Effectiveness of Psycho-Educational Intervention in Improving Symptoms of Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and General Family Functioning of Companions

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) disrupts individual and family functioning because of its characteristics. Therefore, the intervention based on patient and family participation can enable the sufferers and their families reach the desired level of functioning. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of psychoeducational intervention on improvement of symptoms of patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and general family functioning of companions, using the McMaster model dimensions. In this quasi-experimental study, the first population included all the patients who referred to psychiatric clinics in Yazd City, Iran, in 2016 with the diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder. The second population consisted of one member of their family who was selected using purposive sampling method and included 30 patients and 30 members of their family. Of these, 15 patients with their family members were assigned to the control and experimental groups. The patients completed the Yale-Brown questionnaire and the family members completed Family Assessment Device (FAD) questionnaire before and after the intervention. Only the experimental groups received eight intervention sessions. Finally, the experimental and control groups were compared in terms of general functioning and improvement of symptoms. The data were analyzed with SPPS 23.0 using independent t-test and analysis of covariance tests. The difference in the average age and length of marriage in both groups was not significant (P > 0.05). The results of independent t-test showed that there was a significant difference between the two groups in general family functioning (P < 0.05). In addition, analysis of covariance showed that psycho-educational intervention led to significant reduction in obsessive-compulsive disorder in the experimental group (P < 0.05). This study showed that psycho-educational intervention was effective in improving the general family functioning of a companion, and therefore, it was effective in reducing the severity of obsessive-compulsive disorder in patients