Understanding and Management of Caregivers' Stress and Burden of Person with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Author(s):  
Shikha Soni ◽  
Poornima C. ◽  
P. C. Ashfak Ahamed

The objective of the chapter is to understand the processes involved in care giving for those with a Chronic Mental Illness and to develop an effective intervention incorporating methods and strategies that aims at reducing caregiver stress and burden. OCD is a neurobiological disorder characterized by the presence of symptoms such as obsessions and compulsions. Literature is reviewed on prevalence, intervention and tools that can assess caregiver stress and burden in OCD. Accommodation and Expressed emotion plays key roles in interpersonal relationships that exist in the families of those afflicted with mental illness and may affect the treatment. Psycho education found to be helpful in educating the family about all the relevant aspects of OCD and to determine their role as a caregiver in order to deal with the illness in an effective way. Family intervention beyond the scope of psycho-education programme is required to prepare caregivers to take on the role of care giving more effectively.

2002 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. SELLWOOD ◽  
N. TARRIER ◽  
J. QUINN ◽  
C. BARROWCLOUGH

Background. A variety of factors are related to compliance with medication in schizophrenia, but little attention has been paid to the role of families. Carers' knowledge or expressed emotion (EE) may be related to compliance. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relevance of these two factors, as well as their relationships with other variables for the prediction of compliance.Method. A sample of patient–carer pairs (N=79) involved in a family intervention for schizophrenia trial was recruited. Compliance, symptoms, social functioning and attitudes to their carers were assessed in patients. Carers' EE, knowledge and psychopathology were also evaluated.Results. A number of factors were related to compliance, including carers' EE and patients' psychotic symptoms, which contributed independently to not taking medication. Carers' knowledge about schizophrenia and other groups of symptoms was not related to compliance.Conclusions. EE may be an important factor to account for in the understanding of patients' compliance and the direction of the relationship between EE and compliance should be the subject of further study.


Author(s):  
Tom Burns ◽  
Mike Firn

Schizophrenia is the iconic mental illness. This chapter describes the evolution of the concept by doctors in the early mental hospitals through to modern classifications of its subtypes. The nature/nurture controversy has been particularly fraught in schizophrenia and the possible role of the family in its genesis is considered in detail. Explanatory models such as the ‘schizophrenogenic mother’ and the ‘double bind’, although now only historical, are described because of their hold on the popular imagination. Family factors (‘expressed emotion’) in the maintenance of the disorder are also considered. The role of maintenance medication, clozapine, the identification of relapse signatures, early intervention, and psychosocial interventions are also described.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (03) ◽  
pp. 58-59
Author(s):  
Rudwan Abdul-Al

The main challenges faced by psychiatrists in the Arab world are stigma, shortage of resources, role of the family and effects of conflicts and migration. Psychiatrists practising in this region have to adapt to these challenges and use creative methods to provide a good service to their patients.A woman in her mid-20s presented to a private psychiatric out-patient clinic with a longstanding obsessive–compulsive disorder of contamination. She had fled her home country with her family because of an ongoing armed conflict. They were under temporary ‘visitor’ visas and the possibility of their stay not being renewed created immense anxiety. The patient was prone to bouts of anger on a regular basis, causing her to shout at her mother and brother. Her mother was concerned that the neighbours might complain, which might get the family into trouble with the police. The family were eager to know if the patient's condition was likely to improve with medication. They also asked if she could be admitted to an in-patient unit for treatment. Unfortunately, the psychiatric in-patient unit was not suitable for her needs and she could not go back to her home country because of safety concerns. The cost of treatment at a private clinic was expensive for the family. She was not eligible for state-funded healthcare.The psychiatrist had to manage a complex situation created by stigma, effects of war and migration, lack of appropriate resources and the role of family. He maintained a trusting relationship with the patient and made sure no information was given to her family without her consent. Regular contact with the family was maintained to increase awareness about the nature of the patient's symptoms and to support the family in coping with the difficulties mentioned above.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaya Bharti

