Effectiveness of psychoeducation for depression: A systematic review
Abstract
Objective: Pharmacological treatment is considered indispensable to major depressive disorder. In spite of this, a significant number of patients do not respond adequately to treatment based only on medication, presenting high relapse and recurrence rates. Therefore, psychosocial interventions, such as psychoeducation, have been increasingly recognized as an essential component in the treatment of depression, associated with pharmacological strategies. Thus, the aim of the present systematic review was to evaluate the effectiveness of psychoeducation for patients with unipolar depression, analyzing the evidence from the literature. Method: Searches were undertaken from April to October 2012 in LILACS, PsycINFO, PubMed, SCOPUS and ISI Web of Knowledge with keywords including ‘psychoeducation’, ‘psychoeducational intervention’ and ‘depression’, with no restriction regarding publishing dates. Results: Fifteen studies were included in the review, 13 of which evaluated the effectiveness of psychoeducation for patients with depression: 10 papers evaluated in-person psychoeducation approaches and three papers evaluated long-distance approaches. In addition to these 13 papers, one evaluated psychoeducational interventions for patients’ families and patients’ responses and another evaluated psychoeducational interventions for patients’ families and families’ responses. Findings suggest that increased knowledge about depression and its treatment is associated with better prognosis in depression, as well as with the reduction of the psychosocial burden for the family. Conclusions: Psychoeducation is a psychosocial treatment that has been well documented as an adjunct to pharmacological therapy. However, there are only a few studies regarding its effectiveness on adult patients with major depressive disorder. Although the publications in this area are still very limited, the articles selected in this review suggest that psychoeducation is effective in improving the clinical course, treatment adherence, and psychosocial functioning of depressive patients.
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Psychoeducation is beneficial as an adjunctive treatment for depression and is readily translated into web-format.
“Psychoeducation is beneficial as an adjunctive treatment for depression and is readily translated into web-format.35”
Group psychoeducation is more effective in reducing relapse rate than individual education.
“In a study by de Souza Tursi (2013), it became clear that group psychoeducation is more effective in reducing relapse rate than individual education.”
From A Novel Psychological Group Intervention Targeting Appearance-Related Distress Among People With a Visible Disfigurement (Inside Out): A Case Study (2023) · cites this paper as de Souza Tursi (2013)
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“35 The study team developed a web application called ‘Empower Your Mood’ (EYM) that includes psychoeducation modules on depression symptoms, causes and course, behaviour and mood, information on diet, exercise, sleep, social support and getting support.”
- Authors
- Tursi, M. F. D. S., Baes, C. V. W., Camacho, F. R. D. B., Tofoli, S. M. D. C., & Juruena, M. F.
- Affiliations
- Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
- Department of Neuroscience and Behavior, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- Venue
- Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2013-06-05
- Volume
- 47
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 1019-1031
- ISSN
- 0004-8674 (ISSN-L)
- 1440-1614
- OpenAlex
- W2125452007
- Cited by
- 173
- References
- 64
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 26 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 2
- FWCI
- 0.79
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychological Treatments and Disorders
- Keywords
- psychoeducation, major depressive disorder, medication adherence, family burden, psychosocial interventions, relapse and recurrence
- MeSH terms
- Depressive Disorder, Family, Humans, Patient Education as Topic, Psychotherapy, Treatment Outcome
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