Date of Defense

4-27-2022

Date of Graduation

4-2022

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Brooke Smith

Second Advisor

Alex Twohy

Third Advisor

Lisa Baker

Abstract

Objective: Psychoeducation has been shown to be an effective addition to a patient’s usual care in the treatment of major depressive disorder. However, there are many programs and moderators that could have different impacts on the effectiveness of psychoeducation. The aim of the present systematic literature review was to evaluate the effectiveness of various psychoeducation programs and moderators for adult patients with mild to moderate symptoms of depression, assessing the evidence from the literature.

Method: Searches were conducted in PubMed, PsycINFO, and Wiley/Cochrane Library, using search terms ‘psychoeducation’, ‘depression’, and ‘adult’, with no restriction on publication dates. Searches were performed from February 23rd to March 8th, 2022. In addition, the references of these articles were searched for relevance.

Results: Fourteen studies were included in this review, of which two evaluated the effectiveness of a Coping with Depression (CWD) course, two evaluated Stress Control, one evaluated problem-solving, two evaluated medication adherence, one evaluated group vs. individual programs, two evaluated online interventions, two studies evaluated personalized feedback, and two studies evaluated importance of family/caregiver inclusion. Findings suggest psychoeducation programs Coping With Depression (CWD), Stress-Control, problem-solving, and depression prevention are effective treatments for mild-moderate depression. Additionally, findings suggest group settings, caregiver/family inclusion, and personalized feedback increase psychoeducation effectiveness.

Conclusions: The results suggest that several programs and moderators increase the effectiveness of psychoeducation. However, further research is needed to identify the most effective psychoeducation treatment. The results suggest that it may be beneficial for psychoeducation to be implemented by a general physician or by a cognitive-behavior therapist throughout treatments.

Access Setting

Honors Thesis-Restricted

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