Free Mental Health Course from NAMI for Families

Concerned about a family member? Family to Family is a free, 12-session program for family, partners, friends, caregivers and significant others of adults living with a serious mental health issue. Developed by the National Alliance on Mental Illness and validated by research, it will be led by trained teachers from the local community who have first-hand experience coping with mental illness and recovery in their families

The course covers depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders. Participants learn how these conditions affect a person’s brain and behavior, the impact of medications, and how families can help. Workshops focus on empathy, communication and coping skills.

“People come to the course feeling frustrated and guilty because they don’t know how to help,” said Peter Case one of the two instructors. “We tell them, ‘You can’t know what nobody ever told you.’ It’s our job to provide information that can help them manage the situation they find themselves in.”

Classes will be held in the Hyde Conference Room of Greenwich Hospital, 5 Perryridge Road, Greenwich, 06830. Weekly meetings will be held 9:15 to 11:45 am on Saturdays, from January 14 through April 1.

To register, contact Peter at (203)322-3383 or pcase@optonline.net

NAMI is a national, grassroots nonprofit organization for improving the lives of individuals with mental illness and their families. NAMI Southwest CT serves Greenwich, Stamford, Darien, New Canaan, Norwalk, Redding, Ridgefield, Westport, Weston, and Wilton.