Using family psychoeducation when there is no family

High familial expressed emotion, which may be a specific form of social overstimulation, has been linked to schizophrenic relapse and rehospitalization. Research on expressed emotion has led to a new generation of demonstrably effective family treatments for schizophrenia that rely heavily on psychoeducational techniques. Although most schizophrenic patients do not live with families, the family psychoeducational model has not been applied in nonfamilial living settings. The authors report two examples in which the family psychoeducational model was successfully used in group living situations and discuss the implications of expressed emotion and family psychoeducation for schizophrenic patients who live in nonfamilial settings.