How to Use

the Evidence-Based 

Practices KITs

Family 

Psychoeducation

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Center for Mental Health Services

www.samhsa.gov
. 
Family 

Psychoeducation

How to Use

the Evidence-Based 

Practices KITs

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Center for Mental Health Services
Acknowledgments

This document was prepared for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 

(SAMHSA) by the New Hampshire-Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center under contract number 

280-00-8049 and Westat under contract number 270-03-6005, with SAMHSA, U.S. Department 

of Health and Human Services (HHS). Neal Brown, M.P.A., and Crystal Blyler, Ph.D., served as 

the Government Project Officers.

Disclaimer

The views, opinions, and content of this publication are those of the authors and contributors and 

do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or policies of the Center for Mental Health Services 

(CMHS), SAMHSA, or HHS.

Public Domain Notice

All material appearing in this document is in the public domain and may be reproduced or 

copied without permission from SAMHSA. Citation of the source is appreciated. However, 

this publication may not be reproduced or distributed for a fee without the specific, written 

authorization from the Office of Communications, SAMHSA, HHS.

Electronic Access and Copies of Publication

This publication may be downloaded or ordered at http://www.samhsa.gov/shin. Or, please 

call SAMHSA’s Health Information Network at 1-877-SAMHSA-7 (1-877-726-4727) (English 

and Español).

Recommended Citation

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Family Psychoeducation: How to Use 

the Evidence-Based Practices KITs. HHS Pub. No. SMA-09-4422, Rockville, MD: Center for Mental 

Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department 

of Health and Human Services, 2009.

Originating Office

Center for Mental Health Services

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

1 Choke Cherry Road

Rockville, MD 20857

HHS Publication No. SMA-09-4422

Printed 2009
Family 

Psychoeducation

How to Use the Evidence-Based 

Practices KITs

The Evidence-Based Practices KITs, a product of the Substance 

Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) 

Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), give states, 

communities, administrators, practitioners, consumers of mental 

health care, and their family members resources to implement 

mental health practices that work.

For references, see the booklet The Evidence.
This KIT is part of a series of Evidence-Based Practices KITs created 

by the Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and 

Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health 

and Human Services. 

This booklet is part of the Family Psychoeducation KIT that includes 

a DVD, CD-ROM, and seven booklets:

How to Use the Evidence-Based Practices KITs

Getting Started with Evidence-Based Practices

Building Your Program

Training Frontline Staff

Evaluating Your Program

The Evidence

Using Multimedia to Introduce Your EBP
How to Use the Evidence-Based 

Practices KITs

The emphasis on implementing evidence-based practices (EBP) stems from a consensus 

that a gap exists between what we know about effective treatments and the services 

currently offered. Several key reports call for closing the gap between what research tells 

us is effective and how services are delivered. These reports include the following:

n	U.S. Department of Health and Human 

Services, Mental Health: A Report of 

the Surgeon General (1999); Mental 

Health: Culture, Race and Ethnicity. A 

Supplement to Mental Health: A Report 

of the Surgeon General (2001)

n	National Advisory Mental Health 

Council Workgroup on Child and 

Adolescent Mental Health Intervention 

Development and Deployment, 

Blueprint for Change: Research on Child 

and Adolescent Mental Health (2001);

n	Institute of Medicine Improving the 

Quality of Health Care for Mental and 

Substance-Use Conditions: Quality 

Chasm Series (2006); and 

n	New Freedom Commission on Mental 

Health, Achieving the Promise: 

Transforming Mental Health Care in 

America. Final Report (2003).
2 How to Use the EBP KITs

SAMHSA recognizes the importance of identifying 

and implementing EBPs in real settings. This 

EBP Knowledge Informing Transformation (KIT) 

series incorporates state-of-the-art research to help 

mental health agencies implement EBPs or clinical 

and administrative practices found to consistently 

produce specific, intended results. The KIT 

also meets scientific and stakeholder criteria for 

effectiveness. 

While many mental health agencies provide 

excellent services, the opportunity to integrate the best that science has to offer into 

the service delivery system has compelled 

many agencies to implement EBPs.

