NCLEX Patient Needs Psychosocial Integrity Therapeutic Communications Related

Review NCLEX Patient Needs Psychosocial Integrity Therapeutic Communications related questions and content

The nurse is caring for a child who is a victim of abuse and has determined that the child uses repression to cope with past life experiences. Which activity should the nurse implement as part of the nursing care plan?

  • A. Encourage the child to use therapeutic play to act out past experiences.
  • B. Tell the child to let the past go and concentrate on the present and future.
  • C. Place the child on medications that will help the child forget the incidents.
  • D. Have the child talk about the abuse in detail during the first therapy session.
Correct Answer: A

Rationale: Therapeutic play is used to reduce the trauma of illness and hospitalizations. It is a nonthreatening avenue through which the child can use artwork, dolls, or puppets to act out frightening life experiences. Option 3 would be extremely threatening to the child and nontherapeutic. Options 2 and 4 devalue the child and force the child to further repress harmful past experiences rather than facing them and moving on.