[Psychoeducation in schizophrenia relapse prevention]

Schizophrenia is a chronic disease, with phase course. Most of patients (about 78%) experience more than one episode of the disease in the course of life. Pharmacotherapy is the standard method of troating schizophrenia. Since the middle of the 70 a new orientation of therapy of schizophrenia has been developing. Its main goal is prophylaxis, which combines pharmacotherapy and psychosocial treatment. In the paper we discuss the term "relapse of schizophrenia" and researches concerning the index of relapses and dynamics of the disease. We present theoretical presumptions which are the base of psychoeducational programs, that is, stress-vulnerability model. The main purposes of psychoeducation in schizophrenia are also discussed. The article contains current review of the researches relative to effectiveness of psychoeducational programs in relapse of schizophrenia prevention.