Family therapy preventing the recurrent major depression with alcohol dependence patient against recurrent episode: A case study of three cases

Abstract

Major depressive disorder with alcohol dependence is an easily recurrent disorder, and its dysfunction has increased risk of recurrence. The main purpose of the family therapy model at issue is to prevent the recurrent major depression with alcoholism patient against recurrent episode.

All three patients have had more than 10 relapses and hospitalizations during the past 5 years. Focuses of the therapy are on the apples drawn by the patient (DDAA), the patient, the couple, and the patient–child relationship. Keywords are gathered from every participant during the therapy session. Besides, the subjects to have verbalized meaningful ideas or successful experiences are immediately, intensely praised by applause. DAILY DRAW AN APPLE (DDAA) homework is that the patient has drawn an apple on a calendar everyday and shares with family members about the apple as well as the patient's feelings of the day. The participants of the therapy are the patient, wife/husband, children and the therapists (psychiatrist, social worker). The frequency of the model is from once weekly to twice monthly. Each session consists of the 10 minutes pre-session, the 40 minutes therapeutic session, the 10 minutes post-session. All patients have never been relapsed over the past 18 months after receiving our family therapy under medications.

Finally, with the aid of the family therapy, they have been almost free from affective symptoms and the ambivalence, guilty feeling toward family, frustrations have been steadily gradually improved. To prevent the recurrent major depression with alcohol dependence patient against recurrent episode has been achieved in family therapy presented here.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.