Recent reviews of more than 50 controlled trials
(.4,800 patients) of different modes of family-based intervention
from 1980 to 2010, such as family behavioral management
and psychoeducation programs,6,61 reveal that family
intervention, as an adjunct to drug treatment and routine care,
can significantly enhance family members’ knowledge about
the illness, reduce family burden and patients’ relapse up to
2 years, and improve patients’ medication compliance. Both
single-family and/or multiple-family group programs, lasting
from 3 months to 3 years and consisting of a wide variety of
psychotherapeutic techniques, were associated with fewer
patient relapses and rehospitalizations, with rates about half
those of patients receiving routine psychiatric care. Even
though these families may have different health needs and
expectations across the course of the illness, they have a few
common needs for psychoeducation, including understanding
about the nature of the illness, ways of coping with psychotic
symptoms, methods of medication and illness management,
psychological support and practical assistance during times
of crisis, and means of getting links to community mental
health services.3,19