Family-to-Family • About

The NAMI Family-to-Family Education Course is for family members of people who have or exhibit behavior suggesting schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, borderline personality disorder and major depression. It is appropriate for parents, siblings, adult children, spouses and significant others and is not appropriate for the diagnosed individual him/herself.

Have you ever asked youself the following questions?

• How can I get a clear diagnosis for my relative?
• What do I do if there is a crisis?
• How can my relative and I communicate better?
• What local services in my community am I missing out on?
• How do I take care of myself in all this?
• What are all these medications for?

The course provides family members solutions to these questions, discusses the clinical treatment of illnesses and teaches the knowledge and skills that family members need to cope more effectively.

Family-to-Family • Details

• The course is taught by trained family members - people like you who are coping daily with mental illness in their families.
• 12 week course, 2.5 hours per week
• Family-to-Family is offered multiple times a year throughout the county
• Available in English and Spanish
• All course materials are FREE to participants
• Meet other family members who understand
• Confidential Setting

Family-to-Family • Course Topics

Family-to-Family covers a wide range of topics including:

• Diagnosis and causes
• Sharing our stories
• Problem solving workshop
• Medication review
• Empathy workshop - what it is like to have a brain disorder
• Communication skills workshop
• Self care
• Rehabilitation and available services
• Advocacy: fighting stigma

Family-to-Family • Benefits

Benefits include:

• Learn how families unite together against this disability.
• Learn all about the biology of the brain.
• Take a fascinating look inside some of today's current research on brain disorders.
• Learn about what your relative is actually experiencing.
• Family-to-Family has been rigourously studied and proven to decrease anxiety and increase knowledge and coping skills for participating family members

Family-to-Family • Participant Comments

• I feel I have more resources than before. More communication skills. I’m not alone.
• Excellent, I don’t feel so isolated.
• The course is very helpful in orienting concerned family members with abroad range of issues. The nature of the disease, the vocabulary involved, the needs of the ill, the needs of caregivers, how to communicate with the ill member and among family members, the setting of realistic goals, and opportunities for advocacy. I feel more capable of dealing with the situation. Teachers provided excellent examples of leadership, teaching skills, personal contributions and dedication.
• I like the class alot! it gave me peace of mind and a better understanding of the problem.
• In dealing with my sons hospitalization this March, during the course, I felt better equipped to deal with the doctors and staff. I am very happy to have had the support from the teachers.
• I wish I had taken this course many years ago. I understand my daughter better and have some ideas about problem solving. I found both instructors to be very informative and found and found their willingness to share their family stories helpful. They were very friendly and put us at ease.
• Wonderful. Learned much. I’m not the only one with problems
• Excellent-very educative, informative and insight. (Teachers) inspired the class. The interaction with all the families very good.(Teachers) showed patience and love
• It was a very comprehensive, caring, sympathetic presentation. I feel better prepared for the time when our daughter re-appears and looks to us for help and support
• I am more informed than before. I feel much better, I can help my son in many ways now.