THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL FAMILY-THERAPY IN THE TREATMENT OF SCHIZOPHRENIC DISORDERS

A review of the literature on family psychoeducational interventions i n schizophrenic disorders revealed two generations of studies. The fir st generation compared the clinical efficacy of psychoeducational fami ly treatments and medication to medication only or routine care. A sec ond generation of studies used more complex experimental designs that often narrowed the differences between the experimental treatment and comparison conditions. The results of the first generation of studies are unequivocal in demonstrating the superiority of family interventio n plus medication over medication alone in delaying psychotic relapses . The second-generation studies had more equivocal results; they sugge st that the efficacy of family intervention as an adjunct to medicatio n in schizophrenia is in part a function of the type and format of the intervention being delivered, the treatment setting, and other variab les.