The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in Washington County will be providing the free eight session educational program Family-to-Family every Tuesday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. from Tuesday, Oct. 6 to Tuesday, Nov. 24 in West Bend.
This program is designed for people with a loved one, who is an adult, who suffers from a mental health condition. It will provide information about conditions, give participants an idea of what those suffering are going through psychologically, medically and socially and practical tools such as problem solving strategies and effective communication.
“They’re effective ways to communicate with anybody, but especially with someone who might be struggling with concentration or dealing with a very serious illness,” Sheryl Smith from NAMI said.
Taking care of yourself and setting boundaries within the relationship is another important piece of the program.
“We also talk about ways to take care of ourselves when we are in such a difficult situation. Ways to cope and communicate and also to set healthy boundaries because oftentimes we can get really bogged down in relationships in unhealthy ways and need to be able to keep boundaries for ourselves as well as the other person,” explained Smith.
If one chooses to sign up, they will first speak with someone from NAMI to make sure the program is the right fit for their situation.
Courses have a limit of 20 people and a minimum of 10. Smith says that this way they can have good interaction and make it feel more than just a group of friends talking or a support group.
Each session is led by two people who have a family member with mental illness. Smith said, “So we’re not only teaching information from a nationally recognized curriculum, but we also have our own personal insights that we can help provide.”
Smith is one of those people. She got involved around 2005 after her son developed a mental illness. Unsure of what to do, she found NAMI and the program. Once she took the class in Ozaukee County, she saw the good it did and the importance of the material.
Since then she has been an active volunteer and helps lead the program. She has been teaching with NAMI for 20 years now.
“It was the first family education program that the National Alliance on Mental Illness developed,” Smith explained.
Developed by a psychologist who had a family member with schizophrenia, she wanted to help others in a similar situation. The program was developed in the mid 1990s and it was gifted to NAMI so they could continue helping others. Since then, the program has been changed and updated to keep up with the times.
Since 2007 the program has been helping people in West Bend at least once or twice a year.
In order to register one can either call 262-339-1235 or visit https://www.namiwashingtonwi.org/.
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