Effectiveness of family work interventions on schizophrenia: Evidence from a multicentre study in Catalonia

Background: Despite their proven efficacy, family work interventions on families of patients with schizophrenia are not being implemented in routine clinical practice in contexts where expressed emotion levels among caregivers are relatively high. Aims: This study aimed to explore the effectiveness of a family work intervention in a Mediterranean environment in Catalonia, Spain. Method: Participants were 23 patients and 35 key relatives in five different clinical settings. The family intervention was provided by 10 trained health care professionals during a nine-month period. A six-month follow-up was also conducted. Results: Statistically significant improvements were found in patients’ clinical status, global functioning and social functioning levels, as well as in caregivers’ burden of care. These results were maintained during follow-up. Conclusion: This is the first study to explore the effectiveness of family intervention in a high-expressed emotion context in Catalonia. The findings add weight to the growing literature supporting these interventions in different cultural settings.