The inability of patients with schizophrenia to recognize their facial expressions is an important issue that has an impact on social functioning. This study was conducted to determine the effects of a psychoeducation program for emotion identification and expression in schizophrenic patients on their ability to identify and discriminate between emotions and on their social functionality.

The study was of quasi-experimental design (pretest-posttest, with control group). Schizophrenic patients tracked at the Public Mental Health Centers (PMHC) comprised the intervention (21) and control (21) groups. A 10-week psychoeducation program was administered to the intervention group. The psychoeducation program, prepared by the researcher on the basis of the literature, was set up after obtaining the views of 10 experts. Measuring instruments were administered to the groups before the intervention, after the intervention, and 3 months after that. The measuring instruments consisted of a personal information form, the Facial Emotion Identification Test (FEIT), Facial Emotion Discrimination Test (FEDT) and Personal and Social Performance Scale (PSP). The data were analyzed with the SPSS 21.0 program, using the “two-way repeated measures analysis of variance.”

In the first measurements taken at the conclusion of the psychoeducation program, a significant difference was found (p<0.001) between the intervention and control groups in terms of their FEIT and PSP mean scores. In the measurements taken 3 months after the conclusion of the psychoeducation program, this difference had disappeared. In the first measurements taken at the conclusion of the psychoeducation program, FEDT mean scores had increased, but there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups. The psychoeducation program implemented in the study is an effective program that makes recognition of facially expressed emotions possible and increases the social functioning of patients. These programs may be used at the PMHCʼs and in rehabilitation programs after discharge. They should, however, be repeated.

Biography:
After Elif Aşik graduated from Nursing Department of Abant Izzet Baysal University, she red master program about mental health nursing. Then she graduated from doctorate program of Marmara Universityʼs Mental Health Nursing Department. She interested in schizophrenics, disability people and art therapy along the education life. She has reports and articles about these subjects. She worked as a mental health nurse in different hospitals in Turkey. Now she works as a lecturer at Kırıkkale University in Turkey.