Comprehensive exams for Mental Health Q 185
Nurse Hazel invites the new client’s parents to attend the psycho educational program for families of the chronically mentally ill. The program would be most likely to help the family with which of the following issues?
A. Developing a support network with other families.
B. Feeling more guilty about the client’s illness.
C. Recognizing the client’s weakness.
D. Managing their financial concerns and problems.
Correct Answer: A. Developing a support network with other families
Psychoeducational groups of families develop a support network. They provide education about the biochemical etiology of psychiatric disease to reduce, not increase family guilt. Psychoeducation is the provision of systematic, relevant, broad, and up-to-date information about an illness or condition, including its diagnosis and treatment. Psychoeducational programs provide both disease-specific information, e.g., early recognition and management of relapse symptoms or any potential genetic implications of the illness and general information, e.g., promotion of healthy lifestyle, problem-solving and communication skills training, identification of stressors in households, and education of family members and primary care takers in their amelioration.
Option B: Psychoeducation includes information on how to explain aspects of living with an illness to family members so that they can understand the effect of the illness and assist the patient and treatment providers in the treatment program.
Option C: There is evidence that psychoeducation improves the outcomes of mental illness and many other medical illnesses. Family interventions, including psychoeducation for schizophrenia, have proved to be one of the most consistently effective treatment modalities available, with relapse rate reduction at 50–60% over treatment as usual. Besides relapse severity reduction, psychoeducation leads to less frequent relapses, better treatment adherence, lower self-stigma, better quality of life, improvement of social competencies, active engagement in rehabilitation, and lower cost of care, either alone or as a part of a complex treatment regimen.
Option D: There is similar evidence that psychoeducation and family interventions may reduce the recurrence of bipolar disorders and depression. Psychoeducation and cognitive behavioral therapy are associated with increased time to mood episode relapse or recurrence. Preliminary evidence shows that family psychoeducation for patients with depressive disorders improves patient functioning and the well-being of family caregivers. Similarly, psychoeducation seems to reduce the burden of caregivers for dementia patients.