Multifamily therapy in the community mental health network: A pragmatic randomized and controlled study

AbstractMultifamily therapy (MFT) is a psychotherapeutic group intervention for patients with severe mental disorders (SMDs) and their families. The present study is a multicenter, randomized, and controlled trial that analyzes the benefit of MFT during outpatient treatment. The recruited patients were randomly assigned to the experimental group (n = 26), which received 24 MFT sessions in addition to their treatment as usual (TAU), or to the control group (n = 29), which received only TAU (individual and family sessions). Six months after the inclusion in the MFT, the experimental group showed a significant decrease in number of visits to the psychiatric emergency services, number of psychiatric admissions, and the days of admission. The need for h ospital care 6 months after recruitment was also lower in the experimental group compared to the control group. These results suggest that the implementation of MFT during outpatient treatment facilitates community management of people diagnosed with mental health problems.

Source: Journal of Marital and Family Therapy - October 24, 2022 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Iria Dom ínguez Vázquez, Laura Nuño Gómez, Neus Freixa Fontanals, Carmen Hidalgo Arjona, Gemma Cervera, Antoni Corominas Díaz, Mercè Balcells‐Oliveró Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research