Blog: The Power of Psychoeducation
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A decade ago, Psychoeducation was not even considered to be a legitimate therapy intervention by many therapists. Mainstream therapy circles viewed psychoeducation as an add-on to therapy; it was only being utilized to its fullest potential to facilitate effective treatment in small, disparate pockets. The world is different now. Psychoeducation is an integral component of evidence-based CBT, whether the treatment is more cognitive, behavioral, a combination thereof, DBT, or ACT. Today, informed patients are more actively involved in their own treatment!
Taking the Mystery Out of Therapy
When I was clinical director of the Behavioral Health Partial Hospital Program at McLean Hospital/ Harvard Medical School, I learned about the power of psychoeducation. In the late 90s, it was more typical for patients NOT to know their diagnosis, and if they did, they usually lacked basic information about the course of illness and the available treatments. In the partial hospital program, we had psychoed groups for depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, and then in 2001, we introduced the first psychoed group for borderline personality disorder. Patients could simply not get enough of it. All of a sudden, patients were informed. They felt validated and less alone. The result? They were empowered to take action because they had a roadmap to learn skills and improve their functioning.
Psychoeducation and Clinical Practice
In my clinical practice, I start psychoeducation in the very first session after listening to my patient’s story and providing feedback. I start with the CBT triangle—thoughts, feelings, and behavior. In my practice, I do many consultations (and treatment) for patients suffering from treatment refractory depression. I recently saw a patient with poor outcomes from numerous therapies; he had never been exposed to CBT. I used my CBT triangle handout to illustrate the pattern of how his feelings were driving his thoughts and behaviors. When he feels down, he has thoughts of doom, and this causes him to hide out in his house—classic avoidance behaviors. It was like a light bulb went off in his head: “You mean I can learn how to do this differently?” Yes, you can. The simple power of psychoeducation helped him understand the process of how the treatment was working for him.
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Posted by Max Woolf on Jun 29, 2011