CME Article

Cross-Cultural Perspective of Family Psychoeducation

Harriet P. Lefley, PhD

  • Psychiatric Annals
  • June 2012 - Volume 42 · Issue 6: 236-240
  • DOI: 10.3928/00485713-20120606-07
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Abstract

CME Educational Objectives

  1. Become familiar with studies of family psychoeducation for mental illness in other parts of the world.
  2. Learn of various cultural adaptations, their rationale, and research results.
  3. Recognize that migration, status, and acculturation experiences may transcend cultural boundaries in treating ethnic minority families.

Family psychoeducation for serious mental illness is now conducted throughout the world, but there are a plethora of models and time frames for its administration. In some countries, the models are tailored to cultural norms and expectations. The seminal work of Falloon and colleagues1 on family psychoeducation (FPE) in California was expanded into an integrative service model that was replicated and rigorously studied in many countries. Research on family psychoeducation, initially conducted in the United Kingdom and the United States, has now been reported from countries around the world. The Optimal Treatment Project (OTP) was an international collaborative group to promote evidence-based treatment for schizophrenia and other nonaffective disorders, initially developed in 80 clinical centers in 20 countries. Education of patients and caregivers was an integral part of their package of services. In 2002, a review of 14 OTP centers and almost 600 cases noted significantly lower levels of impairment and disability and less caregiver stress.2

AUTHORS

Harriet P. Lefley, PhD, is Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

Disclosure: Dr. Lefley has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Address correspondence to: Harriet P. Lefley, PhD, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences D-29, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, UM-JMH Mental Health Building, 1695 N.W. 9th Avenue, Miami, FL 33136; fax: 305-355-9187; email: HPLefley@aol.com or H.Lefley@miami.edu

doi: 10.3928/00485713-20120606-07

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