Background: This is a cross-sectional comparative study with the aim to compare two patient groups of schizophrenia and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and their respective caregivers with the objectives to quantify and compare the expressed emotion (EE) in caregivers of person with schizophrenia and OCD and to study the relationship between them. It also aimed to identify factors associated with expressed emotions in above two groups. Methods: In this study, 40 patients schizophrenia, 40 patients of OCD, along with their 80 respective caregivers were taken on the basis of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Subjects were assessed using Socio-demographic and clinical sheet &FEICS. Appropriate statistics such as mean, standard deviation, unpaired t test, Pearson’s correlation were applied to analyse the data. Result: The results of the study the caregivers of patients with OCD were perceived as having greater over-involvement than the caregivers of schizophrenia. Perceived criticism had a positive correlation with stress whereas over-involvement had a negative correlation. Some of the demographic variables like age and education were also found to have significant correlation with expressed emotion. Conclusion: The presence of significant amount of expressed emotion point out to the need for psychosocial support to the family members for reduction in the expressed emotion.


2003 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gail Steketee ◽  
Barbara Van Noppen

This article reviews the family constellation of patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), the presence of OCD symptoms among family members, and familial aspects including parental attachment, expressed emotion (EE), and family accommodation. Some evidence supports a negative effect of hostility, emotional over-involvement, and criticism perceived by the patient on behavioral treatment outcome. However, actual criticism observed by the relative during an interview was associated with more benefit from therapy. Family accommodation predicted poorer family functioning and more severe OCD symptoms after behavioral treatment. A review of the limited treatment literature indicates no actual tests of the effects of psycho-educational and supportive treatments, although several reports suggest they are useful for families and patients. Including relatives in treatment has proved beneficial in some studies, especially with children, but not in others. Multiple family groups that focus on behavioral contracting for exposure and stopping rituals may be a promising intervention. Likewise, efforts to reduce family accommodation in the context of behavioral treatment have proved useful. Additional research on the content, process and effects of family interventions for OCD is much needed.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Scelles ◽  
LUIS CARLO BULNES

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a treatment for post-traumatic stressdisorder (PTSD). The technique is known to stimulate the capacity to reprocess maladaptive memoriesthat are thought to be central to this pathology. Here we investigate if EMDR therapy can be used in otherconditions than PTSD. We conducted a systematic literature search on PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Web of Science. Wesearched for published empirical findings on EMDR, excluding those centred on trauma and PTSD,published up to 2020. The results were classified by psychiatric categories.   Ninety articles met our research criteria. A positive effect was reported in addictions, somatoformdisorders, sexual dysfunction, eating disorder, disorders of adult personality, mood disorders, reaction tosevere stress, anxiety disorders, performance anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), pain,neurodegenerative disorders, paedopsychiatry and sleep. The evidence was more consistent in pain, OCD,mood disorders, and reaction to severe stress.EMDR’s efficiency across numerous pathological situations, highlighted the central role of affectivememory in several psychiatric and non-psychiatric conditions. Furthermore, EMDR seems to besuccessful in usually uncooperative (e.g. Dementia) or unproductive cases (e.g. aphasia). Moreover, insome severe medical situations were psychologic distress was an obstacle, EMDR allowed thecontinuation of treatment-as-usual. Our review suggests that it is a safe and economical therapeuticoption, and its effect in non-pathological situations opens new avenues for translational research. Overallmore methodologically rigorous studies are needed.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 7-25
Author(s):  
Karolina Diallo

Pupil with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Over the past twenty years childhood OCD has received more attention than any other anxiety disorder that occurs in the childhood. The increasing interest and research in this area have led to increasing number of diagnoses of OCD in children and adolescents, which affects both specialists and teachers. Depending on the severity of symptoms OCD has a detrimental effect upon child's school performance, which can lead almost to the impossibility to concentrate on school and associated duties. This article is devoted to the obsessive-compulsive disorder and its specifics in children, focusing on the impact of this disorder on behaviour, experience and performance of the child in the school environment. It mentions how important is the role of the teacher in whose class the pupil with this diagnosis is and it points out that it is necessary to increase teachers' competence to identify children with OCD symptoms, to take the disease into the account, to adapt the course of teaching and to introduce such measures that could help children reduce the anxiety and maintain (or increase) the school performance within and in accordance with the school regulations and curriculum.


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