Psychoeducation: Implications for the Profession of Health Education

Mental illnesses contribute to substantial morbidity in the population. Education for prevention and control of mental illnesses is mandatory. Psychoeducation is the specialized education that comprises of educational endeavors directed toward the patients and their families with an aim to help prevent relapse of mental illnesses and restoration of health for mentally ill patients. Several studies have proven the value of psychoeducation in prevention and control of mental illnesses ranging from depression to schizophrenia. Psychoeducation helps the mentally ill by improving treatment adherence. Psychoeducation is a subset of health education. Psychoeducation imparted by medical professionals due to insufficient training, insufficient resources and insufficient time is at best modest. Therefore, health educators who have specialized training in health education are very well suited for psychoeducation. However, the amount of training currently being offered in many health education programs nationwide at the undergraduate and the graduate level is not sufficient to qualify the educator for dealing with mental illnesses. More course work in mental illnesses and their prevention needs to be in place. Also prospective studies need to be designed for testing the efficacy of health educators in psychoeducation. Finally incorporation of behavioral theories to psychoeducation by the profession of health education will make it more effective