Multifamily therapy in first psychotic episodes: a pilot study

ABSTRACT Background Multifamily groups (MFG) have shown to reduce the risk of relapse of psychotic symptoms in first episodes of psychosis (FEPs) but are not frequently implemented in treatment programs. This paper describes the implementation of the interfamily therapy-model in a FEP early intervention program within a Mental Health Centre in Spain . The aims were to examine (a) relapses (measured as re-hospitalization), (b) duration of re-hospitalizations and (c) voluntary versus involuntary re-hospitalizations during participation in MFG compared with the previous year. Methods Twenty-one subjects participated in a MFG over 12 months, 11 participants with a diagnosis of psychosis and 10 family members. Results Patients and their relatives participated in around 50% of treatment sessions and manifested satisfactory experience during treatment. Among the patients who participated in MFG, a lower relapse rate was observed: a lower number of psychiatric admissions (7 versus 3) and of shorter duration [23.57 (SD 18.5) days pretreatment versus 19.33 (SD 10.2) days during treatment] although it was not statistically significant (p > 0.05), probably due to small sample size. Discussion Multifamily therapy has been well accepted by both patients and their families, with a high degree of participation. Our impression is that the simultaneous participation in different therapeutic activities (individual, group and multifamily) improves the experience of the therapeutic process.