The effect of an emotional development psychoeducation program on the emotion management skills and caregiver burden of caregivers patients with mental illness: A randomized clinical trial

Objectives: This study used an experimental, pre-test-post-test control group repeated measures design to evaluate the effect of an emotional development psychoeducation program (EDPP) on the emotion management skills and caregiver burden of caregivers of patients with mental illness. Methods: The study was conducted in the Community Mental Health Centers (CMHC) affiliated with the Bakirkoy Mental and Neurological Diseases Training and Research Hospital. The sample consisted of 61 caregivers (experimental: 31 and control: 30) who met the inclusion criteria and agreed to participate in the study. Data were collected using a Caregiver Demographics Questionnaire, the Emotion Management Skills Inventory (EMSI), and the Caregiver Burden Results: All participants had similar demographic characteristics. There was no significant difference in pre-test EMSI and CBI scores between the experimental and control groups. The experimental group had a significantly higher posttest EMSI score than the control group. Although the experimental group had a lower post-test CBI score than the control group, the difference was statistically insignificant. Conclusion: Health-care administrators should inform CMHC nurses about EDPPs and encourage them to attend them regularly.