Thursday, 27 October 2011 15:28
Armando Rotondi of the University of Pittsburg, author of the study, developed the Website to deliver information about schizophrenia directly to the homes of people with schizophrenia. He then compared users of the site with a control group. Results show that sufferers using the site had a large reduction in symptoms and significant increase in knowledge of the disease. Friends and families also significantly increased their knowledge about the course and outcome of the illness.
“These findings suggest that online delivery of psychotherapeutic treatment and educational resources to consumers’ homes has considerable potential and offers advantages over standard clinic-based services,” Rotondi comments.
Dr. Richard Warner, director of Colorado Recovery in Boulder, is currently adapting the Web content to serve a broader spectrum of clients with major mental illnesses beyond schizophrenia. The interactive Web-based program will include Colorado Recovery patients, their families, and therapists.
”I was immediately struck by the value of this program,” Dr. Warner comments, “especially since most of our clients come from families spread across the nation. This gives us a way for families and clients to communicate with one another about the illnesses and their effects.”
The paper “Effectiveness of Web-based Family Psychoeducational Therapy Delivered to the Homes of Persons with Schizophrenia and Their Family Members,” will be presented at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, October 28, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in San Francisco as part of the symposium “Innovations in Psychiatric Rehabilitation.”
Colorado Recovery treats adults with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or other serious mental illness, at a community-based residence in Boulder, and with intensive outpatient programs and rehabilitation services.