Group psychoeducation in bipolar mood disorders – the influence on the cognitive representation of the illness. The results of the program “Taming the bipolar affective disorder”

Abstract

Psychoeducation may exert a positive influence on virtually important cognitive variables, which seem to be clinically important. This influence may disappear with time, thus the interventions should either be repeated or the duration of intervention should be prolonged. The study shows new possible research directions in the field of searching for the mechanism of action of psychoeducation in bipolar disorder, as well as of its active components.

Group psychoeducation in the bipolar disorder – its influence on the cognitive representation of illness and the basic personality dimensions. Study with control group.

“…However, there is an unmet need for studies which would look into this aspect in patients with bipolar disorders. In our earlier study without a control group, there was a 6.5% rise in the results of the KNS-UZR scale directly after psychoeducation [7]. Both the result we observed before and the change in this aspect observed in the present study point to the need for further studies which would analyze the relationship between observed changes and clinical variables.…”

“…French researchers observed that in patients diagnosed with bipolar disorders who took part in psychoeducation there was a significant increase in external locus of control, which was interpreted as a rise in trust towards healthcare staff [19]. However, in our earlier studies, which were based on the same intervention but conducted without a control group, we did not observe a statistically significant influence of psychoeducation on any aspect of locus of health control, even though the mean values for both internal and external locus of control in the participants increased [7]. The increase in the internal locus of control in the study group directly after the intervention in the present study may suggest a possibility of achieving a health-promoting change in this area.…”

“…In our previous study, psychoeducation contributed to an 8.3% rise in scores for the GSES [7]. Demonstrating the influence of psychoeducation on this aspect of the participants' experience in contrast to the control group again points to the importance of conducting further research in this area.…”

“…We assumed that both hypotheses would be found true. The intervention used was a structured group psychoeducation program "Taming the bipolar affective disorder", which we have described in detail elsewhere [1,7,8]. It comprised eight 90-minute meetings, which combined lectures and workshops, over the course of 2 months.…”

“…Scott & Tacchi point to the so-called cognitive representation of illness as a possible factor [6]. In an earlier study, we have shown that psychoeducation can modify the way patients think about their condition and the situation associated with it [7]. However, so far there has been no systematic assessment of the influence of personality variables on the efficacy of psychoeducation programs.…”