Practice Question
A patient inquires why they need to attend therapy and can’t just take their prescribed antidepressant medication. What would be the best explanation from the nurse?
Answer Choices:
Correct Answer:
Medications help your brain function better, but therapy aids in eliciting behavior change.
Rationale:
🧠 Antidepressant medications primarily target the neurochemical imbalances in the brain, such as serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine, which are often linked to mood disorders like depression.
🧠 While medications can improve mood, concentration, and sleep, they do not teach the patient how to cope with triggers, restructure negative thought patterns, or improve interpersonal functioning—this is where therapy plays a vital role.
🧠 Psychotherapy (such as CBT or DBT) helps patients gain insight into the underlying causes of their emotional struggles and equips them with behavioral tools and coping skills for long-term change.
🧠 Combining both pharmacologic and psychotherapeutic approaches is the gold standard for treating moderate to severe depression, yielding better outcomes than either treatment alone.
🧠 This response empowers the patient by offering education and rationale, encouraging treatment compliance without sounding dismissive or overly directive.
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This question is from LPN ATI Mental Health Psychosocial which contains 52 questions.
More Questions from This Exam
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What should be the first step for a nurse when communicating with an angry patient?
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The patient is experiencing loss of multiple abilities such as short- and long-term memory, language, and the ability to understand. What condition does the patient have?
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The night nurse reports that the client, who is hospitalized with major depressive disorder, has been unable to sleep until late at night. The client gets up, paces the hallway, wrings their hands, and appears teary. Which interventions should the nurse advocate to add to the care plan? Select all that apply.
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A score of 1 to 10 on the Global Assessment Functioning (GAF) scale would indicate that a client was at risk for:
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Question Details
- Category: LPN Nursing Exam(s)
- Subcategory: LPN ATI Exams
- Domain: Mental Health
- Answer Choices: 4