ATI Mental Health Proctored Exam
Questions and Answers 2026 – Very
Comprehensive | Graded A+
1. A nurse is planning overall strategies to address problems
for a client who has a borderline personality disorder. Which
of the following strategies is the priority for the nurse to
incorporate into the plan of care?
a. Discuss the appropriate use of assertive behavior with the client
b. Encourage the client to attend weekly support group meetings
c. Assist the client to maintain awareness of her thoughts and feelings
d. Implement measures to prevent intentional self-inflicted
injury
2. A nurse is admitting a client who has a generalized
anxiety disorder. Which of the following actions should the
nurse plan to take first?
a. Provide the client with a quiet environment
b. Determine how the client handles stress
c. Teach the client to use guided imagery
d. Ask the client to identify her strengths
3. A nurse is conducting an admission interview with a client
who is experiencing mania. Which of the following should the
nurse report to the provider?
a. States that he hasn't bathed in 2 days
b. Reports eating twice in the past two weeks
c. Makes inappropriate sexual comments
d. Speaks in rhyming sentences
4. A nurse is planning care for a client who has obsessive-
compulsive disorder. Which of the following recommendation
should the nurse include in the client's plan of care?
a. Validation therapy
b. Thought stopping
c. Operant conditioning
d. Reality orientation therapy
1|Page
,A nurse is caring for a client who has bipolar disorder and is
experiencing a manic episode. Which of the following actions
should the nurse take?
e. Encourage the client to join group activities
f. Dim the lights in the client's room
g. Provide detailed explanations to the client
h. Administer methylphenidate
5. A nurse is leading a crisis intervention group for
adolescents who witnessed the suicide of a classmate.
Which of the following actions should the nurse take
first?
a. Initiate referrals
b. Review community resources
c. Identify prior coping skills
d. Discuss the importance of confidentiality
6. A nurse overhears a client saying "I am a spy, a spy for the
FBI. I am an I, an eye for an eye in the sky. Sky is up high." The
nurse should document the client's statement as which of the
following speech alterations?
a. Echolalia
b. Word salad
c. Neologism
d. Clang association
7. An older adult client is brought to the mental health clinic
by her daughter. The daughter reports that her mother is not
eating and seems uninterested in routine activities. The
daughter states "I'm so worried that my mother is
depressed" which of the following responses should the
nurse make?
a. Everyone gets depressed from time to time
b. You shouldn't worry about this because the depressive disorder
is easily treated
c. Older adults are usually diagnosed with the depressive disorder as
they age
d. Tell me the reasons you think your mother is depressed
8. A nurse is planning care for an adolescent who has autism
spectrum disorder. Which of the following outcomes should
the nurse include in the plan care?
2|Page
,a. Meets own needs without manipulating others
b. Initiates social interactions with caregivers
c. Changes behavior as a result of peer pressure
d. Acknowledges his delusions are not real
9. A nurse is providing behavior therapy for a client who
has obsessive-compulsive disorder. The client repeatedly
checks that the
doors are locked at night. Which of the following instructions should the
nurse give the client when using thought stopping technique?
a. Snap a rubber band on your wrist when you think about
checking the locks
b. Ask a family member to check the locks for you at night
c. Focus on abdominal breathing whenever you go to check the locks
d. Keep a journal of how often you check the locks each night
10. A nurse is caring for a client who is starting treatment
for substance use disorder. Which of the following actions
indicates the nurse is practicing the ethical principle of
nonmaleficence?
a. Provide the client with quality care regardless of their ability
to pay for treatment
b. Educating the client about legal rights concerning treatment
c. Withholding the prescribed medication that is causing
adverse effects for the client
d. Being truthful with the client about the manifestations of withdrawal
11. A nurse in a group home facility is caring for a client
who is developmentally disabled. The client has been
stealing belongings from other clients. Which of the
following techniques should the nurse use?
a. Crisis intervention to decrease anxiety
b. Aversion therapy to provide distraction
c. Positive reinforcement to increase desired behavior
d. Systematic desensitization to extinguish the behavior
12. Dosage Calculation: A nurse is preparing to administer
Haloperidol 7 mg IM to a client who is severely agitated. Available
is Haloperidol injection 5 mg/ml. How many ml should the nurse
administer?
3|Page
, 1.4 ml
13. A nurse is caring for a client who was involuntarily committed
and is scheduled to receive electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). The
client refuses the treatment and will not discuss why with the
healthcare team. Which of the following actions should the nurse
take?
a. Ask the client's family to encourage the client to receive ECT
b. Inform the client that ECT does not require a consent
c. Document the client's refusal of the treatment in the medical
record
d. Tell the client he cannot refuse the treatment because he was
involuntarily committed
14. A nurse in the emergency department is caring for a client
who reports feeling sad, worthless, and hopeless 9 months
after the death of her son. Which of the following actions
should the nurse take first?
a. Request a mental health consult for the client
b. Ask the client if she has thought about harming herself
c. Encourage the client to attend a grief support group
d. Discuss the client's coping skills
15. A nurse is caring for a client who has borderline
personality disorder and has been engaging in self-mutilation.
