Psychological Intervention on Health, Self-Esteem, and Coping in Siblings of Patients with Severe Mental Disorders

Abstract

Background: This study examined the effectiveness of a psychological intervention on self-esteem, perceived stress, perceived health problems, coping strategies, psychological inflexibility, and caregiving experience in siblings of patients with severe mental disorders (SMD). Method: 42 Siblings of patients with SMD participated. The psychological intervention was based on the third wave of cognitive-behavioural therapy and consisted of 14 group sessions. Pre- and post-treatment assessment were conducted in the intervention group (IG) and compared with the control group (CG). Results: IG significantly increased self-esteem, adaptive coping, and positive caregiving experience and reduced perceived stress, perceived health problems, psychological inflexibility, maladaptive coping, and negative caregiving experience. The effect sizes were moderate to large. No changes were reported for the CG in the post-treatment evaluation. Conclusions: The psychological intervention for siblings was effective in relation to the variables assessed. This is an innovative approach to care within the health system for siblings of people suffering from SMD.

Keywords

• psychological intervention
• siblings
• severe mental disorder
• self-esteem
• health
• coping
• caregiving