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 .
Expressed emotion and psychoeducational intervention for relatives of patients with schizophrenia: a randomized controlled study in Japan
The benefit of single-family treatment ( SFT ) in addition to short educational sessions ( SES ) consisting of multiple-family treatment was investigated . The study design was a r and omized controlled study . Subjects were 30 patients suffering from schizophrenia with at least one of their family members showing high expressed emotion ( EE ) in the Camberwell Family Interview . After the SES , the patients were r and omly allocated to two groups : those who received routine individual outpatient treatment and those who received additional SFT and routine treatment . The two groups were followed for 9 months after discharge , and the relapse risks were compared . The relapse risk was lower in the SES+SFT group than in the SES group ( 23.1 % vs. 35.3 % ) . However , the difference was not significant . When high-EE families were classified into those with many critical comments ( high-CC ) or a high score of emotional overinvolvement ( high-EOI ) , the relapse risk was 0 % in the patients living with a high-CC family not only in the SES+SFT group but also in SES group . In the patients living with a high-EOI family , the relapse risk was lower in the SES+SFT group than in the SES group ( 42.9 % vs. 60.0 % ) . These findings suggest that high-EE families should receive at least SES , and additional SFT should be given to families with specific needs
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 .