Evidence suggests that family interventions are associated with positive outcomes for service users with psychosis, particularly in relation to service user relapse, hospitalisation rates and medication compliance. In... [ view full abstract ]
Evidence suggests that family interventions are associated with positive outcomes for service users with psychosis, particularly in relation to service user relapse, hospitalisation rates and medication compliance. In addition, psycho-education interventions have been found to improve the experience of caring, quality of life and reduce psychological distress in family members of people diagnosed with a psychotic disorder.
The Family Support in Psychosis Project (FSiPP) has been running in Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust since October 2013, when a multi-disciplinary group of staff got together to discuss the feasibility of having an open “rolling” group for families or carers who have a relative admitted to Prospect Park Hospital with an episode of psychosis.
FSiPP is a safe, supportive and psycho-educational group for individuals to discuss, explore and develop ways of helping their relative with psychosis and themselves. The group consists of five sessions, which cover the following themes: Illness, beliefs and meaning; Coping with family stress; Living with diagnosis; Emotions, and Hope.
Findings from a sample of 19 evaluation forms collected across five sessions, from June to November 2016 indicated that 100% of participants reported that their expectations of the group were met and 88% reported their expectations had been met quite a bit or extremely. On a rating scale of 1-10 with regards to importance of the group to the attendees (1= not important, 10=very important), 63% rated the group as being 7 or more. Key themes identified from qualitative feedback were that participants valued peer and professional support, being able to share feelings and coping strategies, the accessibility of information and the benefits of developing a greater understanding of psychosis.
A trainee clinical psychologist is currently carrying out an evaluation of FSiPP to explore the perspectives and experiences of family members or carers who have attended the group.
