ABSTRACT
Patient education has become an important feature of any treatment program. In the last two decades the mental health literature has increasingly used the term “psychoeducation” in reference to techniques found useful in the treatment and rehabilitation of patients with severe and persistent mental illness and their families (Spencer et al., 1988; McFarlane, Lukens, & Link, 1995; Pollio, North & Douglas, 1998; Lubin, Loris, Burt & Johnson, 1998). One of the earliest definitions of the term stated that psychoeducation is “the use of educational techniques, methods, and approaches to aid in the recovery from the disabling effects of mental illness or as an adjunct to the treatment of the mentally ill, usually within the framework of another ongoing treatment approach or as part of a research program” (Barter, 1984, p. 23). This definition was further refined by Goldman (1988) who stated that psychoeducation is “education or training of a person with a psychiatric disorder in subject areas that serve the goals of treatment and rehabilitation, for example, enhancing the person’s acceptance of his illness, promoting active cooperation with treatment and rehabilitation, and strengthening the coping skills that compensate for deficiencies caused by the disorder” (p. 667).
