NAMI’s Free Course on Mental Illness Start Soon

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Greenwich’s Claudia DeVita, an instructor for Family-to-Family, the National Alliance on Mental Illness educational program for families, caregivers and friends of adults with serious mental illnesses shares news of a series of free classes starting soon in Greenwich.

“I am glad we were able to schedule classes on Saturdays this year,” DeVita said in a release of the classes for those caring for people with serious mental illness.

Greenwich Classes
“It will be more convenient for people who work or drive a distance than our evening classes were last year,” DeVita added.

Classes in Greenwich will begin on Saturday, Sept. 6, and will run from 9:15 to 11:45am every Saturday morning for 11 weeks.   The classes will meet at Greenwich Hospital, in t in the cafeteria Conference Room.

Greenwich Hospital is located at 5 Perryridge Rd in Greenwich.  Anyone interested should contact Claudia at 203-428-6864.

Stamford Classes
In Stamford, classes start Monday, Sept. 8, 2014,  7:00-9:30pm at Saint John’s Lutheran Church, 884 Newfield Ave.  Those interested should contact Marietta at 203-329-8633.

Offered by the Stamford-Greenwich affiliate of NAMI, the free classes cover depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia and other common psychiatric disorders.  They show how these illnesses affect a person’s brain and behavior and how medications help.  Workshops in empathy and communication help families understand their loved one’s illness and show how to provide support.  A care-for-the-caregiver workshop helps families cope with their own stress.  Confidentiality is respected; the trained volunteer instructors are themselves family members.

Peter Case, past president of the affiliate and Claudia’s co-instructor, thanked Greenwich Hospital for making a conference room available to NAMI for the classes.  He urged people to register soon because the classes fill quickly.

NAMI Basics – 6 Weeks, Mondays 6:30-9:00pm at Norwalk City Hall Starting Oct. 20

A similar program, NAMI Basics, for caregivers of children under 18 with mental illness, will begin on Monday, October 20, 2104, and will run for 6 weeks from 6:30pm to 9:00pm at Norwalk City Hall, 125 East Avenue, Room 333, Norwalk.

Details on programs and events is available at the NAMI Southwest Connecticut website.

NAMI is the nation’s largest grassroots, nonprofit organization to improve quality of life for people with mental illness and their families.