Family and schizophrenia - psychoeducational group in a pilot programme.

AIM The paper aims to present the programme, the outcomes and the conclusions of a psychoeducational training series for families with schizophrenia carried out by the Babiński Specialist Hospital in Kraków, Poland. The paper sets out to describe an explorative project based on qualitative study methods. The programme described in the paper adheres to the systemic and narrative approach to therapy. METHODS The project involved 23 people from 16 families, who attended 14 psychoeducational meetings for 4 months. A variety of methods was applied: lectures, case studies, discussion, interactive workshops, psycho-drawing, multimediapresentations, simulations of crisis situations, training in subgroups. RESULTS Upon the completion of the programme, no significant increase in the participants'theoretical knowledge on schizophrenia was observed, which in turn concurred with a decrease in the subjective sense of strain in the family. Even though only 11% of the participants initially expected emotional support from the group, 60% of them identified support as the most important benefit from the programme. CONCLUSIONS The systemic narrative approach used in the programme has been accepted and assessed well by families of patients with schizophrenia. It seems to provide an effective alternative to traditional psychotherapy. The combination of effective training tools with activities to create a space for participants to exchange their thoughts and experiences has proved to be an effective form of support to families in adversity.