Does group intervention have benefits on expressed emotion and social support in carers of persons with first episode psychosis?

Family interventions in chronic psychosis are well established through systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Such reviews report that family intervention might reduce relapse and improve compliance with medication and reduction in levels of expressed emotion (EE). However, most of the previous research has been conducted in caregivers with chronic schizophrenia, and the effects of family interventions in the early stages are largely unknown. Using a quasi-experimental nonequivalent comparison group design, we evaluated the effectiveness of a 7-session group intervention among 59 caregivers of patients with first episode psychosis. Outcome variables measured were carers’ EE and social support. Carers were recruited from inpatient psychiatry units of a tertiary mental health center in South India. Follow-up assessments were carried out after one and three months of intervention. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied to the data. Carers in the intervention group reported reduction of EE and improvements in social support at a one-month follow-up assessment. However, these benefits were not sustained at the three-month follow-up. Overall, both groups showed significant changes in all outcome variables over the time period.