Application of Group Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT-G) to Family Members Caring for Patients With Schizophrenia

Family members who care for individuals with a chronic mental illness such as schizophrenia are exposed to many risks such as stress, fatigue, depression, care burden, stigma, problems in family and interpersonal relationships, conflicts, financial difficulties, social isolation, disruption of daily routines. IPT is a short-term psychotherapy that works on specific interpersonal problem areas associated with depression, anxiety, and general psychological distress. IPT focuses on the following interpersonal problem areas: grief or complicated dispute, bereavement, role, role transition, interpersonal deficits . In these problem areas, IPT is applied individually as well as as group psychotherapy. IPT-G is carried out with group members who share a common distress. IPT-G is more structured than individual IPT. There is a practitioner's guide. IPT-G has a specific agenda, structure and defined endpoint. In IPT-G, the group usually has 6-10 members. Sessions last approximately 90 minutes. The main objectives of IPT-G can be summarized as 1) psychoeducation, 2) increasing social support, 3) solving interpersonal problems. In this sense, the application of IPT-G in the caregivers of individuals with schizophrenia may be promising both for the caregivers and the patients they care for. Therefore, family members who care for individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia living in Turkey/Bolu province, who are willing to participate in the IPT-G intervention, and who meet the inclusion/exclusion criteria of the study will constitute the sample of the study. Participants will be selected from the caregivers of the patients reached from Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University, İzzet Baysal Training and Research Hospital and Bolu İzzet Baysal Mental Health and Diseases Hospital. A poster inviting the caregivers of the patients will be prepared and hung in the hospitals. Group psychotherapy intervention for the caregivers of patients who meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the study will be carried out in a training room in Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing, where the researchers work. The group therapy will be made by the researcher, a licensed psychotherapist. IPT-G will only be applied to caregivers. No application will be made to the patients. In addition, it will be measured whether the intervention applied to the caregivers indirectly has any effect on the patient. Persons to be included in the application will be informed about the application. Signed consent will be obtained. In order to include individuals in the IPT-G intervention, the researcher who will conduct the application will conduct two one-on-one interviews with caregivers to evaluate whether they are suitable for group intervention. The therapist will include caregivers with a similar problem focus in the group. Since it is suggested that the IPT-G group intervention should consist of 6-10 people, this number will be taken as the basis. Group therapy will be done once a week. Sessions will last approximately 90 minutes. The intervention will be completed in a total of ten sessions, with two-session individual interviews and eight-session group sessions. Measurement tools will be applied to caregivers and the patients they care for at the beginning of the group therapy, at the end of the last session, at the end of the third month following the end of the sessions, and at the end of the sixth month following the end of the sessions. A total of four measurements will be made. Scales and sociodemographic data form will be used as data collection tools.Sociodemographic data collection form, Emotional Expression Scale Caregiver Version, Stigma Scale for the Families of Psychiatric Patients (SCFPP), Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support will be administered face-to-face to caregivers in the IPT-G intervention. The Patient Version of the Emotion Expression Scale and The Medication Adherence Report Scale will be applied to the individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, who are cared for by the caregivers in the IPT-G intervention.At the end of the experiment, the "t-test for dependent groups" will be used, in which the averages of the pre-test and post-test scores are compared whether the results are significant or not.The research complies with the ethical principles of benefit and non-harm. There is no aspect of the research that could pose a risk or cause harm to the participants. The research intervention is envisaged to provide beneficial outcomes to the participants. Shares made during individual interviews and group sessions will be kept confidential under the principle of protecting privacy. Privacy and confidentiality is the norm of the group and compliance by all participants will be contractually assured and encouraged. Researchers will not share therapy notes unless they pose a risk to the individual, his/her environment and other third parties, unless there is a judicial process.