Tools For Psychoeducation

Psychoeducation is a way to educate individuals and their families about mental health or substance abuse issues. Psychoeducation usually focuses on helping people to better understand the issues for which they are getting help. For instance, psychoeducation for a person who is in treatment for substance abuse problems focuses on the process of addiction and recovery, the biological aspects of addiction and ways to prevent relapse.

Individuals

• For individuals, psychoeducation works best when it is used as part of an overall treatment plan. Although it is not a treatment method itself, helping a person to learn about her own mental, emotional and behavioral or substance abuse problems can be hugely beneficial. Tools for individual psychoeducation can include direct education where a clinician teaches the client; the use of reading materials such as brochures or books that give a background on the issue; and educational videos.

Families

• Family psychoeducation can either be offered as a group, for family members in general or as part of family therapy. Educating family members about an individual's illness and treatment can be part of that individual's treatment plan and very beneficial. For instance, a child in a residential setting who will eventually be returning home will do much better in an environment where his parents understand his mental health problems, his medications and the reasons behind his behaviors. Psychoeducation with families that focuses specific knowledge in these areas helps treat the whole person and gives the individual a better chance at avoiding relapse.

Couples

• Psychoeducation can also be used as a successful tool in couples therapy. For couples, understanding socialization of gender and cultural condition can be key to understanding their own relationship challenges. According to therapist Leo Gorelkin in the fall 2007 issue of the Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association, integrating psychoeducation into couples' therapy sessions can be integral to the therapeutic process. For instance, a therapist may ask couples about specific examples of how they communicate, or where miscommunications occur, and use this conversation to educate the couples on how their beliefs about stereotypical gender roles may lead to these problems

Groups

• Groups can be a good way to offer psychoeducation to clients. Groups have the advantage of relaying information to multiple individuals at once, and also giving group members the chance to ask questions and help to educate each other on certain issues to do with their mental health or the recovery process. In groups, a facilitator, usually a mental health clinician, can use various techniques to relay information. For instance, she may decide to teach the group, in a classroom format, or she may have open discussions with group members around a specific theme. A substance recovery group may have a facilitated discussion on what types of situations "trigger" their use and ways to cope. In such a conversation, the facilitator is able to integrate knowledge about why certain triggers are common and how to prevent them.