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Is It Ever Too Late to Learn? Information Provision to Relatives of Long-term Schizophrenia Sufferers*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 June 2009

Gary L. Sidley ,
Jo Smith  and
Kevin Howells
Gary L. Sidley
Affiliation:
Airedale Health Authority
Jo Smith
Affiliation:
Bromsgrove and Redditch Health Authority
Kevin Howells
Affiliation:
University of Birmingham
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Extract

This pilot study describes the provision of information tailored to meet the needs of families caring for a chronic schizophrenic member. An existing education package (Smith and Birchwood, 1987) was adapted to give greater emphasis to negative symptoms, myths/stereotypes and “quality of life” issues. A range of outcome measures revealed that the “original” education package promoted a greater reduction in the level of family burden whereas the “modified” package tended to promote greater belief in the efficacy of medication. Both educational programmes were associated with significant gains in knowledge per se (but not in “functional knowledge”) and significant positive changes in families' beliefs about their own role in the treatment process. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Type
Research Article
Information
Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy , Volume 19 , Issue 4 , October 1991 , pp. 305 - 320
Copyright
Copyright © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 1991

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Footnotes

Reprint requests to Gary L. Sidley, Craven Centre for Community Mental Health, 42 Keighley Road, Skipton, North Yorkshire, UK.

*

This paper is a shortened version of that submitted by the first author in part fulfilment of the degree of Master of Science (Clinical Psychology) at the University of Birmingham.

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