NAMI Family Support Group Facilitator Training NAMI 101

NAMI Family Support Group


Facilitator TrainingNAMI 101


NAMI Family Support GroupNAMI

National Alliance on Mental Illness

• Founded 1979 in Madison, Wisconsin

• Incorporated in Missouri, now with headquarters in Arlington, Virginia

• NAMI is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.

• 1100 Affiliates in 50 States, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands


What is the NAMI mission?

•NAMI is dedicated to the eradication of mental illnesses and to the improvement of the quality of life for all those whose lives are affected by these diseases.


Central Beliefs• Mental Illnesses are illnesses like any other

• Stigma is real and has terrible consequences

• Both the individual and the family are essential to the recovery process

• Education and support for families and people with mental illness make substantial differences in outcomes, recovery and resilience

• With appropriate treatment and services, people can and do recover from mental illness


Public Education and Information Activities

• NAMI’s website: www.nami.org

Receives over 7 million visitors a year

• NAMI’s Toll-free HelpLine: 1 (800) 950-6264 Hours: 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. ET

Responds to over 200,000 calls, emails and social media and postal requests each year and is staffed by a dedicated team of volunteer associates



•Mental Illness Awareness Week, held during the first week of each October

• The Stigmabusters Network

• Unmasking Mental Illness: Science and Research Reception





Peer education and support activities

for individualsand family members






Support Groups

• The NAMI Support Group model operates differently from other, more traditional "share-and-care" groups.




SincereUncritical

Acceptance





Advocacy

•NAMI advocates on behalf of people living with mental illness on the federal, state, and local levels


NAMI Action Centers

Multicultural networking groups• African American • American Indian and Alaskan Native• Asian American and Pacific Islander• Latino • GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and

Transgender)


NAMI Action Centers


How to Contact NAMI• NAMI

3803 N. Fairfax DriveSuite 100Arlington VA 22203

• Phone (703) 524-7600

• Information Helpline 1-800-950-NAMI (6264)

• Education Department: [email protected]

Documents

NAMI Family Support Group Facilitator Training NAMI 101