In 2004, 47 states were implementing EBPs either 

in part or statewide (Ganju, 2004), and the number 

of interested communities and organizations 

was growing.

How the KITs Started

The Evidence-Based Practices KITs were born in 

1998 when the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 

convened a panel of researchers, clinicians, 

administrators, consumers, and family advocates 

to evaluate the research and determine which 

practices demonstrated positive outcomes in 

multiple research studies. 

The panel identified six EBPs: 

n	Illness Management and Recovery;

n	Supported Employment;

n Family Psychoeducation;

n	Assertive Community Treatment;

n	Integrated Treatment for Co-Occurring 

Disorders (substance use and mental illness); and

n	Medication Treatment, Evaluation and 

Management.

KITs, formerly called Information Resource 

Kits, were piloted in 2003 and subsequent 

field evaluations have helped refine them. The 

contributions of many organizations, researchers, 

providers, administrators, policymakers, consumers, 

and family members give these KITs their strength 

and vitality.

Developing the KITs is one of several SAMHSA 

activities focused on encouraging EBPs in mental 

health. We expect to identify more EBPs for future 

KITs. Topics include the following:

n	Consumer-Operated Services;

n	Interventions for Disruptive Behavior Disorders;

n	Mental Health Promotion and Prevention of 

Behavioral Problems;

n	Supported Education;

n	Supportive Housing; and

n	Treatment of Depression in Older Adults.

Widespread adoption of effective practice 

interventions is at the center of SAMHSA’s mission 

to improve service and is a major part of achieving 

its strategic goals of improving accountability, 

capacity, and effectiveness. SAMHSA hopes that 

the KITs will help communities provide the most 

effective services possible for people with mental 

illnesses and substance abuse problems. 
How to Use the EBP KITs 3

Using the KITs

Each KIT provides the EBP’s practice principles, 

beliefs, and values that guide the following:

n	Clinical judgments;

n	Specific treatment components;

n	Structured service-delivery components; and

n	Evaluation components.

KITs outline the essential components of each 

EBP and provide suggestions collected from those 

who have successfully implemented them. These 

materials are based on professionals’ experience of 

how to develop new programs within mental health 

systems and agencies.

Two philosophical tenets steer these KITs:

Consumers and families have a right to 

information about effective treatments, 

and, in areas where EBPs exist, they 

have a right to access effective services.

Mental health services should have the 

goal of helping people achieve their 

personal recovery goals; develop resilience; 

and live, work, learn, and participate in 

the community.

Research shows that giving written educational 

materials to practitioners alone does not change 

practice (Hyde et al., 2003). The KITs, therefore, 

include materials in various formats for a wide 

array of stakeholder groups. The KITs are primarily 

geared toward five critical groups of stakeholders: 

n	Public mental health authorities;

n	Agency administrators and program leaders;

n	EBP practitioners;

n	Consumers; and 

n	Family members and other supporters.

The KITs present materials in different formats, 

including the following:

n	Slides for a PowerPoint presentation;

n	Brochures;

n	Videos and CD-ROMs;

n Practice workbooks and exercises; and 

n Program guidelines.

If you are administratively and clinically 

responsible for developing and managing 

the EBP program—you should read this 

entire KIT and be prepared to disseminate 

KIT materials to the appropriate people.

While all stakeholders are welcome to read the 

entire KIT, we realize that many will not have the 

time to do so. For this reason, we targeted specific 

materials to particular stakeholder groups. 

On page 5, Each KIT at a Glance shows you the 

variety of educational tools within each KIT. The 

booklets were not intended to be read sequentially, 

but rather to be used by different stakeholders as 

resources throughout the implementation process.
4 How to Use the EBP KITs

A Word About Terms We Use

People from various backgrounds and perspectives developed these materials. During development, it 

became evident that many different terms describe the key stakeholders. For clarity and consistency, in 

most instances we used common terms to identify these groups; however, in some situations, we use 

more precise or alternative terms. Here are some notes about some of the terms we use: 

n Consumers: We most frequently use consumer 

in the KITs. Consumers are people who are 

living with serious mental illnesses and who 

use professional mental health services. Some 

KITs may target people who are not yet using 

mental health services and, therefore, may 

refer to people who have experienced psychiatric 

symptoms.

