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Family to Family Education Program

The NAMI Family-to-Family Education Program is a free 12-week course for family caregivers of individuals with severe brain disorders (mental illnesses). The course is taught by trained family members. All instruction and course materials are free for class participants.

The Family-to-Family curriculum focuses on schizophrenia, bipolar disorder (manic depression), clinical depression, panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The course discusses the clinical treatment of these illnesses and teaches the knowledge and skills that family members need to cope more effectively.

To view the Family-to-Family course schedule click here.

Congratulations to:

Alice Adcock, NAMI Southwestern Illinois, for teaching 20 Family-to-Family Education Courses!

Imogene Rowland, NAMI Northern Illinois, for teaching 17 Family-to-Family Education Courses!

 

 

Testimonial from a NAMI Illinois Family-to-Family Educator

"These classes changed my life when I first took the course myself, and now as a co-teacher, it is a moving experience to see the change in the others in the class."
 
"One of the students in my class has a doctorate in psychology and has been practicing for 25 years.  When I asked them last week just how much of the course material was review and how much was new, I was surprised to hear that 80% was new material!" 
 
"As a guest, we had a social worker and therapist give a short presentation on what services are available in our area.  At the end, they asked if anyone in the class had had counseling for themselves or ever went to a support group.  Six hands went up.  When asked what worked best for them, what personally had helped them most, the rapid response was, "This NAMI course."

 

 

New Study: NAMI Family Education "Significantly" Improves Coping with Mental Illness

 

Support Program Can Help Caregivers Cope with Relative’s Mental Illness

 

 

Dartmouth IPS Supported Employment Center

Families and Supported Employment 

Family to Family Class 11
This lesson for class 11 was developed by NAMI Illinois and has been incorporated as an example of a family advocacy initiative.

IPS Supported Employment Principles

 

Poem from a NAMI Illinois Family-to-Family Course Participant

Back in September, when our class just began

We were feeling scared, confused and without much of a plan.

 

From symptoms to subtypes, from the brain to the meds

Our weekly lists of topics have swirled around in our heads.  

 

But with your assistance, you have given us hope

By providing us with techniques to help us all cope.

   

And by taking this course, we now also understand

That there may be times when we have to take a stand.

   

We’ve shared our stories, our laughter and our tears,

And thanks to your warmth, we’ve also been able to express our fears.

   

But despite what we’ve gone through, and what the future may hold,

We know that we’ll get through it, as our stories unfold.

   

So our wish for you is honest and sincere,

We hope that you have a wonderful holiday season and a happy, healthy new year!

 

 

New Study: NAMI Family Education "Significantly" Improves Coping with Mental Illness

ARLINGTON, Va., June 14, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NAMI's Family-to-Family Education program "significantly" improves coping and problem-solving abilities of family members of individuals living with mental illness, according to a landmark study published in the current issue of Psychiatric Services, a journal of the American Psychiatric Association.

Family-to-Family is a free 12-week self-help course offered by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in which trained instructors who have family members living with mental illness teach coping and support ive skills to other persons with family members diagnosed with major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or other conditions.

Led by Lisa B. Dixon, M.D., M.P.H., of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, the study found that the NAMI classes increase knowledge about mental illness and "empowerment within the family, the service system and the comm unity."

NAMI's Family-to-Family program offers "concrete practical benefits" and demonstrates the value of free, comm unity-based self-help programs as a "complement" to professional mental health services, the study noted. The classes combine an instructional curriculum with a support group environment.

"NAMI has long had confidence in Family-to-Family as a signature education program," said NAMI Executive Director Michael J. Fitzpatrick. "The study reinforces the position of family advocates. It is a signal to the medical profession."

"Doctors and other mental health care workers are often unable to provide enough support to family members, even though families often play a critical role in the treatment and recovery of loved ones."

The study coincides with the 20th anniversary of NAMI's Family-to-Family program. An estimated 250,000 family members have taken the classes to date.

Over 3,500 trained volunteers teach classes in the United States and Puerto Rico . In some comm unities, classes are offered to families of veterans through local Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities.

Funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the study evaluated the effectiveness of classes in five counties in the culturally diverse Greater Washington, D.C. and Baltimore area, involving 318 participants recruited between 2006 and 2009.

The study will be presented at NAMI's annual convention in Chicago , July 2-9, 2011.

About NAMI  

NAMI is the nation's largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness. NAMI has over 1,100 state and local affiliates engaged in research, education , support and advocacy.

SOURCE National Alliance on Mental Illness