Although much clinicians have used psychoeducation for decades, it has not been until a few years ago that the first studies on its efficacy came out. The studies by Peet and Harvey may be considered the first to evaluate the efficacy of psychoeducation (Harvey and Peet, 1991; Peet and Harvey, 1991). They formed two groups of 30 bipolar patients; the first group was shown a 12-min video giving information on lithium and the patients were given a transcript of the text, while the second group acted as a control group and received standard treatment. The attitudes of the patients toward lithium and their knowledge about the treatment improved significantly in the first group.

Van Gent and Zwart (1991) compared 14 bipolar patients who received five group psychoeducation sessions with another 12 patients who acted as the control group. Although the first group showed better knowledge of the disorder and the medication, and better social skills, no effect on treatment adherence was observed. In later studies, the same research group found a significant drop in non-adherence and number of hospital admissions in the group receiving psychoeducation (Van Gent, 2000). It is interesting to note the great tradition of psychoeducation in the Netherlands, at least from the standpoint of clinical support, a tradition that led to its inclusion in the clinical practice routines of many hospitals and favored development of the Netherlands’ own psychoeducation group model – very short in duration, and emphasizing collaboration in the psychiatrist–patient relationship.