NAMI Family-to-Family is a free, 12 class education program for family members of adults living with mental illness. In this program the term family is viewed from a broad perspective to include parents, young siblings, adult sons, daughters, and non-binary kin, spouses, partners, and significant others. The course is designed to help all family members understand and support their loved one with mental illness while maintaining their own well-being. The course includes information on illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression and other mental health conditions. Thousands of families have described the program as life-changing.
The program is taught by trained teachers who are also family members and know what it is like to have a loved one living with mental illness. In May 2013 the program was added to the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Programs.
What You’ll Gain
NAMI Family-to-Family not only provides critical information and strategies for taking care of the person you love, but you’ll also find out that you’re not alone.
What You’ll Learn About
How to manage crises, solve problems and communicate effectively
Taking care of yourself and managing your stress
Developing the confidence and stamina to provide support with compassion
Finding and using local support and services
Up-to-date information on mental health conditions and how they affect the brain
Current treatments, including evidence-based therapies, medications and side effects
The impact of mental illness on the entire family
Wisdom from Shared Experiences
The group setting of NAMI Family-to-Family provides mutual support and shared positive impact—you can experience compassion and reinforcement from people who understand your situation. You can also help others through your own experience.
Core Philosophy
We have more in common than not.
We are all experts on our own experience.
We respect individual experiences and individual choices.
We are free to choose our own path.
There is no one true way to do or be anything.
What Others Say About NAMI Family-to-Family
““Peer-to-Peer has allowed me to take the focus off my illness and learn to balance it with the rest of my life. By engaging in recovery I am able to be more relaxed and productive both at work and home.””
““It made me feel I was not alone in coping with mental illness; it gave me hope that I could recover and that my life would not always be filled with chaos; it gave me positive role models to inspire me to strive for recuperation and success in life.””
