11) ANSWER A)Allow the client adequate time to carry out the rituals.

Explanation

Ritualistic behaviors are related to heightened anxiety. The compulsive behaviors increase in intensity and/or frequency as the anxiety level escalates. The nurse should allow the client to complete the ritual in as reasonable and timely a manner as possible. Interrupting or stopping the ritual will increase anxiety, which in turn will increase the client's need to engage in the ritual. Exploring childhood experiences (option 2) cannot be expected to bring about reductions in anxiety or ritualistic behavior. Clients who display compulsive behaviors need support and encouragement to manage their daily lives by modifying the environment and allowing time for the behaviors. Assigning solitude (option 3) cannot be expected to decrease the client’s need for the ritual. What causes the client to have a need to perform the ritual is not from the actual environment. Hence, remaining in the room will not necessarily decrease the urge to recheck and recheck compulsively. The nurse should recognize that the client's motivations for the rechecking arise from within the psyche and are not related to environmental events (option 4). While keeping others out of the room may spare the client from feelings of embarrassment, it will not necessarily decrease the compulsive behavior. Look beyond the rechecking behavior to what is thought to be underlying, or causing, it.