Editing Mental Health and Psychosocial Nursing (section)

=== Nontherapeutic Responses ===
These block communication and are almost always the wrong NCLEX answer.
* '''False reassurance''': "Everything will be fine." Dismisses feeling and closes the topic.
* '''Giving advice''': "If I were you, I would leave him." Removes autonomy.
* '''Approval or disapproval''': "That was a good decision." Makes the client dependent on the nurse's judgment.
* '''Asking "why"''': Demands justification and provokes defensiveness. Use "what" and "how" instead.
* '''Changing the subject''' and '''minimizing''': "Let's talk about something happier." "Other people have it worse."
* '''Defending''' staff or the institution, '''challenging''' a delusion with logic, and '''requesting explanations''' the client cannot give.
* '''Closed-ended questions''' when exploration is needed, and '''stereotyped comments''' such as "Keep your chin up."