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This page is an AI-assisted Turkish summary of the study presented at the 26th World Congress of Psychiatry. The study belongs to the presenting authors; please refer to the original source when citing it.

EV0768

Strengthening Therapeutic Engagement with Families in the Context of Severe Mental Illness

ENHANCING THERAPEUTIC ENGAGEMENT WITH FAMILIES IN THE CONTEXT OF SEVERE MENTAL ILLNESS

Communication is not merely the context of care but an active therapeutic intervention; evidence-based dyadic and triadic communication interventions can improve recovery outcomes and reduce readmissions.

The study aimed to develop an evidence-based guideline for improving patient–therapist, patient–family, and family–therapist relationships, as well as triadic (professional–patient–family) communication. The method was a narrative review of meta-analyses and systematic reviews identified through searches of PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library using keywords related to therapeutic alliance, family interventions, triadic communication, and psychosis; the poster did not report pooled effect sizes or sample sizes. Interventions to improve the patient–therapist relationship included collaborative goal setting and agreement on therapeutic tasks, empathic and validating communication, monitoring and repairing alliance ruptures, and reducing power asymmetry. For the family–patient relationship, the emphasis was on psychoeducation, problem-solving, skills training, and reducing criticism and overprotectiveness associated with high expressed emotion. Shared decision-making (SDM) was highlighted for triadic communication; this involves a structured exchange of information about treatment options, benefits, and risks, and the integration of the patient’s preferences and values, with appropriate family involvement subject to the patient’s consent. The introduction noted that the quality of the therapeutic alliance is one of the strongest predictors of treatment outcomes across diagnoses and treatment modalities, and that family involvement and structured triadic communication are associated with fewer exacerbations and readmissions, better treatment adherence, and greater engagement. In conclusion, the authors report that evidence-based communication interventions are not consistently implemented in routine clinical practice, and that the proposed guideline translates the available evidence into a clinically applicable framework.

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