Mj. Goldstein et Dj. Miklowitz, THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL FAMILY-THERAPY IN THE TREATMENT OF SCHIZOPHRENIC DISORDERS, Journal of marital and family therapy, 21(4), 1995, pp. 361-376
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.