Toward a new alliance : psychiatric residents and family support groups

In an attempt to assess the status of residency training in psychoeducational approaches for families of chronically ill patients, the authors conducted a national survey of U.S. residency training programs. Responses from 154 programs (75%) indicated a wide variation in time allotted, activities, and participants in such training among the respondents. Less than 50% of the programs indicated formal involvement of family support groups such as the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) and the National Depressive and Manie-Depressive Association (NDMDA). The authors describe a program they have initiated that incorporates organized family support groups in such training efforts.