The nurse should encourage the client to participate in which
of the following groups?
a. Dual diagnosis treatment group
b. Dialectical Behavior treatment group
c. Desensitization therapy
16. The nurse is reviewing the medication administration
record of a client who has schizophrenia. The nurse should
plan to initiate the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale to
monitor for adverse effects of which of the following
medications?
a. Amantadine
b. Diphenhydramine
c. Benztropine
d. Haloperidol
4|Page
Questions and Answers 2026 – Very
Comprehensive | Graded A+
1. A nurse is planning overall strategies to address problems
for a client who has a borderline personality disorder. Which
of the following strategies is the priority for the nurse to
incorporate into the plan of care?
a. Discuss the appropriate use of assertive behavior with the client
b. Encourage the client to attend weekly support group meetings
c. Assist the client to maintain awareness of her thoughts and feelings
d. Implement measures to prevent intentional self-inflicted
injury
2. A nurse is admitting a client who has a generalized
anxiety disorder. Which of the following actions should the
nurse plan to take first?
a. Provide the client with a quiet environment
b. Determine how the client handles stress
c. Teach the client to use guided imagery
d. Ask the client to identify her strengths
3. A nurse is conducting an admission interview with a client
who is experiencing mania. Which of the following should the
nurse report to the provider?
a. States that he hasn't bathed in 2 days
b. Reports eating twice in the past two weeks
c. Makes inappropriate sexual comments
d. Speaks in rhyming sentences
4. A nurse is planning care for a client who has obsessive-
compulsive disorder. Which of the following recommendation
should the nurse include in the client's plan of care?
a. Validation therapy
b. Thought stopping
c. Operant conditioning
d. Reality orientation therapy
1|Page
,A nurse is caring for a client who has bipolar disorder and is
experiencing a manic episode. Which of the following actions
should the nurse take?
e. Encourage the client to join group activities
f. Dim the lights in the client's room
g. Provide detailed explanations to the client
h. Administer methylphenidate
5. A nurse is leading a crisis intervention group for
adolescents who witnessed the suicide of a classmate.
Which of the following actions should the nurse take
first?
a. Initiate referrals
b. Review community resources
c. Identify prior coping skills
d. Discuss the importance of confidentiality
6. A nurse overhears a client saying "I am a spy, a spy for the
FBI. I am an I, an eye for an eye in the sky. Sky is up high." The
nurse should document the client's statement as which of the
following speech alterations?
a. Echolalia
b. Word salad
c. Neologism
d. Clang association
7. An older adult client is brought to the mental health clinic
by her daughter. The daughter reports that her mother is not
eating and seems uninterested in routine activities. The
daughter states "I'm so worried that my mother is
depressed" which of the following responses should the
nurse make?
a. Everyone gets depressed from time to time
b. You shouldn't worry about this because the depressive disorder
is easily treated
c. Older adults are usually diagnosed with the depressive disorder as
they age
d. Tell me the reasons you think your mother is depressed
8. A nurse is planning care for an adolescent who has autism
spectrum disorder. Which of the following outcomes should
the nurse include in the plan care?
2|Page
,a. Meets own needs without manipulating others
b. Initiates social interactions with caregivers
c. Changes behavior as a result of peer pressure
d. Acknowledges his delusions are not real
9. A nurse is providing behavior therapy for a client who
has obsessive-compulsive disorder. The client repeatedly
checks that the
doors are locked at night. Which of the following instructions should the
nurse give the client when using thought stopping technique?
a. Snap a rubber band on your wrist when you think about
checking the locks
b. Ask a family member to check the locks for you at night
c. Focus on abdominal breathing whenever you go to check the locks
d. Keep a journal of how often you check the locks each night
10. A nurse is caring for a client who is starting treatment
for substance use disorder. Which of the following actions
indicates the nurse is practicing the ethical principle of
nonmaleficence?
a. Provide the client with quality care regardless of their ability
to pay for treatment
b. Educating the client about legal rights concerning treatment
c. Withholding the prescribed medication that is causing
adverse effects for the client
d. Being truthful with the client about the manifestations of withdrawal
11. A nurse in a group home facility is caring for a client
who is developmentally disabled. The client has been
stealing belongings from other clients. Which of the
following techniques should the nurse use?
a. Crisis intervention to decrease anxiety
b. Aversion therapy to provide distraction
c. Positive reinforcement to increase desired behavior
d. Systematic desensitization to extinguish the behavior
12. Dosage Calculation: A nurse is preparing to administer
Haloperidol 7 mg IM to a client who is severely agitated. Available
is Haloperidol injection 5 mg/ml. How many ml should the nurse
administer?
3|Page
, 1.4 ml
13. A nurse is caring for a client who was involuntarily committed
and is scheduled to receive electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). The
client refuses the treatment and will not discuss why with the
healthcare team. Which of the following actions should the nurse
take?
a. Ask the client's family to encourage the client to receive ECT
b. Inform the client that ECT does not require a consent
c. Document the client's refusal of the treatment in the medical
record
d. Tell the client he cannot refuse the treatment because he was
involuntarily committed
14. A nurse in the emergency department is caring for a client
who reports feeling sad, worthless, and hopeless 9 months
after the death of her son. Which of the following actions
should the nurse take first?
a. Request a mental health consult for the client
b. Ask the client if she has thought about harming herself
c. Encourage the client to attend a grief support group
d. Discuss the client's coping skills
15. A nurse is caring for a client who has borderline
personality disorder and has been engaging in self-mutilation.
The nurse should encourage the client to participate in which
of the following groups?
a. Dual diagnosis treatment group
b. Dialectical Behavior treatment group
c. Desensitization therapy
16. The nurse is reviewing the medication administration
record of a client who has schizophrenia. The nurse should
plan to initiate the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale to
monitor for adverse effects of which of the following
medications?
a. Amantadine
b. Diphenhydramine
c. Benztropine
d. Haloperidol
4|Page
