Wellness Enhancement Therapy (WET) to Reduce Expressed Emotion and Subjective Burden among the Family Caregivers of Schizophrenia Patients: A Pilot Study

Expressed emotion of the family caregivers is a reliable predictor of relapse in schizophrenia patients. The subjective burden of care affects the caregiver's quality of life and multiple areas of everyday life, leading to the impairment of caregiving role. The impaired caregiving role has negative impact on patient's well-being, course and prognosis of this disorder. Understanding the situation, the researcher developed the Wellness Enhancement Therapy (WET) to reduce Expressed Emotion (EE) and Subjective Caregiver Burden (SCB) of the primary family caregivers of the individuals with schizophrenia. The intervention integrated Cognitive Therapy (CT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) models. Family Questionnaire for expressed emotion (FQ-EE) and Burden Scale for Family Caregivers (BSFC-s) were used as assessment tools. Interviews and Focused -Group Discussions were carried out to have the clear understanding of the problem. The intervention was subjected to experts' validation by six interdisciplinary experts and a feasibility test was conducted with ten primary family caregivers with high EE and SCB. The results of the pilot study revealed that the Wellness Enhancement Therapy had a positive effect on the respondents to reduce Expressed Emotion and Subjective Caregiver Burden.