What Do Patients with Psychotic and Mood Disorders Know About Their Illness and Medication?(Brief Article‪)‬

While there are several papers on psychoeducation in the literature, there is a paucity of publications on patients' knowledge of their diagnosis and treatment. The overall management of psychiatric patients includes informing them about their diagnosis and treatment, as part of their psychoeducation. Psychoeducation can be defined as the education of a person with a psychiatric disorder about their diagnosis and treatment to assist the goals of treatment and rehabilitation, (1) i.e. to increase patients' knowledge about, and insight into, their illness and its treatment. This knowledge enables them to cope more effectively with their disorder, thereby improving their prognosis. (1) According to Pekkala and Merinder, authors of the 2006 Cochrane review on psychoeducation for schizophrenia, any kind of psychoeducational intervention significantly decreased relapse or readmission rates at 9-18 months' follow-up compared with standard care. Findings were also consistent with the probability that psychoeducation had a positive effect on a person's well-being. It is estimated that about 12 relapses can be avoided, or at least postponed for around a year, for every 100 patients who receive psychoeducation. There is some suggestion that psychoeducation may improve compliance with medication, but the extent of improvement remains unclear. (1)