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This article presents the experience of a psychologist in the development of a multidisciplinary and collective Therapeutic Patient Education program for dialysis patients in out-center (self-dialysis). The role of the psychologist is situated at different levels: construction of the program, animation and co-animation of interventions and evaluation of the program.

The development of therapeutic patient education for dialysis patients is recent and concerns mainly out-center patients. To our knowledge, only two papers centred on therapeutic education with out-center patients have been published. The particularities of this dialysis modality (unit close to the home, more autonomy, a nurse for six patients, organisation of unit, better quality of life and psychological status) highlight the interest to develop specific educational programs for patients treated in out-center sitting. The example of a program in Aquitaine (France) composed of mainly collective sessions (representations of the disease, dietetic recommendations, hygiene and protection of the vascular access, drugs compliance…) allows to propose several practical implications to initiate the development of specific programs in therapeutic education for out-center dialysis: educative sessions during the sessions of dialysis, group patients, multidisciplinary team, evaluation of the program from a medical and psychosocial point of view…