These NAMI classes are no cost and led by NAMI-trained individuals with lived experience who can understand what you are going through.
BASICS
An educational program specifically for parents and other family caregivers of children and adolescents experiencing mental health challenges. Last year, 99% of participants told us they would recommend the program to other parents.
Overview
As a caregiver of a child or adolescent with a mental health condition you face unique challenges: social stigma, complex family dynamics, navigating the school system, unpredictable aspects of these conditions. It can be overwhelming.
NAMI Basics provides you with skills, knowledge and a community of people who can relate to your experience.
You will learn from people like you, who get it, who have been there. Trained peers will guide you on how to better understand and support your child while maintaining your own well-being.
What You Should Know
No cost to participants
Open to parents and family caregivers of people younger than 22 who are experiencing mental health challenges
Meets for 6 sessions
Typically offered twice per year
What You'll Gain
Find a community of support
Gain practical up-to-date information about mental health challenges
Learn how to effectively advocate for your child
Develop problem solving and communication skills
What People are Saying
Click here to register for Basics! There is still room in the class!
For additional information on this program, or any of NAMI Rochester’s other offerings, please email us at info@namirochester.org or call (585) 423-1593.
Family-to-Family
An educational program specifically for family members and friends of adults who live with mental illness.
Overview
As a loved one of a person with mental illness, you face unique challenges: social stereotypes and stigma, complex family dynamics, unpredictable aspects of the illness. It can be overwhelming.
Our program helps you. NAMI Family-to-Family gives you information, crucial resources and access to a community of people who relate to your experiences.
You will learn from people like you who get it, who have been there. Trained peers will guide you to know how to better understand and support your loved one while maintaining your own and your family’s well-being.
Locations Offered: Batavia, Lyons, Rochester (Please check the calendar for a complete listing of dates, times, and locations.)
What You Should Know
No cost to participants
Open to adult (18+) family members and friends of people who live with mental illness
Meets for 12 sessions
Typically offered twice per year
Taught by trained family members of people living with mental illness
Must pre-register
What You'll Gain
Practical, up-to-date information about mental health conditions
Understand the latest treatment options including medications
Discover problem solving techniques, coping strategies and communication skills
Learn to advocate for your family member through the mental health system
Find community support in a confidential setting
What People are Saying
Before I took the course, I felt alone and overwhelmed dealing with my daughter’s mental illness. By taking this course, I have met others who are going through the same things I am and have learned about many resources that I never knew existed.
I thought my wife and I knew just about everything there is to know about the system and the illness. Boy, were we wrong. Without a doubt, this is the best support course I have had the privilege of taking part in, bar none.
Click here to be added to the interest list for Family-to-Family. Expect another scheduled class in the Spring!
For additional information on this program, or any of NAMI Rochester’s other offerings, please email us at info@namirochester.org or call (585) 423-1593.
Peer-to-Peer
An educational program focused on mental health, wellness and recovery for adults experiencing a mental health challenge.
Overview
Find hope in knowing you’re not alone. Pursuing mental health involves patience, courage and the support of others.
NAMI is here to help.
NAMI Peer-to-Peer offers information, resources and a community of support to aid you in developing your own recovery plan. Whether you’re seeking to overcome stigma, manage tough family relationships or balance changing medical needs, the course provides the opportunity to get new ideas from others with similar experiences.
What You Should Know
No cost to participants
Open to adults (18+) living with mental health challenges
Meets for 8 sessions
Typically meets once per year
Guided by peers who successfully manage their own recovery and wellness
Must pre-register
What You'll Gain
Find support in a sincere, confidential setting
Create personalized relapse prevention plans
Become your own advocate
Improve coping and problem solving skills
Learn about community resources
What People are Saying
“NAMI Peer-to-Peer has allowed me to take the focus off my illness and learn to balance it with the rest of my life. By engaging in recovery I am able to be more relaxed and productive both at work and home.”
“It made me feel I was not alone in coping with mental illness. It gave me hope that I could recover and that my life would not always be filled with chaos, and it gave me positive role models to inspire me to strive for recuperation and success in life.”
Click here to register!
For additional information on this program, or any of NAMI Rochester’s other offerings, please email us at info@namirochester.org or call (585) 423-1593.
Homefront
An educational program specifically for loved ones of military Service Members and Veterans who experience symptoms of a mental health condition.
Overview
When an important person in your life has a mental health condition, you face unique challenges: complex family dynamics, social isolation and unpredictable aspects of the disorder. It can be overwhelming. When your loved one is a member of the military or a Veteran, there can be additional complicating factors including combat injuries, post-traumatic stress and transitioning back to civilian life.
We are here for you. NAMI Homefront offers you information, resources and access to a community of people who relate to your experience.
You’ll learn from others who’ve been where you are. They’ll guide you through how to better understand and support your loved one while maintaining your own and your family’s well-being.
What You Should Know
No cost to participants
Open to adult loved ones of military Service Members or Veterans experiencing symptoms of a mental health condition
Meets for 6 sessions
Typically meets once per year
Taught by trained family members of Service Members and Veterans living with mental health conditions
Must pre-register
What You'll Gain
Practical, up-to-date information about mental health conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and substance abuse
Understand the latest treatment options, including evidence-based therapies and medications
Discover problem-solving techniques, coping strategies and communication skills
Find community support in a confidential setting
What People are Saying
“You realize that he will never be the same having been through war. I learned how to treat him more as an adult than as a hurt child.”
Click here to register for the online course starting April 15th, 2019!
For additional information on this program, or any of NAMI Rochester’s other offerings, please email us at info@namirochester.org or call (585) 423-1593.
DBT Coping Skills*
Two-Part Module skills-based program for families living with individuals diagnosed with a mental illness
*This is an ancillary course offered at NAMI Rochester, and is not a NAMI Signature Program
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is recognized as the gold standard for treating anyone who is suicidal, regardless of the diagnosis. Its goal is to help individuals change behaviors, emotions, thinking and interpersonal patterns that cause misery and distress.
Why DBT for Families Matters
DBT helps family members respond more effectively to their loved ones by increasing:
Mindfulness skills. Our ability to be in touch with ourselves and others.
Emotion regulations skills. Our ability to manage difficult or extreme emotions. Emotional resilience.
Interpersonal communication skills. Our ability to maintain and improve our relationships
Distress tolerance skills. Our ability to survive crisis situations without making things worse.
The class is not intended to be therapy.
What You'll Gain from this Two-Part Module
Greater flexibility
Reduced stress
Greater appreciation for the suffering of your loved one
What People Are Saying
“It gave me inner peace, a calm in life, and HOPE.”
“I learned to handle emotions in the moment without losing myself and my dignity.”
“I learned techniques for handling my anger.”
“I gained the ability to embrace other viewpoints while simultaneously being able to get my position across.”
“Greater insight into my own impulses and biases.”
DBT Coping Skills Meets...
DBT Skills and Support is taught in two 4-week modules. Module 1 covers: Mindfulness,Describing Non-judgmentally, Willingness and Wise min. Module 2 covers: DBT's Core Assumptions, Walking the Middle Path, Validation and Self-validation. There is no cost to participate Families are asked to purchase DBT Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets, 2nd Edition, by Marcia Linehan
DBT-Based Coping Skills is intended to be a follow up to Family-to-Family, but we can make exceptions, depending on your circumstances. If you have not taken Family-to-Family but want to take the class, please contact Amy Baker at amycbaker@aol.com. Classes are held at the Rochester Psychiatric Center Rehabilitation Building, 1111 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620. For more information about DBT Coping skills for Families, contact NAMI Rochester at 585-423-1593 or email us at info@namirochester.org.