Psychoeducation may be defined as the education of a person with
psychiatric disorder in subject areas that serve the goals of treatment
and rehabilitation. The terms ’patient education’, ’patient
teaching’, and ’patient instruction’ have also been used for this
process. All imply that there is a focus on knowledge. The purpose
of patient education is to enable the patient to engage in behaviour
change. Compliance with treatment for seriously or persistently
mentally ill people is of great concern and is often a focus of patient
education. Many people with severe mental illness are frequently
and repeatedly hospitalised due to poor compliance with treatment.
Many patients feel stigmatised by their illness andmay deny
its existence, which ultimately increases non-compliance. This issue
is even more of a problem when people are living in the community,
and is often related to adverse effects ofmedication as well
as a lack of adequate knowledge about medication (Antai-Otong
1989). Therefore, the goal of patient education may be to try to
prevent hospitalisation or to manage the illness or condition to
help the patient attain her/his maximum degree of health. The
psychiatric and mental health nursing practice standards include
patient teaching and, according to these standards, client adherence
to treatment regimens increases when health education is an
integral part of the client’s care (ANA 1982).