initial
intervention?
1. The staff nurse should be counseled by the staff psychiatrist
2. The staff nurse should be dismissed from the job immediately
3. The staff nurse should be referred to the employee assistance program
4. The staff nurse should be forced to promise to abstain from drugs in the future
A+ TEST BANK 3
, 2026 ATI Capstone Mental Health Exam
3. The staff nurse should be referred to the employee assistance program
Referring to the employee assistance program is a nonpunitive approach that attempts to
help the nurse as an individual and as a professional. Counseling by the staff psychiatrist may
be necessary for long-term therapy but is not the initial approach. Dismissing the nurse from
the job immediately is a punitive nontherapeutic response that offers no chance of
rehabilitation. The client has an addiction problem; promises will not keep the client from
abusing drugs.
An older client with the diagnosis of dementia of the Alzheimer type is admitted to a long-
term care facility. When planning care for this client, the nurse recalls what about confusion?
1. It occurs with a transfer to new surroundings
2. It will be unchanged despite reality orientation
3. It is a common finding and is expected with aging
4. It results from brain changes that make interventions futile
1. It occurs with a transfer to new surroundings
A change in environment and introduction of unfamiliar stimuli precipitate confusion in clients
with dementia-type disorders; with appropriate intervention, including frequent reorientation,
confusion can be reduced. Reality orientation can reduce confusion when these clients are
confronted with unfamiliar surroundings. The assertions that reality orientation is ineffective,
that confusion is an expected finding in aging, and that brain changes in dementia make
interventions futile are all untrue.
When a client is expressing severe anxiety by sobbing in the fetal position on her bed, what is
the nurse's priority?
1. Ensuring a safe therapeutic milieu
2. Monitoring and documenting vital signs
A+ TEST BANK 4
2026 ATI Capstone Mental Health Exam 5
Questions and Verified Answers with
Detailed Rationales Graded A+ Guaranteed
Pass
A depressed client has been sitting alone in a chair most of the day and displays no interest in
eating. How should the nurse plan to meet this client's nutritional needs?
1. Stay with the client during meals
2. Take the client to the dining room
3. Bring the client a tray of finger foods
4. Talk with the client about the importance of nutrition
1. Stay with the client during meals
A+ TEST BANK 1
, 2026 ATI Capstone Mental Health Exam
Active support is demonstrated when the nurse sits with the client during meals. Even if taken
to the dining room, a depressed client may lack the physical or emotional energy to eat.
Finger foods are more effectively given to clients experiencing mania. Discussing the
importance of nutrition is too passive an intervention for a depressed client and usually will
not stimulate the client to take action or change eating behaviors.
The parent of a child with a tentative diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD) arrives at the pediatric clinic insisting on getting a prescription for medication that will
control the child's behavior. What is best response by the nurse?
1. "It must be frustrating to deal with your child's behavior."
2. "Have you considered any alternatives to using medication?"
3. "Perhaps you're looking for an easy solution to the problem."
4. "Let me teach you about the side effects of medications used for ADHD."
1. "It must be frustrating to deal with your child's behavior."
Stating that it must be frustrating acknowledges the parent's distress and encourages
verbalization of feelings. Asking whether any alternatives have been considered is insensitive
to the parent's feelings; it may be more appropriate later, when the parent's stress has
diminished. Although the parent may be looking for an easy answer to the problem, this
response is confrontational and may close off communication. Asking to teach the parent
about the side effects of ADHD medications is insensitive to the parent's feelings; it may be
more appropriate later if medication is prescribed and health teaching is started.
A client tells the nurse, "That man on the television is talking only to me." What should the
nurse document that the client is exhibiting?
1. Illusion
2. Hallucination
3. Idea of reference
4. Autistic thinking
A+ TEST BANK 2
, 2026 ATI Capstone Mental Health Exam
3. Idea of reference
An idea of reference, also called a delusion of reference, is a fixed, false personal belief that
public events and people are connected directly to the client. An illusion is a misinterpretation
of a sensory stimulus. A hallucination is a perceived experience that occurs in the absence of
an actual sensory stimulus. Autistic thinking is a distortion in the thought process that is
associated with schizophrenic disorders.
A nurse is caring for a client during the manic phase of bipolar disorder. What should the nurse
do to best help meet the nutritional needs of this client?
1. Provide a tray in the client's room
2. Assure the client that the food is deserved
3. Point out that the energy the client is burning up must be replaced
4. Order foods that the client can hold in the hand to eat while moving around
4. Order foods that the client can hold in the hand to eat while moving around
The hyperactive client should be given handheld foods that do not require sitting down to
eat. The client most likely will ignore a tray. Unworthy feelings may be part of a depressive,
not manic, episode. It is unlikely that the client will understand or care about the need to
replenish lost energy.
It is determined that a staff nurse has a drug abuse problem. What should happen as an initial
intervention?
1. The staff nurse should be counseled by the staff psychiatrist
2. The staff nurse should be dismissed from the job immediately
3. The staff nurse should be referred to the employee assistance program
4. The staff nurse should be forced to promise to abstain from drugs in the future
A+ TEST BANK 3
, 2026 ATI Capstone Mental Health Exam
3. The staff nurse should be referred to the employee assistance program
Referring to the employee assistance program is a nonpunitive approach that attempts to
help the nurse as an individual and as a professional. Counseling by the staff psychiatrist may
be necessary for long-term therapy but is not the initial approach. Dismissing the nurse from
the job immediately is a punitive nontherapeutic response that offers no chance of
rehabilitation. The client has an addiction problem; promises will not keep the client from
abusing drugs.
An older client with the diagnosis of dementia of the Alzheimer type is admitted to a long-
term care facility. When planning care for this client, the nurse recalls what about confusion?
1. It occurs with a transfer to new surroundings
2. It will be unchanged despite reality orientation
3. It is a common finding and is expected with aging
4. It results from brain changes that make interventions futile
1. It occurs with a transfer to new surroundings
A change in environment and introduction of unfamiliar stimuli precipitate confusion in clients
with dementia-type disorders; with appropriate intervention, including frequent reorientation,
confusion can be reduced. Reality orientation can reduce confusion when these clients are
confronted with unfamiliar surroundings. The assertions that reality orientation is ineffective,
that confusion is an expected finding in aging, and that brain changes in dementia make
interventions futile are all untrue.
When a client is expressing severe anxiety by sobbing in the fetal position on her bed, what is
the nurse's priority?
1. Ensuring a safe therapeutic milieu
2. Monitoring and documenting vital signs
A+ TEST BANK 4
