Efficacy of a psychoeducation programme for relatives of people with severe mental disorder to reduce their burden

Abstract

Introduction: since the first psychiatric care reform movements began, the families of ill people started to be involved in the care process of their relatives. One of the programmes launched were psychoeducation workshops, which, from the outset, tried to provide relatives with information about the disease processes in order to improve the care they provide day to day. The Cinco Villas Mental Health Centre and Psychosocial Rehabilitation Centre (Zaragoza) has been running different workshops for families for years. The degree of burden of the caregivers is to be measured. Methodology: this is a quasi-experimental study. An intervention is carried out with relatives of people diagnosed with severe mental disorder. Results: it is mainly women who take charge of caring for the ill relative. There is a significant degree of burden, which decreases after the intervention.