Big Island volunteers are sponsoring a National Alliance on Mental Illness Family-to-Family Education Program specifically for families of people diagnosed with serious mental illness.
Big Island volunteers are sponsoring a National Alliance on Mental Illness Family-to-Family Education Program specifically for families of people diagnosed with serious mental illness.
The series of Saturday classes in Hilo are from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. April 1 through May 6 in the St. Joseph’s Church meeting room, 43 Kapiolani St. The program is free.
The course will cover information about schizophrenia, mood disorders (bipolar disorder and major depression), panic disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder.
Class subjects also include coping skills such as handling crisis and relapse; basic information about medications; listening and communication techniques; problem-solving skills; recovery and rehabilitation; and self-care around worry and stress.
NAMI is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. The course will be taught by NAMI Hawaii members Carolyn Oki, Carol Denis and Kathy Hammes.
“This course is a wonderful experience,” Oki said. “It balances basic psychoeducation and skill-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.”
This course is designed specifically for parents, siblings, spouses, teenage and adult daughters and sons, partners, and significant others who are caregivers of people with severe and persistent mental illness.
For more information or to register, call Oki at 935-3518, Denis at 935-0615 or Hammes at 959-2426.