Q. I am looking for updated or recent educational material for group therapy setting in a day treatment facility. I am the facilitator and most of the information available is somewhat outdated. The population consists of chronics, mostly schizophrenic and bipolar. Could you provide a source or link for educational material to be utilized in a group setting for educational purposes? Can you please refer me to behavioral based sites as well?

A. I'm assuming you are asking about patient-centered educational material relating to the illnesses you mentioned; e.g., schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, etc. I think the Mayo Clinic website has excellent, recent material suitable for handing out to patients.

If you go to http://www.mayohealth.org, you will find accurate, well-written articles on depression, mood disorders, schizophrenia, etc. You might also try the websites for the National Depressive & Manic-Depressive Association (NDMDA), www.ndmda.org/, and the site for the Alliance for the Mentally Ill (www.schizophrenia.com/ami/).

There is also a book that might be of interest to you: "What Every Patient, Family, Friend, and Caregiver Needs to Know About Psychiatry," by Richard Roukema, MD (1998, American Psychiatric Press, Inc). Finally, you may want to see the article, Content and curriculum in psychoeducation groups for families of persons with severe mental illness by Pollio et al, in the June 1998 issue of Psychiatric Services. This article emphasizes the need to tailor the educational material to the specific needs of families. Good luck with your work.

February 2001

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