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Integrated Family Psycho-Education: Helping Families Help Their Loved Ones Recover

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Handbook of Community Psychiatry

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Abstract

The prevalence of schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) according to the National Institutes of Mental Health is 1.1%. Most of the 2.4 million Americans directly affected by these disorders manifest the earliest prodromal symptoms of the disorders while still living with their parents and siblings whose lives are also deeply affected. It is not surprising that a treatment called family psycho-education (FPE) has evolved over the past several decades since the advent of deinstitutionalization to help family caregivers help their ill members whom they love and themselves as well. The participation of family members in FPE is a crucial factor in the current effort to prevent the progression of the prodromal phase of the illness to the psychotic phase (McFarlane 2004).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Susan M. Deakins MD

  2. Tufts University Medical School, Boston, USA

    William R. McFarlane MD

  3. Center for Psychiatric Research, Maine Medical Center, 22 Bramhall Street, Portland, ME, 04102, USA

    William R. McFarlane MD

Authors
  1. Susan M. Deakins MD
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  2. William R. McFarlane MD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Susan M. Deakins MD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The St. Luke's & Roosevelt Hospitals Columbia University College of Physician, New York, USA

    Hunter L. McQuistion

  2. Center for Public Service Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Wesley E. Sowers

  3. New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, USA

    Jules M. Ranz

  4. University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, USA

    Jacqueline Maus Feldman

Appendix: Guidelines

Appendix: Guidelines

Here is a list of things everyone can do to help make things run more smoothly.

  1. 1.

    GO SLOW. Recovery takes time. Rest is important. Things get better in their own time.

  2. 2.

    KEEP IT COOL. Enthusiasm is normal. Tone it down. Disagreement is normal. Tone it down, too.

  3. 3.

    GIVE EACH OTHER SPACE. Time out is important for everyone. It’s OK to reach out. It’s OK to say “no.”

  4. 4.

    SET LIMITS. Everyone needs to know what the rules are. A few good rules keep things clear.

  5. 5.

    IGNORE WHAT YOU CAN’T CHANGE. Let some things slide. Don’t ignore violence.

  6. 6.

    KEEP IT SIMPLE. Say what you have to say clearly, calmly, and positively.

  7. 7.

    FOLLOW THE DOCTOR’S ORDERS. Take medicines as prescribed.

  8. 8.

    CARRY ON BUSINESS AS USUAL. Reestablish family routines as quickly as possible. Stay in touch with family and friends.

  9. 9.

    NO STREET DRUGS OR ALCOHOL. They make symptoms worse and prevent recovery.

  10. 10.

    PICK UP EARY SIGNS. Note gradual changes. Consult with your family physician.

  11. 11.

    SOLVE PROBLEMS STEP BY STEP. MAKE CHANGES GRADUALLY. WORK ON ONE THING AT A TIME.

  12. 12.

    LOWER EXPECTATIONS TEMPORARILY. Use a person as yardstick. Compare this month with last month rather than last year.

Anderson et al. (1986).

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Deakins, S.M., McFarlane, W.R. (2012). Integrated Family Psycho-Education: Helping Families Help Their Loved Ones Recover. In: McQuistion, H., Sowers, W., Ranz, J., Feldman, J. (eds) Handbook of Community Psychiatry. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3149-7_28

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