Family Psychoeducation: A Path to Recovery in Mental Health Treatment - Free Essay Example

For a very long time, family psychoeducation (FPE) has been used as an evidence-based therapy model to recover patients with mental illness. The principles guiding FPE are education, problem-solving techniques, emotional support, and providence of resources during difficult times. Over the years, scholars and researchers in social work have developed theories and psychoeducation programs. The programs have been structured to act as supplements to the clinical treatment plan for mental illness people. Family psychoeducation is diverse and is dependent on the prevailing conditions of the affected individual and their associated environments.

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The structure of family psychoeducation therapy is influenced by the type of family where the victim hails, the treatment duration, the participation of the consumer, and the location of the person living with mental illness. This means that the victim may hail from a single family, nuclear family, or extended family. The person with mental illness may also be receiving treatment in a medical facility, in their homes, or in community centers. Although there might be existing differences in family psychoeducation, every structure's ultimate goal is the same. Hence family psychoeducation can be described as an evidence-based treatment plan that uses the prevailing conditions of the victim and the family member's contributions to improve the condition of a person living with mental illness. There are several reasons why FPE chooses to use family members in their treatment plans.

The main goal of working with families is to improve the victim's condition and improve the living conditions of the family members as they live with their affected loved ones. The effectiveness of FPE has been supported by the following principles that must be adhered to by the healthcare giver:

• A healthcare giver must coordinate all the activities and treatment plans to ensure that all the members involved in the treatment plan effectively take up their responsibilities.
• All the clinical needs of the patient must be followed to the latter.
• A healthcare giver must involve all the family members in the process and listen to all their concerns.
• Treatment expectations of the patients and their families must be identified.
• Limitations that the family may have in addressing the treatment plan must be outlined.
• A healthcare giver must respond positively by providing emotional support for the family.
• A healthcare giver should give the family and the patient relevant information at the correct time.
• Provide a suitable intervention plan and professional guidance.
• Stir effective communication between the family members.
• Train the family in problem-solving skills.
• Advise the family to seek help from community-based organizations relevant to their problem.
• Practice flexibility in family requirements.
• Provide the family with extension professional services after the program ceases.

Psychoeducation has yielded results in the treatment of patients with several mental illness disorders and their respective families. Research shows results in the treatment of Bipolar disorder, Major depression, Borderline personality disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. In the research for this underlining mental health conditions, age, gender, education, and severity do not matter. FPE evidenced-based therapy has been used widely in several different populations in America. The therapy has also given results in China, England, Germany, and Spain. In the beginning, FPE was provided in hospital settings but has since been used in outpatient clinics and community healthcare centers. FPE is also successful in urban and rural areas and, to a more considerable extent, in middle-sized cities. Evidence-based therapy has initial costs in implementing the training and development of a structured program. Though the cost may be high, it is more economical than taking up costs related to hospital beds and admissions. Through following the guidance on how to implement FPE, many of the cases that have been employed have been successful.

Kawelo is an example of a real case scenario of a victim who used the therapy and was successful. When Kawelo lost his job as an electrician, he developed a relapse and sought help from his health practitioner. Being native Hawaiian, their culture depends on elders, family members, and teachers to give them guidance on how to tackle issues. So, Kawelo’s practitioner asked the intervention and help from family members to salvage him. They organized a meeting where the family members agreed on using FPE together with their cultural intervention plans. The family together held meetings where they discussed the positive and negative issues, they had due to Kawelo’s situation. Through their meetings in safe and controlled environments, the family successfully helped Kawelo recover from his condition.

On the other hand, FPE and other medical interventions have also worked in a good number of cases. A 17-year-old Mexican-American girl was diagnosed with a bipolar condition which resulted in an attempted murder. The psychiatrist who attended the patient upon being brought to the hospital did a laboratory test and established that the teenager was not taking her medication. Her parents were also not able to read and listen to English and Spanish. Upon the intervention of bilingual illness management and recovery, they managed to develop an FPE treatment plan, which was a supplement for Lupita’s clinical intervention. The psychiatrists designed a treatment plan for Lupita and her family. She was responsible for translating and scheduling the next visits. There was also a daily pill container that guided the parents in giving Lupita her medication. The team also extended to neighbors who helped communicate messages via their phones on how Lupita was doing with her medication. Indeed, the psychiatrists' cooperation, the family members, and the neighbors helped the teenager improve her situation.

Though the two cases may show how FPE can be implemented with much ease, there is a difference in my practice conditions. The different conditions that exist include patients who are living far away from their families. It is also common to get family members who are unwilling to take part in the FPE program. Thirdly, there exist patients with extreme mental health conditions who need vigorous clinical intervention before enrolling them into FPE therapy. The potential impact that these challenges present in the implementation of FPE is that the structure of using the evidence-based therapy will not be obeyed; hence no results will be realized.

Six steps may be used in implementing FPE. The steps commence by creating a vision for change. This stage involves creating evidence-based principles and goals that should be achieved at the end of the program. A person who will lead the FPE program is identified at this stage. Secondly, we move on to form an advisory group responsible for planning, supporting, and executing the FPE plan. Program standards are after that established to make sure the plan is executed efficiently up to standards. With program standards in place, financial issues are addressed by looking for incentives to support the process. A training structure follows, which will be used by family members as guidelines for implementing the program. Finally, the outcomes and fidelity are monitored as a way of making sure the program is effective. Hospital and community organizations will support the process by providing incentives. I will make sure my clients enroll in these programs to benefit from the incentives and other social support. There is a likelihood of unsupportive family members. These can be counter-attacked by educating the members on the benefits the program will bring to both the patient and the family members at large.

Conclusion

In conclusion, FPE happens to be a well-structured program that can be easily implemented if all the necessary steps are adhered to. If all the guidelines are followed, there is a definite positive result that may be achieved. The results are likely to be similar to those from the articles since the implementation method is the same. The only difference that may arise is the timeline of implementation since the severity of the cases varies.