n Family and other supporters: Recognizing 

that many consumers have key supporters who 

are not family members, we often use family and 

other supporters.

n Practitioners: Practitioner means the person 

who delivers mental health services. This 

term is used instead of clinician, case manager, 

nurse, psychiatrist, therapist, etc., except when 

referring to a specific kind of role (for example, 

the employment specialist in the Supported 

Employment KIT).

n EBP leader or program leaders: Program 

leader refers to the agency staff person who 

oversees the evidence-based practice. We use 

this term instead of program supervisor, operations 

director, program manager, or program administrator

because it clarifies the fact that this person’s job is 

to manage the EBP implementation process with 

the support of the agency’s administration. In the 

Family Psychoeducation KIT, the program leader is 

called the family intervention coordinator.

n Public mental health authorities: Government 

agencies that determine the regulations and 

funding structures of the public mental health 

system. We recognize that EBPs may also be 

implemented and overseen in the private sector.
How to Use the EBP KITs 5

Each KIT at a Glance

Getting Started 

with EBPs

for agency administrators, 

program leaders, and 

mental health authorities

n Implementing EBPs

n About cultural 

competence

Getting Started with EBPs

gives you essential general 

information for implementing 

EBPs and tells you how 

to develop culturally 

competent services.

It covers common initial 

tasks and activities in 

implementing EBPs:

n Consensus-building;

n Integrating EBP principles 

into agency’s policies and 

procedures; and

n Developing an EBP training 

and evaluation structure.

Building

Your Program 

for agency 

administrators, program 

leaders, and mental 

health authorities

n Implementation tips for 

agency administrators 

and program leaders

n Tips for public mental 

health authorities

Building Your Program offers 

suggestions on how mental 

health authorities may 

support EBP implementation. 

It also gives tips to help 

agency staff develop the 

EBP program, including 

information about 

the following:

n Staffing;

n Developing policies and 

procedures;

n Understanding EBP 

revenue sources and 

budgeting; and

n Developing a training 

structure.

Training

Frontline Staff

for EBP practitioners

n Overview of the 

EBP practice

n EBP-specific 

practitioner’s 

knowledge and skills

Training Frontline Staff, 

a workbook especially 

for EBP practitioners, 

covers the nuts and 

bolts of delivering EBP 

services. The workbook 

is designed to be used 

with the Introductory 

Video and Practice 

Demonstration Video on 

the DVD in the KITs.

These materials assume 

that staff are trained and 

experienced in working 

with people with serious 

mental illnesses. General 

information about 

working with people 

with serious mental 

illnesses is not included.

Evaluating

Your Program 

for members of 

the EBP’s quality 

assurance team

n EBP-specific process 

and outcome 

measures

n How to conduct 

process and 

outcome 

assessments

Evaluating Your Program 

gives you general 

information about 

developing a quality 

assurance system and 

for integrating EBPspecific process and 

outcome measures 

into a quality 

assurance system.

It also tells you how 

to conduct process 

assessments and outcomes monitoring. Tips 

on how to use process 

and outcomes data 

to improve the EBP 

program are included.

Using Multimedia to Introduce Your EBP

for all stakeholders

Using Multimedia to Introduce Your EBP presents introductory materials to explain the 

principles of the specific EBP and how it helps consumers and families. Examples include 

introductory videos, sample brochures, and introductory PowerPoint presentations that are 

on the DVDs and CD-ROMs in the KITs. The videos and brochures are available in both 

English and Spanish. Use them during in-service training meetings or for community 

presentations to cover the following:

n Background information;

n The EBP practice principles and values; and

n The basic rationale for EBP service components.

Anyone trained in the EBP (including program leaders, staff, and advisory group members) 

should be able to use these tools to educate other stakeholder groups.

The Evidence

for all stakeholders

This section 

introduces all 

stakeholders to 

the evidence that 

supports each 

specific EBP.

Any reference 

cited in this KIT 

can be found in 

this booklet.
. 
. 
HHS Publication No. SMA-09-4422

Printed 2009

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