Free course Family to Family offers help to families of mentally ill
Sparta The Sussex County affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) will offer a family education course, Family to Family, in Sparta, beginning Wednesday, Sept. 9. The comprehensive 12-session course will be held at Blessed Kateri RC Church, 427 Stanhope Road., in Sparta, on Wednesdays, from 7 to 9:30 p.m., through Nov. 25. This free course was created by NAMI to help parents, spouses, siblings, friends and significant others deal with the issues of living with a loved one who has been diagnosed with a major mental illness. The illnesses covered include major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, borderline personality disorder, panic disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder. The course will address the questions caregivers typically struggle with: What do I do if there is a crisis? How can I get a clear diagnosis for my relative? How can my relative and I communicate better? What local services in my community am I missing out on? What are all these medications for? What are the best treatments now available for my relative? How do I take care of myself in all of this? In addition, the course will explain the biological brain chemistry involved in mental illness, the array of psychotropic medications used in treatment, and how to differentiate between mild and serious medication side effects. The course also includes two skill training workshops, one in problem-solving and limit-setting; the other in helpful methods of communication. With increased insight and empathy, family members will learn to calibrate their expectations in line with the predictable stages of the illness process. They will also come to understand the stages of emotional reaction they themselves normally experience as caregivers. The course will be taught by two trained mental health advocates who have learned to cope with serious mental illness in their own families. Those interested should call NAMI-Sussex president Kathleen Fitzsimmons at 862-268-5846. Pre-registration is required and class size will be limited to 25. Priority will be given to primary caregivers. Couples are encouraged to take the course together.