ATI RN MENTAL HEALTH PROCTORED EXAM
(13 LATEST VERSIONS, 2024/2025)
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
Correct Answer: D. Implement measures to prevent intentional self-inflicted injury
Explanation: Clients with borderline personality disorder are at a high risk for self-harming
behaviors. Ensuring safety by preventing self-injury is the nurse’s top priority.
2. A nurse is admitting a client who has 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
Correct Answer: A. Provide the client with a quiet environment
Explanation: Reducing environmental stimuli is the first step in managing anxiety. It helps calm
the client and creates a therapeutic environment before exploring coping mechanisms.
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
Correct Answer: B. Reports eating twice in the past two weeks
Explanation: Nutritional deficits during mania can become life-threatening. Limited food intake
indicates a critical need for medical intervention.
,4. A nurse is planning care for a client who has obsessive-compulsive disorder. Which of
the following recommendations should the nurse include in the client's plan of care?
A. Validation therapy
B. Thought stopping
C. Operant conditioning
D. Reality orientation therapy
Correct Answer: B. Thought stopping
Explanation: Thought stopping is a cognitive-behavioral technique that helps clients interrupt
and control intrusive obsessive thoughts.
5. 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?
A. Encourage the client to join group activities
B. Dim the lights in the client’s room
C. Provide detailed explanations to the client
D. Administer methylphenidate
Correct Answer: B. Dim the lights in the client’s room
Explanation: Dimming the lights reduces stimuli, which is crucial in managing mania and
promoting a calming environment.
6. 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
Correct Answer: C. Identify prior coping skills
Explanation: Identifying coping mechanisms helps the nurse tailor interventions and support the
adolescents effectively in a crisis.
,7. A nurse overhears a client saying, "I am a spy, a spy for the FBI. I am 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
Correct Answer: D. Clang association
Explanation: Clang associations involve rhyming or sound-based connections between words
rather than logical ones, common in clients with mania or schizophrenia.
8. 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.
She says, “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 depressive disorder is easily treated.
C. Older adults are usually diagnosed with depressive disorder as they age.
D. Tell me the reasons you think your mother is depressed.
Correct Answer: D. Tell me the reasons you think your mother is depressed.
Explanation: This response is therapeutic and encourages the client’s daughter to share
observations that may support diagnosis and planning.
9. 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 of care?
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
Correct Answer: B. Initiates social interactions with caregivers
Explanation: Clients with autism spectrum disorder often have impaired social interaction.
Promoting communication with caregivers is a realistic and therapeutic goal.
, 10. 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 the 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
Correct Answer: A. Snap a rubber band on your wrist when you think about checking the
locks
Explanation: Thought stopping involves using a physical cue (like snapping a rubber band) to
interrupt compulsive thoughts and bring awareness to the behavior.
11. 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
Correct Answer: C. Withholding the prescribed medication that is causing adverse effects
for the client
Explanation: Nonmaleficence means doing no harm. Stopping a medication that causes harm
demonstrates this ethical principle.
12. A nurse is reinforcing teaching with a client who has a new prescription for phenelzine.
The nurse should instruct the client to avoid which of the following foods?
A. Carrots
B. Yogurt
C. Bananas
D. Apples
Correct Answer: C. Bananas
Explanation: Phenelzine is an MAOI. Foods high in tyramine like bananas can cause
hypertensive crisis when combined with MAOIs.
(13 LATEST VERSIONS, 2024/2025)
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
Correct Answer: D. Implement measures to prevent intentional self-inflicted injury
Explanation: Clients with borderline personality disorder are at a high risk for self-harming
behaviors. Ensuring safety by preventing self-injury is the nurse’s top priority.
2. A nurse is admitting a client who has 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
Correct Answer: A. Provide the client with a quiet environment
Explanation: Reducing environmental stimuli is the first step in managing anxiety. It helps calm
the client and creates a therapeutic environment before exploring coping mechanisms.
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
Correct Answer: B. Reports eating twice in the past two weeks
Explanation: Nutritional deficits during mania can become life-threatening. Limited food intake
indicates a critical need for medical intervention.
,4. A nurse is planning care for a client who has obsessive-compulsive disorder. Which of
the following recommendations should the nurse include in the client's plan of care?
A. Validation therapy
B. Thought stopping
C. Operant conditioning
D. Reality orientation therapy
Correct Answer: B. Thought stopping
Explanation: Thought stopping is a cognitive-behavioral technique that helps clients interrupt
and control intrusive obsessive thoughts.
5. 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?
A. Encourage the client to join group activities
B. Dim the lights in the client’s room
C. Provide detailed explanations to the client
D. Administer methylphenidate
Correct Answer: B. Dim the lights in the client’s room
Explanation: Dimming the lights reduces stimuli, which is crucial in managing mania and
promoting a calming environment.
6. 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
Correct Answer: C. Identify prior coping skills
Explanation: Identifying coping mechanisms helps the nurse tailor interventions and support the
adolescents effectively in a crisis.
,7. A nurse overhears a client saying, "I am a spy, a spy for the FBI. I am 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
Correct Answer: D. Clang association
Explanation: Clang associations involve rhyming or sound-based connections between words
rather than logical ones, common in clients with mania or schizophrenia.
8. 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.
She says, “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 depressive disorder is easily treated.
C. Older adults are usually diagnosed with depressive disorder as they age.
D. Tell me the reasons you think your mother is depressed.
Correct Answer: D. Tell me the reasons you think your mother is depressed.
Explanation: This response is therapeutic and encourages the client’s daughter to share
observations that may support diagnosis and planning.
9. 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 of care?
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
Correct Answer: B. Initiates social interactions with caregivers
Explanation: Clients with autism spectrum disorder often have impaired social interaction.
Promoting communication with caregivers is a realistic and therapeutic goal.
, 10. 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 the 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
Correct Answer: A. Snap a rubber band on your wrist when you think about checking the
locks
Explanation: Thought stopping involves using a physical cue (like snapping a rubber band) to
interrupt compulsive thoughts and bring awareness to the behavior.
11. 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
Correct Answer: C. Withholding the prescribed medication that is causing adverse effects
for the client
Explanation: Nonmaleficence means doing no harm. Stopping a medication that causes harm
demonstrates this ethical principle.
12. A nurse is reinforcing teaching with a client who has a new prescription for phenelzine.
The nurse should instruct the client to avoid which of the following foods?
A. Carrots
B. Yogurt
C. Bananas
D. Apples
Correct Answer: C. Bananas
Explanation: Phenelzine is an MAOI. Foods high in tyramine like bananas can cause
hypertensive crisis when combined with MAOIs.
