The Tuolumne County Affiliate of National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) is sponsoring the NAMI Family to Family Education Program specifically for the families of persons diagnosed with serious mental illness.  The eleven week  series of classes will begin  Sunday, August 5th at 3:00 p.m. and continue on the following Sundays at St Matthews Lutheran Church, 29 Hope Lane, Sonora.

The course will cover information about schizophrenia, the mood disorders(bi-polar and major depression), panic disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder, coping skills such as handling crisis and relapse, basic education about medications, listening and communicating techniques, problem-solving skills, recovery and rehabilitation, and self care around worry and stress.  The curriculum has been written by an experienced family member mental health professional and the course will be taught by family member volunteers who have taken intensive training as course instructors.  The co-teachers for this course will be Suzan Cowan and Pat Davis from Calaveras County.

“This course is a wonderful, healing experience”, says instructor Pat Davis, “It balances basic psycho education and skill training with emotional support, self care and empowerment.”  “My co-instructor and
I hope families with relatives who have serious mental illness will take advantage of this great and unique opportunity.”  Jim Caywood and his wife Carol, who took the class at Calaveras, say it is the the best educational experience they have had in all the years of dealing with mental illness.  You must pre-register to participate in the course.  It is offered free to all family members of a loved one diagnosed with a serious mental illness. Contact  the above numbers to pre-register.