NUR 253 Exam 4 — Mental Health Nursing (Galen College of Nursing)
NUR 253 EXAM 4 Mental Health Questions and Answers
Galen College of Nursing
1. A client says, "I feel like nobody cares about me." Which nursing response uses
the therapeutic technique of reflecting?
A. "You feel like no one cares about you right now."
B. "Don't worry, your family loves you very much."
C. "Why would you think that?"
D. "Everyone feels that way sometimes."
Answer: A. "You feel like no one cares about you right now."
Rationale: Reflecting restates the client's feelings back to them, validating the
emotion and encouraging further exploration, rather than dismissing or
minimizing what the client expressed.
2. During the orientation phase of the nurse-client relationship, the primary focus
is on:
A. Termination and summarizing progress
B. Establishing trust, setting the therapeutic contract, and identifying client
problems
C. Working through the client's deepest unresolved conflicts
D. Discharging the client from care
Answer: B. Establishing trust, setting the therapeutic contract, and identifying
client problems
Rationale: The orientation phase of Peplau's nurse-client relationship model
focuses on building trust, establishing the therapeutic contract (including
confidentiality and expectations), and beginning to identify the client's problems
and goals.
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, NUR 253 Exam 4 — Mental Health Nursing (Galen College of Nursing)
3. Which phase of the therapeutic nurse-client relationship involves the actual
work toward achieving identified goals?
A. Orientation phase
B. Working phase
C. Termination phase
D. Preinteraction phase
Answer: B. Working phase
Rationale: The working phase is when the nurse and client actively address
identified problems, develop coping strategies, and work toward achieving
therapeutic goals established during the orientation phase.
4. A client states, "I guess I'll just have to live with my husband's drinking." Which
nontherapeutic communication technique would the nurse avoid using in response?
A. Offering false reassurance, such as "I'm sure it will get better."
B. Exploring the client's feelings further
C. Using silence to allow reflection
D. Asking an open-ended question
Answer: A. Offering false reassurance, such as "I'm sure it will get better."
Rationale: False reassurance dismisses the client's real concerns and shuts down
further exploration of feelings; therapeutic communication instead validates
concerns and encourages the client to explore their situation.
5. Which of the following best demonstrates the therapeutic communication
technique of "offering self"?
A. "I will sit here with you for a while."
B. "You should talk to your doctor about this."
C. "That's an interesting way to look at it."
D. "I had a similar experience once."
Answer: A. "I will sit here with you for a while."
Rationale: Offering self involves making time and presence available to the client
without expecting anything in return, communicating genuine interest and
support, such as offering to sit with the client.
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, NUR 253 Exam 4 — Mental Health Nursing (Galen College of Nursing)
6. A nurse maintains consistent boundaries and does not share personal problems
with a client. This best reflects which principle of the therapeutic relationship?
A. Sympathy
B. Professional boundaries and self-awareness
C. Social friendship
D. Countertransference
Answer: B. Professional boundaries and self-awareness
Rationale: Maintaining professional boundaries and self-awareness ensures that
the relationship remains focused on the client's needs, preventing role confusion
or the therapeutic relationship becoming a social one.
7. When a nurse experiences strong personal feelings toward a client based on the
nurse's own unresolved past relationships, this phenomenon is called:
A. Transference
B. Countertransference
C. Sympathy
D. Empathy
Answer: B. Countertransference
Rationale: Countertransference occurs when the nurse redirects feelings from
their own past relationships or experiences onto the client, which can interfere
with objective, therapeutic care if not recognized and managed.
8. When a client redirects feelings about a significant person in their life (such as a
parent) onto the nurse, this is known as:
A. Transference
B. Countertransference
C. Projection
D. Displacement
Answer: A. Transference
Rationale: Transference occurs when a client unconsciously redirects feelings or
attitudes originally associated with another significant person onto the nurse or
therapist.
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NUR 253 EXAM 4 Mental Health Questions and Answers
Galen College of Nursing
1. A client says, "I feel like nobody cares about me." Which nursing response uses
the therapeutic technique of reflecting?
A. "You feel like no one cares about you right now."
B. "Don't worry, your family loves you very much."
C. "Why would you think that?"
D. "Everyone feels that way sometimes."
Answer: A. "You feel like no one cares about you right now."
Rationale: Reflecting restates the client's feelings back to them, validating the
emotion and encouraging further exploration, rather than dismissing or
minimizing what the client expressed.
2. During the orientation phase of the nurse-client relationship, the primary focus
is on:
A. Termination and summarizing progress
B. Establishing trust, setting the therapeutic contract, and identifying client
problems
C. Working through the client's deepest unresolved conflicts
D. Discharging the client from care
Answer: B. Establishing trust, setting the therapeutic contract, and identifying
client problems
Rationale: The orientation phase of Peplau's nurse-client relationship model
focuses on building trust, establishing the therapeutic contract (including
confidentiality and expectations), and beginning to identify the client's problems
and goals.
Page 1 of 25
, NUR 253 Exam 4 — Mental Health Nursing (Galen College of Nursing)
3. Which phase of the therapeutic nurse-client relationship involves the actual
work toward achieving identified goals?
A. Orientation phase
B. Working phase
C. Termination phase
D. Preinteraction phase
Answer: B. Working phase
Rationale: The working phase is when the nurse and client actively address
identified problems, develop coping strategies, and work toward achieving
therapeutic goals established during the orientation phase.
4. A client states, "I guess I'll just have to live with my husband's drinking." Which
nontherapeutic communication technique would the nurse avoid using in response?
A. Offering false reassurance, such as "I'm sure it will get better."
B. Exploring the client's feelings further
C. Using silence to allow reflection
D. Asking an open-ended question
Answer: A. Offering false reassurance, such as "I'm sure it will get better."
Rationale: False reassurance dismisses the client's real concerns and shuts down
further exploration of feelings; therapeutic communication instead validates
concerns and encourages the client to explore their situation.
5. Which of the following best demonstrates the therapeutic communication
technique of "offering self"?
A. "I will sit here with you for a while."
B. "You should talk to your doctor about this."
C. "That's an interesting way to look at it."
D. "I had a similar experience once."
Answer: A. "I will sit here with you for a while."
Rationale: Offering self involves making time and presence available to the client
without expecting anything in return, communicating genuine interest and
support, such as offering to sit with the client.
Page 2 of 25
, NUR 253 Exam 4 — Mental Health Nursing (Galen College of Nursing)
6. A nurse maintains consistent boundaries and does not share personal problems
with a client. This best reflects which principle of the therapeutic relationship?
A. Sympathy
B. Professional boundaries and self-awareness
C. Social friendship
D. Countertransference
Answer: B. Professional boundaries and self-awareness
Rationale: Maintaining professional boundaries and self-awareness ensures that
the relationship remains focused on the client's needs, preventing role confusion
or the therapeutic relationship becoming a social one.
7. When a nurse experiences strong personal feelings toward a client based on the
nurse's own unresolved past relationships, this phenomenon is called:
A. Transference
B. Countertransference
C. Sympathy
D. Empathy
Answer: B. Countertransference
Rationale: Countertransference occurs when the nurse redirects feelings from
their own past relationships or experiences onto the client, which can interfere
with objective, therapeutic care if not recognized and managed.
8. When a client redirects feelings about a significant person in their life (such as a
parent) onto the nurse, this is known as:
A. Transference
B. Countertransference
C. Projection
D. Displacement
Answer: A. Transference
Rationale: Transference occurs when a client unconsciously redirects feelings or
attitudes originally associated with another significant person onto the nurse or
therapist.
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