Pre-post changes in psychosocial functioning among relatives of patients with depressive disorders after Brief Multifamily Psychoeducation: A pilot study

Fujika Katsuki,Yuka Murase,Nao Shiraishi,Hiroko Toyoda,Mizuho Konishi,Yoshiko Yoshimatsu,Masako Suzuki,Yosuke Kubota,Atsuko Naito,Toshiaki A Furukawa,Megumi Sasaki,Hiroshi Takeuchi

doi:10.1186/1471-244x-11-56

Abstract

BackgroundDepressive disorder is often chronic and recurrent, and results in a heavy psychosocial burden on the families of patients with this disorder. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of brief multifamily psychoeducation designed to alleviate their psychosocial burden.MethodsThirty-two relatives of patients with major depressive disorder participated in an open study testing the effectiveness of brief multifamily psychoeducation. The intervention consisted of four sessions over the course of 6 weeks. Outcome measures focused on emotional distress, care burden and Expressed Emotion (EE).ResultsThe emotional distress, care burden and EE of the family all showed statistically significant improvements from baseline to after the family intervention. The proportion of relatives scoring 9 or more on K6, which indicates possible depressive or anxiety disorder, decreased from sixteen relatives (50.0%) at baseline, to only 3 relatives (9.3%) after the intervention.ConclusionsThis study suggests that brief multifamily psychoeducation is a useful intervention to reduce the psychosocial burden of the relatives of patients with depressive disorder. Further evaluation of family psychoeducation for relatives of patients with depressive disorder is warranted.

Highlights

Depressive disorder is often chronic and recurrent, and results in a heavy psychosocial burden on the families of patients with this disorder
It is easy to imagine that relatives of these patients with Major depressive disorder (MDD) are fraught with heavy psychosocial burden and show increased rates of depression and anxiety [8,9]
In the present pilot study, we administered brief multifamily psychoeducation consisting of four sessions over six weeks to relatives of patients with depressive disorder

Summary

Introduction

Depressive disorder is often chronic and recurrent, and results in a heavy psychosocial burden on the families of patients with this disorder. Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a long-lasting illness with significant effects on the patient’s family, social, and work life [1,2]. According to studies on the naturalistic course of MDD, a prospective study in Japan showed that 10-20% of patients entering treatment remain chronically depressed without recovery up to 1 or even 2 years [4]. It is easy to imagine that relatives of these patients with MDD are fraught with heavy psychosocial burden and show increased rates of depression and anxiety [8,9]. Relatives of patients with depression found some of the behavior of the patients to be difficult to bear, and the relatives had negative consequences such as misery, withdrawal, and worrying which commonly caused problems; few relatives know how to deal with the difficult behavior of patients [13]

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