NCLEX RN Practice Question

The best initial nursing intervention when a client expresses feelings of being overwhelmed or unable to cope is to validate their emotions and create a safe space where they feel comfortable expressing their grief. Facilitating discussion about their feelings allows the nurse to build trust and perform a more thorough psychosocial assessment. While establishing routines and addressing the use of external resources may be helpful later, they are not effective as an initial step because they bypass the immediate need to recognize and address the client's emotional state. Similarly, recommending spiritual or religious resources without first understanding the client's beliefs may not be appropriate and could be seen as presumptive.