Effectiveness of Individual Psychoeducation on Recurrence in Bipolar Disorder;
A Controlled Study
This research was conducted as an controlled experimental study which aimed to determine the effectiveness of individual Psychoeducation program on recurrence rate during 1 year follow up period. The study include eighty-two patients who had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. There were no hospitalizations in intervention group, while 7.3% of control patients experienced hospitalization; recurrence rates were 18.9% in the intervention group patients and 34.1% the control group patients, but statistical significant difference between the groups was not found. Four sessions of individual psychoeducation may have some positive effects but seem to be ineffective for preventing recurrence in patients with bipolar disorder during one year prospective follow up.
Conclusions
Four-session individual psychoeducation is not statistically significant in decreasing the relapses and it was determined that the IG had a lower number of relapses, lower number of multiple mood episodes and lower hospitalization rate, and that the patients going through attacks mainly had depressive attacks. Further studies with larger samples, in multicenter and for longer periods of monitoring are needed to determine what the ideal duration of psychoeducation for an effective treatment outcome would be.