Registration for NAMI Classes Now Underway
ONEONTA—The National Alliance on Mental Illness of Delaware and Otsego Counties will be offering free Family-to-Family Education Classes beginning this May, Shari Stallone announced last week.
Stallone, senior program coordinator for Rehabilitation Support Services Inc. and NAMI instructor, said the eight-week series is designed for families and friends of people who have mental health issues. The course will be held in Walton at the New Hope Community Church on Wednesday evenings starting at 6 p.m. from May 1 through June 19.
The NAMI Family-to-Family course is for families, significant others, and friends of people with mental health conditions and is designated as an evidence-based program by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services, to help people have a better understanding of mental health illness, increase coping skills, and empower people to become advocates for their family members and friends.
The course has been written by an experienced mental health professional and will be taught by NAMI-Delaware Otsego family members who have undergone intensive training as course instructors.
“This course is a wonderful experience,” said Stallone in a recent press release. “It balances basic education and skill training with emotional support, self-care, and empowerment. We hope families and friends of people who have a mental health condition will take advantage of this great class. This program is an eight-week series with up-to-date information and tools to help families support their loved ones with mental illness.”
The NAMI Family-to-Family Education Classes will cover information on mental health conditions such as schizophrenia, mood disorders (bipolar and major depression), anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The course will give family members and friends basic information about medications, share coping skills on how to handle a crisis, explore listening and communication techniques, discuss problem solving and confidentiality challenges, outline recovery and rehabilitation for loved ones, and will provide self-care tips for families and friends around worry and stress.
The course is for parents, siblings, spouses, adult sons and daughters, partners, significant others, and friends of persons with mental health conditions. This course is not for the individuals with mental health conditions themselves.
The NAMI Family-to-Family course is free, but pre-registration is required. For more information or to register, call Stallone at (607) 433-1714, extension 201, or (607) 287-6869, or e-mail namidelawareco@gmail.com or sstallone@rehab.org.