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Find out more about our In Our Own Voice Program, which provides those receiving mental health services an outlet to share their stories and help put a face on mental illness in the community. Also find information on the Bridges program that provides education and support to mental health consumers. With Hope in Mind(WHM) - The With Hope in Mind course provides the basic education and skill training needed to cope with the difficulties associated with caring for adult relatives who are mental health consumers. With Hope in Mind offers helpful skill-building classes, such as problem management, communication and crisis planning, and provides care givers with immediate coping skills for dealing with the different cycles of each illness. It also provides the practical and emotional support needed by care providers in the mental health system. With Hope in Mind offers two components: education and support groups. Participating in both parts of the program gives family members the most benefit, but family members are welcome to take part in either or both. With Hope in Mind is a free, 8-session course taught by trained family members. Sign up for With Hope in Mind classes - click here Beginnings/NAMI Basics- Based on the With Hope In Mind program, Beginnings/NAMI Basics provides a wealth of information for primary care providers of a child or adolescent with mental illness. Many primary caregivers are parents, but grandparents, aunts, uncles, respite care provider and foster parents attend Beginnings/NAMI Basics classes, too. The classes offer a safe, supportive place to share experiences and learn valuable lessons from other adults who care for children with mental disorders. In Beginnings/NAMI Basics classes, students learn about brain biology and specific brain disorders such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Conduct Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Depressive Disorder, Eating Disorders, Anxiety, Panic, Schizophrenia, Post-Traumatic Stress and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Additionally, students learn these essential coping skills: * Communication Beginnings is a free, 8-session course taught by NAMI-trained people who are also primary care providers for a young person with mental illness. Breaking the Silence is a series of innovative lessons designed to put a human face on mental illness and confront the myths that reinforce the sigma and silence surrounding them. Through age appropriate lesson plans students learn:
This two hour in-service program for school teachers is a NAMI National Signature program. The program is presented by a panel consisting of an educator, NAMI facilitator, a parent of a child diagnosed with mental illness, and a mental heath consumer who lived through the process of growing up with illness. The coordinated team approach provides a spectrum of experiences designed to enhance understanding of and empathy for children who live daily with experiences profoundly different form the average child.
We also highy recommend another program, Bridges. For persons with a diagnosis of major mental illness. Consumers trained in the BRIDGES method share common experiences and offer tools to help others build personal bridges to recovery. Support groups are directed by trained class members who are themselves in recovery. They are free and available to everyone who has a diagnosis of mental illness. Many BRIDGES courses are taught in drop-in centers across the state. Support groups use a person-to-person approach to provide consumers with opportunities to learn and practice coping skills. One consumer described Bridges this way: “We learn that we are not alone. Our experiences, when shared, can be a foundation for recovery.” For information about BRIDGES, visit the Tennessee Mental Health Consumers' Association web site or contact them at Tennessee Mental Health Consumers' Association |
