PSYCHOEDUCATION

Psychoeducation can simply be defined as "a therapeutic practice used to present factual information about target problems and treatments."1

At the family level, psychoeducation is a strategy that provides individuals (and their family members) with mental health problems with information about prevention, treatment, and recovery strategies for that disorder.2

• Acts as a foundation for other engagement practices. 4
• Increases caregiver involvement in services.1
• Reduces non-adherence, relapses, and hospitalization.
• Increases participant help seeking attitudes, help seeking intentions, and literacy.2
• Improves social and global functioning, consumer satisfaction, and quality of life.5

• Facilitate families’ comprehension of complex information.
• Provide families with optimistic messages to encourage engagement. 3

1. Assume individuals need information, assistance, and support to best cope with challenges.

2. Present factual information about mental health problems and effective treatment options.

• Describe emotional/behavioral issues.
• Discuss causes of emotional/behavioral issues.
• Describe what will occur in treatment. 3

3. Combine information, cognitive, behavioral, emotional, problem-solving, and therapeutic elements in a treatment plan for the specific consumer.

4. Tailor psychoeducation to certain aspects of a diagnosis, sociocultural group, and/or setting. 6