EPA-0893 – The Role of Psychoeducation in Schizophrenia

Abstract

Introduction:

Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness characterized by poor insight and poor adherence to the therapy. Antipsychotics are the mainstay of treatment but psychoeducational interventions are essential to improve these characteristics. Psychoeducation can be defined as a structured and didactical intervention, with the aim of informing about the disease and allow the patient to better cope with it.

Objective:

Presentation of the results of a study of psychoeducation addressed to a group of patients with schizophrenia followed in the Psychiatric Service of Unidade Local de Saúde do Alto Minho. Brief theoretical review of the topic.

Method:

Intervention structured in 16 psychoeducation group sessions. Search PubMed for articles containing the terms 'psychoeducation’ and 'schizophrenia.’

Results:

Preliminary results show that patients with schizophrenia consider to be positive being informed about their disease. The intervention also improved the acceptance of their condition schizophrenic person, with the treatments and the limitations that this involves. Initially it was demonstrated enormous difficulty in the interaction between peers, which was not observed with the therapeutic team. This has been improving throughout the sessions.

Conclusion:

According to the literature, psychoeducation in schizophrenia promotes adhesion therapy, prevents relapses and improves the quality of life of patients.

Our intervention although limited caused great enthusiasm among the patients making the therapeutic alliance stronger often hard to create and keep in this kind of pathology.

This work can be a starting point for more deeper and extensive studies on this subject.