Big Island volunteers will sponsor a National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Family-to-Family Education Program specifically for families of people diagnosed with serious mental health conditions.
Classes are from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays, March 9 through April 13, in St. Joseph’s Church meeting room at 43 Kapiolani St. in Hilo.
NAMI is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental health conditions. The curriculum for this series of weekly classes was written by an experienced family member mental health professional and the course will be taught by NAMI Hawaii Big Island family member volunteers who took intensive training as course instructors.
The co-teachers for the Hilo area will be Carolyn Oki, Carol Denis and Kathy Hammes.
“This course is a wonderful experience,” Oki said. “It balances basic psycho-education and skills training with emotional support, self-care and empowerment.”
“We hope families with relatives who have a serious mental illness will take advantage of this unique opportunity,” she added.
The course is designed specifically for parents, siblings, spouses, teenage and adult daughters and sons, partners and significant others who are caregivers of people with serious mental health conditions.
“The course is not appropriate for individuals who themselves have a major mental health condition,” Oki said.
NAMI advocates for access to services, treatment, provides support, promotes research and is steadfast in its commitment to raise awareness and build a community for hope for all those in need.
The NAMI Family-to-Family Education Course is free.
For more information, or to register, call Oki at 935-3518, Denis at 935-0615 or Hammes at 959-2426.
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The curriculum
The National Alliance on Mental Illness Family-to-Family Education Program will cover:
• Information about mental health conditions such as schizophrenia, the mood disorders (bipolar disorder and major depression,) panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder.
• Coping skills such as handling crisis and relapse.
• Basic information about medications.
• Listening and communication techniques.
• Problem-solving skills.
• Recovery and rehabilitation.
• Self-care around worry and stress.
