FOUNDATIONS AND PRACTICE OF MENTAL HEALTH HESI
REVIEW 2025-2026 EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
A client sits huddled in a chair and leaves it only to assume the fetal
position in a corner. The nurse, observing this, identifies the behavior
as:
1. Reactive
2. Regressive
3. Dissociative
4. Hallucinatory - ANSWER ->2. Regressive
**Curling up in a corner reflects the early fetal position; the individual
curls up for both protection and security
A male college student who is smaller than average and unable to
participate in sports becomes the life of the party and a stylish dresser.
What defense mechanism does the nurse determine that the client is
using?
1. Introjection
2. Sublimation
3. Compensation
4. Reaction formation - ANSWER ->3. Compensation
**By developing skills in one area, the individual compensates for a real
or imagined deficiency in another, thereby maintaining a positive self-
image.
,Antipsychotic drugs can cause extrapyramidal side effects. Which
responses should the nurse document as indicating
pseudoparkinsonism? (Select all that apply.) 1. Rigidity
2. Tremors
3. Mydriasis
4. Photophobia
5. Bradykinesia - ANSWER ->1. Rigidity
2. Tremors
5. Bradykinesia
How long after the last dose should the nurse schedule to have a
client's blood drawn to evaluate the serum lithium level?
1. 2 to 4 hours
2. 4 to 6 hours
3. 6 to 8 hours
4. 8 to 12 hours - ANSWER ->4. 8 to 12 hours
On the psychiatric unit a client has been receiving high doses of
haloperidol (Haldol) for 2 weeks. The client says, "I just can't sit still,
and I feel jittery." Which side effect does the nurse suspect that the
client is experiencing?
1. Akathisia
2. Torticollis
3. Tardive dyskinesia
4. Parkinsonian syndrome - ANSWER ->1. Akathisia
**Akathisia, a side effect of haloperidol (Haldol), develops early in
therapy and is characterized by restlessness and agitation.
,When talking with a client who has alcoholism, the nurse notes that the
client becomes irritable, makes excuses, and blames family and friends
for the drinking problem. Which defense mechanisms does the nurse
conclude that the client is using? (Select all that apply.)
1. Projection
2. Suppression
3. Sublimation
4. Identification
5. Rationalization - ANSWER ->1. Projection
5. Rationalization
**Projection is the unconscious denial of unacceptable feelings and
emotions in one's self while attributing them to others. This defense
mechanism commonly is used by clients with alcoholism because it
helps make reality more acceptable. Rationalization is making
acceptable excuses for behavior; this defense is used by people with
alcoholism because it makes reality more acceptable.
A female nurse has been caring for a depressed 75-year-old woman
who reminds her of her grandmother. The nurse spends extra time with
her every day and brings her home-baked cookies. The nurse's behavior
reflects:
1. Affiliation
2. Displacement
3. Compensation
4. Countertransference - ANSWER ->4. Countertransference
, **With countertransference the professional provider of care exhibits
an emotional reaction to a client based on a previous relationship or on
unconscious needs or conflicts.
What statement by a 45-year-old woman scheduled for an abdominal
hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy should alert the
nurse to the potential for postoperative coping difficulties?
1. "I'm not the least bit worried."
2. "I don't want any more children."
3. "I get along very well with my husband."
4. "I'll be glad not to have any more periods." - ANSWER ->1. "I'm not
the least bit worried."
**Not being worried indicates potential denial and possible failure to
address the problem emotionally
A nurse in the mental health clinic concludes that a client is using
confabulation when:
1. The flow of thoughts is interrupted
2. Imagination is used to fill in memory gaps
3. Speech flits from one topic to another with no apparent meaning 4.
Connections between statements are so loose that only the speaker
understands them - ANSWER ->2. Imagination is used to fill in
memory gaps
**Using imagination to fill in memory gaps is the definition of
confabulation; it is a defense mechanism used by people experiencing
memory deficits.
REVIEW 2025-2026 EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
A client sits huddled in a chair and leaves it only to assume the fetal
position in a corner. The nurse, observing this, identifies the behavior
as:
1. Reactive
2. Regressive
3. Dissociative
4. Hallucinatory - ANSWER ->2. Regressive
**Curling up in a corner reflects the early fetal position; the individual
curls up for both protection and security
A male college student who is smaller than average and unable to
participate in sports becomes the life of the party and a stylish dresser.
What defense mechanism does the nurse determine that the client is
using?
1. Introjection
2. Sublimation
3. Compensation
4. Reaction formation - ANSWER ->3. Compensation
**By developing skills in one area, the individual compensates for a real
or imagined deficiency in another, thereby maintaining a positive self-
image.
,Antipsychotic drugs can cause extrapyramidal side effects. Which
responses should the nurse document as indicating
pseudoparkinsonism? (Select all that apply.) 1. Rigidity
2. Tremors
3. Mydriasis
4. Photophobia
5. Bradykinesia - ANSWER ->1. Rigidity
2. Tremors
5. Bradykinesia
How long after the last dose should the nurse schedule to have a
client's blood drawn to evaluate the serum lithium level?
1. 2 to 4 hours
2. 4 to 6 hours
3. 6 to 8 hours
4. 8 to 12 hours - ANSWER ->4. 8 to 12 hours
On the psychiatric unit a client has been receiving high doses of
haloperidol (Haldol) for 2 weeks. The client says, "I just can't sit still,
and I feel jittery." Which side effect does the nurse suspect that the
client is experiencing?
1. Akathisia
2. Torticollis
3. Tardive dyskinesia
4. Parkinsonian syndrome - ANSWER ->1. Akathisia
**Akathisia, a side effect of haloperidol (Haldol), develops early in
therapy and is characterized by restlessness and agitation.
,When talking with a client who has alcoholism, the nurse notes that the
client becomes irritable, makes excuses, and blames family and friends
for the drinking problem. Which defense mechanisms does the nurse
conclude that the client is using? (Select all that apply.)
1. Projection
2. Suppression
3. Sublimation
4. Identification
5. Rationalization - ANSWER ->1. Projection
5. Rationalization
**Projection is the unconscious denial of unacceptable feelings and
emotions in one's self while attributing them to others. This defense
mechanism commonly is used by clients with alcoholism because it
helps make reality more acceptable. Rationalization is making
acceptable excuses for behavior; this defense is used by people with
alcoholism because it makes reality more acceptable.
A female nurse has been caring for a depressed 75-year-old woman
who reminds her of her grandmother. The nurse spends extra time with
her every day and brings her home-baked cookies. The nurse's behavior
reflects:
1. Affiliation
2. Displacement
3. Compensation
4. Countertransference - ANSWER ->4. Countertransference
, **With countertransference the professional provider of care exhibits
an emotional reaction to a client based on a previous relationship or on
unconscious needs or conflicts.
What statement by a 45-year-old woman scheduled for an abdominal
hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy should alert the
nurse to the potential for postoperative coping difficulties?
1. "I'm not the least bit worried."
2. "I don't want any more children."
3. "I get along very well with my husband."
4. "I'll be glad not to have any more periods." - ANSWER ->1. "I'm not
the least bit worried."
**Not being worried indicates potential denial and possible failure to
address the problem emotionally
A nurse in the mental health clinic concludes that a client is using
confabulation when:
1. The flow of thoughts is interrupted
2. Imagination is used to fill in memory gaps
3. Speech flits from one topic to another with no apparent meaning 4.
Connections between statements are so loose that only the speaker
understands them - ANSWER ->2. Imagination is used to fill in
memory gaps
**Using imagination to fill in memory gaps is the definition of
confabulation; it is a defense mechanism used by people experiencing
memory deficits.
