NAMI Fam­i­ly Sup­port Group is for those who need sup­port deal­ing with a loved one who is liv­ing with men­tal ill­ness. Too often, men­tal ill­ness is an iso­lat­ing expe­ri­ence, accom­pa­nied by pro­found anx­i­ety. When your fam­i­ly mem­ber is diag­nosed with a men­tal ill­ness such as depres­sion, bipo­lar dis­or­der, schiz­o­phre­nia, or any of sev­er­al oth­er ill­ness­es, there is a dra­mat­ic change in the rela­tion­al dynam­ics between fam­i­ly mem­bers. NAMI Fam­i­ly Sup­port Group is a peer-led sup­port group for fam­i­ly mem­bers, care­givers and loved ones of indi­vid­u­als liv­ing with men­tal ill­ness. Gain insight from the chal­lenges and suc­cess­es of oth­ers fac­ing sim­i­lar cir­cum­stances. NAMI’s Sup­port Groups are unique because they fol­low a struc­tured mod­el, ensur­ing every­one has an oppor­tu­ni­ty to be heard and to get what they need.

• FREE of charge
• Designed for adult loved ones (18+) of indi­vid­u­als liv­ing with men­tal illness
• Led by fam­i­ly mem­bers of indi­vid­u­als liv­ing with men­tal illness
• Meets week­ly or monthly
• No spe­cif­ic med­ical ther­a­py or med­ica­tion is endorsed or recommended
• Con­fi­den­tial

What You’ll Gain

By shar­ing your expe­ri­ences in a safe and con­fi­den­tial set­ting, you gain hope and devel­op sup­port­ive rela­tion­ships. This group allows your voice to be heard, and pro­vides an oppor­tu­ni­ty for your per­son­al needs to be met. It encour­ages empa­thy, pro­duc­tive dis­cus­sion and a sense of com­mu­ni­ty. You’ll ben­e­fit through other’s expe­ri­ences, dis­cov­er your inner strength and learn now to iden­ti­fy local resources and how to use them.

• NAMI Fam­i­ly Sup­port Group will help you:
• See the indi­vid­ual first, not the illness
• Rec­og­nize that men­tal ill­ness­es are med­ical ill­ness­es that may have envi­ron­men­tal triggers
• Under­stand that men­tal ill­ness­es are trau­mat­ic events
• Aim for bet­ter cop­ing skills
• Find strength in shar­ing experiences
• Reject stig­ma and not tol­er­ate discrimination
• Not judge anyone’s pain
• For­give our­selves and reject guilt
• Embrace humor as healthy
• Accept that we can­not solve every problem
• Work for a bet­ter future in a real­is­tic way