Families are not blamed for causing the illness in the first place or subsequent relapses. There is no assumption that the origin of the illness lies in the pathological interaction in the family. In fact high EE behavior is relevant to other medical conditions and possibly exists in 'normal' families. There is a clear message that families are not ill or needing treatment. Instead, relatives' burden in caring for a deeply disturbed or disabled person is acknowledged.
EE is regarded as a barometer of how much stress the families are under.
In fact family members are enlisted as therapeutic agents. Psychosocial family intervention is offered as part of a treatment package in conjunction with drug treatment and outpatient clinical management. The aims of family intervention are broadly prevention of relapse and promotion of the patient's level of functioning. Brown et al. It was hoped that better understanding on the part of the relatives as a result of education would attenuate their critical behavior of the patients.