Conclusions : Psychoeducation is a psychosocial treatment that has been well documented as an adjunct to pharmacological therapy .
However , there are only a few studies regarding its effectiveness on adult patients with major depressive disorder .
Although the publications in this area are still very limited , the articles selected in this review suggest that psychoeducation is effective in improving the clinical course , treatment adherence , and psychosocial functioning of depressive patients
Objective : Pharmacological treatment is considered indispensable to major depressive disorder .
In spite of this , a significant number of patients do not respond adequately to treatment based only on medication , presenting high relapse and recurrence rates .
Therefore , psychosocial interventions , such as psychoeducation , have been increasingly recognized as an essential component in the treatment of depression , associated with pharmacological strategies .
Thus , the aim of the present systematic review was to evaluate the effectiveness of psychoeducation  for patients with unipolar depression , analyzing the evidence from the literature .
Effect on Disability Outcomes of a Depression Relapse Prevention Program
Objective This report evaluates the effects of a depression relapse prevention program on disability outcomes among patients treated for depression at high risk for relapse . Material s and Methods Primary care patients initiating antidepressant treatment for depression were assessed 6 to 8 weeks after the initial prescription . Patients responding to initial treatment but at high risk for relapse were r and omized to usual care or a relapse prevention intervention ( N = 386 ) . The 12-month relapse prevention program included systematic patient education , two psycho-educational visits with a depression prevention specialist , shared decision-making regarding maintenance pharmacotherapy , and ongoing monitoring of medication adherence and depressive symptoms via telephone and mail .  Disability outcomes were assessed via blinded telephone assessment s at 3 , 6 , 9 , and 12 months using SF-36 and Sheehan Disability scales . Results Usual care patients and relapse prevention program patients had high rates of use of maintenance pharmacotherapy . Both relapse prevention and usual care patients showed improved functioning over the 12-month follow-up period . One of the three disability measures ( the SF-36 Social Function scale ) showed a significant intervention effect because of continuing improvement at 9 and 12 month follow-up , whereas the Sheehan Disability Scale showed a nonsignificant trend toward greater improvements in disability among relapse prevention patients than among usual care controls . Conclusions Moderate effects of a relapse prevention intervention on depressive symptoms were associated with modest and variable effects on disability outcomes . Inconsistent effects of the intervention for disability outcomes may be because of the high rates of maintenance pharmacotherapy among usual care patients , relatively mild levels of depressive symptoms among both intervention and control patients at baseline , the absence of a specific relapse prevention effect of the intervention , and the result ant modest differences in depressive symptoms between intervention and control patients in this trial
Conclusions : Psychoeducation is a psychosocial treatment that has been well documented as an adjunct to pharmacological therapy .
However , there are only a few studies regarding its effectiveness on adult patients with major depressive disorder .
Although the publications in this area are still very limited , the articles selected in this review suggest that psychoeducation is effective in improving the clinical course , treatment adherence , and psychosocial functioning of depressive patients
Objective : Pharmacological treatment is considered indispensable to major depressive disorder .
In spite of this , a significant number of patients do not respond adequately to treatment based only on medication , presenting high relapse and recurrence rates .
Therefore , psychosocial interventions , such as psychoeducation , have been increasingly recognized as an essential component in the treatment of depression , associated with pharmacological strategies .
Thus , the aim of the present systematic review was to evaluate the effectiveness of psychoeducation  for patients with unipolar depression , analyzing the evidence from the literature .