Family Intervention in routine practice: it is possible!

Abstract

Family Intervention for individuals with schizophrenia has a wealth of evidence to attest its efficacy. However, there is little literature available about actual family work services, what they consist of and how they operate. With the publication of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidelines for schizophrenia in 2002, there is increased pressure on mental health services to deliver evidence-based Family Interventions to individuals with schizophrenia and their families. This article will outline how a specialist mental health Trust have been able to successfully establish and implement a designated Family Intervention service into routine practice.

Training and disseminating family interventions for schizophrenia: developing family intervention skills with multi‐disciplinary groups

“…It is notable that the services which are currently beginning to impact upon the delivery of family work in the UK are those where committed individuals championing the cause of families have continued to work in the same area and have had an impact upon services over time. Examples are the services in Somerset (Burbach et al , 2002; Smith and Velleman, 2002), the services in Bournemouth (Kelly and Newstead, 2004), and the Meriden Programme in the West Midlands which has been established since 1998 (Fadden et al , 2002). The area of introducing family work into services is therefore no place for the ‘hero innovator’ to arrive, hoping for quick successes and rapid change!…”

Implementing family intervention within forensic services: The perspectives of clinical staff

“…However, despite the number of barriers mitigating against the delivery of family intervention, some services have been successful in implementing family interventions within general mental health services, including the community services supporting those experiencing psychosis (Burbach & Stanbridge, 2006;Fadden, 1997;Kelly & Newstead, 2004;Smith & Velleman, 2002;Stanbridge & Burbach, 2007).…”

Evaluation of a psychoeducation program for Chinese clients with schizophrenia and their family caregivers

“…Furthermore, the difficulty in engaging clients and their carers during PEP has made the outcomes of the programs inconclusive [21][22][23].…”