NAMI Mercer County

Families Meeting the Challenge of Mental Illness

Family-to-Family

Family-to-Family

Family-to-Family is an 8-session educational program offered at no charge for family members and friends of adults (18+) living with mental illness. You will receive up-to-date information about serious mental health conditions and the best treatment options. You will learn coping strategies and how to become an effective advocate, while maintaining your own well-being. Family-to-Family teachers create an environment of understanding and support based on their own lived experience. Family-to-Family has been designated as an evidence-based program by SAMHSA. Sessions are offered in the spring and in the fall.

What You'll Learn

The group setting of NAMI Family-to-Family provides the opportunity for mutual support and shared positive impact. You can experience compassion and reinforcement from people who understand your situation. You can also help others through your own experience. In the program, you'll learn about:

  • managing crises, solving problems and communicating effectively;
  • self-care and stress reduction;
  • local resources and services;
  • mental health conditions and how they affect the brain;
  • current treatments, including evidence-based therapies, medications and side effects;
  • what to expect on your loved one's journey to recovery
  • how to provide support with strength and compassion
  • the impact of mental illness on the entire family.

What Graduates Are Saying

Since its inception, more than 300,000 individuals have completed Family-to-Family nationwide. NAMI Mercer has been offering the program since 1995. Here are comments from some of our graduates:

"A long, tough journey is easier when others who have traveled the path before share the trip with you."
Chomy Garces

“Family-to-Family teaches a new way of being. Blame and shame are taken away. We teach people to rely on each other by building a sense of community.”
Michelle Zechner

"Before taking the Family-to-Family course, it seemed that no one understood the relentless burden of mental illness, but in Family-to-Family, everyone knew exactly what we were experiencing."
Tom Pyle

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