BARKLEY PMHNP Questions and Answers
2026 | Comprehensive Review with Detailed
Rationales | Grade A+
• What does the pneumonic COLDSPA stand for? -✓✓C - Character of
symptoms, O - Onset, L - Length of symptoms, D - Duration, S -
Stressors, P - Precipitating factors, A - Alleviating factors.
• What should you inquire about in a social history? -✓✓Relationships,
work, education, trauma, and legal issues.
• What is important to assess in a developmental history? -
✓✓Difficulties with parents, teachers, and authority figures.
• What is the significance of family history in mental health
assessment? -✓✓ID genetic predispositions to disorders and any
history of trauma or substance use.
• What personal information should be gathered during assessment? -
✓✓Hobbies and coping strategies, for depression assessment.
• Gottesman et al. (2010) study & schizophrenia risk -✓✓2 parents
with schizophrenia put child's risk @ 27%, while one parent risk is 7%.
,• Why is past psychiatric history assessed later in the evaluation? -
✓✓To avoid bias and ensure a comprehensive assessment of other
factors first.
• What is the importance of medical history in psychiatric evaluations?
-✓✓To rule out medical conditions/ mimic psychiatric symptoms.
• What is the normal sleep cycle composed of? -✓✓Non-REM, deeper
non-REM, and REM sleep.
• What is Mental Status Examination (MSE)? -✓✓Appearance,
behavior, speech, affect, thought process& content, cognitive exam.
• What is the purpose of the Mini Mental Status Exam? -✓✓To assess
cognitive function through memory recall and interpretation tasks.
• What does the Clock Drawing test assess? -✓✓Cognitive distortion;
inability to draw a clock correctly may indicate dementia.
• What are the components of the MMSE? -✓✓Orientation, memory
recall, counting backwards, language, and following commands.
,• What is the scoring range for the Hamilton Depression Scale? -✓✓0-
76, with <7 indicating no depression and >23 indicating severe
depression.
• What does the PHQ-9 assess? -✓✓Depression symptoms over the
past two weeks with a scoring range of 1-27.
• What is the purpose of the GAD-7 screening tool? -✓✓To assess
anxiety symptoms with a scoring range of 5-21.
• What symptoms are assessed for Bipolar Disorder? -✓✓Family
history, speech patterns, sleep, hyperactivity, irritability, grandiosity,
and impulsiveness.
• What does the Mood Disorder Questionnaire screen for? -✓✓Bipolar
disorder through yes/no questions about mood and relationships.
• What is required for an ADHD diagnosis? -✓✓Symptoms must be
present in two different settings.
• What does the Brief Psych Rating Scale (BPRS) assess? -✓✓Psychotic
symptoms, including those in children.
, • What does the AIMS scale measure? -✓✓Abnormal involuntary
movements to rule out movement disorders.
• What general labs should be screened for in psychiatric evaluations?
-✓✓CBC, CMP, thyroid levels, B-12, folate, and Vitamin D.
• What is the purpose of an EEG? -✓✓To diagnose epilepsy and other
brain conditions by measuring electrical impulses.
• What cranial nerve is responsible for smell? -✓✓Olfactory nerve.
• What cranial nerve controls vision? -✓✓Optic nerve.
• What is the significance of lymph node size in assessment? -
✓✓Lymph nodes <2cm are usually insignificant, but >1cm in
supraclavicular fossa is significant.
• What is the function of the Olfactory nerve? -✓✓Smell
• What is the primary function of the Optic nerve? -✓✓Vision
• What does the Oculomotor nerve control? -✓✓Opening eyelids
2026 | Comprehensive Review with Detailed
Rationales | Grade A+
• What does the pneumonic COLDSPA stand for? -✓✓C - Character of
symptoms, O - Onset, L - Length of symptoms, D - Duration, S -
Stressors, P - Precipitating factors, A - Alleviating factors.
• What should you inquire about in a social history? -✓✓Relationships,
work, education, trauma, and legal issues.
• What is important to assess in a developmental history? -
✓✓Difficulties with parents, teachers, and authority figures.
• What is the significance of family history in mental health
assessment? -✓✓ID genetic predispositions to disorders and any
history of trauma or substance use.
• What personal information should be gathered during assessment? -
✓✓Hobbies and coping strategies, for depression assessment.
• Gottesman et al. (2010) study & schizophrenia risk -✓✓2 parents
with schizophrenia put child's risk @ 27%, while one parent risk is 7%.
,• Why is past psychiatric history assessed later in the evaluation? -
✓✓To avoid bias and ensure a comprehensive assessment of other
factors first.
• What is the importance of medical history in psychiatric evaluations?
-✓✓To rule out medical conditions/ mimic psychiatric symptoms.
• What is the normal sleep cycle composed of? -✓✓Non-REM, deeper
non-REM, and REM sleep.
• What is Mental Status Examination (MSE)? -✓✓Appearance,
behavior, speech, affect, thought process& content, cognitive exam.
• What is the purpose of the Mini Mental Status Exam? -✓✓To assess
cognitive function through memory recall and interpretation tasks.
• What does the Clock Drawing test assess? -✓✓Cognitive distortion;
inability to draw a clock correctly may indicate dementia.
• What are the components of the MMSE? -✓✓Orientation, memory
recall, counting backwards, language, and following commands.
,• What is the scoring range for the Hamilton Depression Scale? -✓✓0-
76, with <7 indicating no depression and >23 indicating severe
depression.
• What does the PHQ-9 assess? -✓✓Depression symptoms over the
past two weeks with a scoring range of 1-27.
• What is the purpose of the GAD-7 screening tool? -✓✓To assess
anxiety symptoms with a scoring range of 5-21.
• What symptoms are assessed for Bipolar Disorder? -✓✓Family
history, speech patterns, sleep, hyperactivity, irritability, grandiosity,
and impulsiveness.
• What does the Mood Disorder Questionnaire screen for? -✓✓Bipolar
disorder through yes/no questions about mood and relationships.
• What is required for an ADHD diagnosis? -✓✓Symptoms must be
present in two different settings.
• What does the Brief Psych Rating Scale (BPRS) assess? -✓✓Psychotic
symptoms, including those in children.
, • What does the AIMS scale measure? -✓✓Abnormal involuntary
movements to rule out movement disorders.
• What general labs should be screened for in psychiatric evaluations?
-✓✓CBC, CMP, thyroid levels, B-12, folate, and Vitamin D.
• What is the purpose of an EEG? -✓✓To diagnose epilepsy and other
brain conditions by measuring electrical impulses.
• What cranial nerve is responsible for smell? -✓✓Olfactory nerve.
• What cranial nerve controls vision? -✓✓Optic nerve.
• What is the significance of lymph node size in assessment? -
✓✓Lymph nodes <2cm are usually insignificant, but >1cm in
supraclavicular fossa is significant.
• What is the function of the Olfactory nerve? -✓✓Smell
• What is the primary function of the Optic nerve? -✓✓Vision
• What does the Oculomotor nerve control? -✓✓Opening eyelids
