Psychosocial interventions offered across inpatient and crisis settings to the social networks of service users with psychosis: A systematic review

Psychosocial interventions are provided to support caregivers of people with psychosis in the community. However, less is known about the efficacy of these interventions in inpatient and crisis settings. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review and narrative synthesis to examine the types and efficacy of psychosocial interventions offered in inpatient and crisis settings for caregivers of people with psychosis. MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Embase, and CINAHL were searched for eligible quantitative and qualitative studies. Eleven studies were included and all utilised a small to moderate sample size. Three categories of interventions (family interventions, psychoeducation, and support groups) involving a range of methodologies were assessed to be of varying quality. Overall, psychosocial interventions were deemed to be useful for caregivers, with improvements across a range of outcomes, such as burden, distress, and family functioning. The most common type of psychosocial intervention was psychoeducation, as this was either offered as a stand-alone intervention or incorporated into the other types of interventions. Psychosocial interventions within inpatient and crisis settings may have benefits for caregivers, however, additional research and meta-analyses are required to further develop the evidence base. Future research should focus on co-producing studies with lived-experience caregivers.