Psychoeducation

As psychoeducation training of people is referred to suffering from a mental disorder.

General

Common applications include training of patients with schizophrenia and obsessive compulsive disorder, but also in depression, anxiety disorders, addictions and personality disorders, as well as patient education in the treatment of physical disorders. If appropriate, the members to be included. The aim is to better understand the disease and to be able to better deal with it, for example, by personal experience with their own illness with the current knowledge are connected by the disease. Also own resources and opportunities are to be met in order to prevent possible relapses and even in the long term contribute to their own health. Patient education about the creation and maintenance conditions of the fault is in the behavioral therapy is often the basis for subsequent treatment steps.

As it is often difficult diagnosis to accept the patients and their families " mental disorders " that psychoeducation has also the function to de-stigmatization (see stigma ) to contribute mental disorders and to reduce barriers to prospect for treatment. The insight into the causes and effects of their own illness ( "individual disease model " ), and acute eye for relationships often have a positive effect on the treatment and the course of the disease in the patient. This will be actively involved in the treatment regimen and treated with his illness in joint replacement, so to speak, on an equal footing ' with his therapist. The interaction between therapist and client is deepened in relation to each other and forms the basis for a jointly developed treatment success. The risk of disease recurrence ( relapse ) may be lowered; Patients and included members who are more accurately informed about the disease to feel less helpless.

Important elements in the psychoeducation are:

• Disseminating information ( symptoms of the disorder, causes, treatment concepts, etc. )
• Emotional relief ( promote understanding, experience with other patients, contacts etc. )
• Support a medical or psychotherapeutic treatment, by encouraging cooperation between clinician and patient (compliance, adherence ) is encouraged.
• " Helping people help themselves " (eg training, such as crisis situations are detected early and what steps can be taken )

Genesis

The term " psychoeducation " (English: Psycho Education) has been in the U.S. for the first time in 1980 by the physician CM Anderson used in the context of schizophrenia treatment. Here she focused on both the education of family members on the symptoms and course of the disease as well as to the strengthening of social skills, the improvement in the use of family members to each other and to effective stress management.

Has its origins in the psychoeducation behavioral therapy, in which the re-learning of one's emotional and social competence is in the foreground. In recent years, increasingly systematic group programs are developed, the so-called psycho-educational manuals to make the knowledge of individual disorders and diseases of the patients and understandable accessible. Prior to the behavioral therapy Paul Dubois has the terminus of Edukation (French éducation) as part of its 1908 Persuasionstherapie needed. Dubois is one of the pioneers of psycho-education and as those scientists who first introduced the term " Edukation " in psychology and psychotherapy.

In Canada, the term has a longer, but more psychoanalytically - curative tradition.

Single and Gruppenedukation

Psychoeducation can be done in one or in groups and is usually performed in German-speaking psychologists, physicians, but also by social workers or trained graduate nurses. In the groups several patients are informed about their common diseases. Here also the exchange of experiences between stakeholders and mutual support play a role in the healing process. In the Pacific and Asian regions psychoeducational group programs are increasingly being developed by nursing professionals and verified by research.

Possible risks and side effects

Actually there is no reason not to participate in a psychoeducational group. However, acutely ill patients with a schizophrenic psychosis, suffering from massive thinking, concentration and attention disorders, often overwhelmed at the beginning of their disease, when they are confronted with too much information. In addition to the positive effects of a therapeutic measure as psychoeducation should in principle also possible risks will be considered. The mediation detailed knowledge about the disease and about chances of cure, treatment options and disease processes enable the persons concerned or their dependents may heavy burden. So you should make before an accurate picture of the current mental state of the patient. It should be borne in mind about how much knowledge the patient already has and can as much knowledge of the patient in the current state to receive and process at all. The attention and concentration ability and the emotional resilience of the patient should be considered. As part of a Psychoedukationsmaßnahme only one (possibly empirically well-founded ) selection are taken into account of views and treatment options and discussed with the stakeholders. Thus, individuals may possibly get an incomplete picture of their disease and their treatment options and decide accordingly only limited level of information on treatment alternatives. However, care should be taken not to overwhelm those concerned with too much information at the same time even with a complete representation of the treatment options.

Criticism

In contrast to the behaviorist and cognitive implications of the concept show from the perspective of systemic counseling and therapy on some critical aspects. This implies that disease symptoms can solidify, because the full acceptance of pathology and disability through the process participants the opportunities to change dysfunctional patterns in the life-world implications, restricts or even prevented.