Education

NAMI Metro offers a number of education and training opportunities for family members, consumers, providers and the general public. These programs utilize the experience and insights of family members and individuals who have been impacted with mental illness. These individuals have learned to live or are still learning to live with mental illness in their lives and are dedicated volunteers anxious to help others.

• Families in Action is a 10 Week interactive Education course for family members of persons who have  mental illness. The course consists of 10 classes once a week, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Class size is limited to a maximum of 25 persons. The course is facilitated by individuals who are volunteers and also have a family member with serious mental illness. They have been specially trained to teach the course. The course covers the information, concepts, skills and issues needed to understand, support, manage and cope with a family member or friend with serious mental illness. The following provides an outline of the topics covered in each week of the course. Click for the Families In Action Metro Brochure 2023
  1. Families Wants and Needs
  2. Recovery – Process of Hope
  3. Community Resources
  4. Signs and Symptoms
  5. Medications
  6. Stress Management
  7. Communication Skills
  8. Dual Diagnosis
  9. Dealing with Difficult Symptoms
  10. Supporting Recovery (including a panel of persons in recovery)

• NAMI Family to Family is a NAMI National signature 12 Week Education program for family, caregivers and friends of individuals living with mental illness.  The course is trained by family members of individuals living with mental illness.  This program provides critical information and strategies related to care giving.  It incorporates presentations, discussion and exercises.  This program has been designated an Evidence Based Practice in 2013 by SAMHSA.  To see a full description of this program follow this link:  https://www.nami.org/Find-Support/NAMI-Programs/NAMI-Family-to-Family

• NAMI Ending the Silence is a NAMI National signature program for Middle and High School age students.   Helping middle and high school students understand mental illness makes a big difference. We can teach them about the warning signs for themselves and their friends. NAMI Ending the Silence helps raise awareness and change perceptions around mental health conditions. Through this free classroom presentation, students get to see the reality of living with a mental health condition.  To see a full description of this program follow this link: https://www.nami.org/Find-Support/NAMI-Programs/NAMI-Ending-the-Silence

• NAMI Basics Education Program – The fundamentals of caring for you, your family and your child with mental illness.  This program is for parents and caregivers of children and adolescents living with mental illnesses.  It covers the fundamentals of caring for yourself, family and for your child.  What You Should Expect in NAMI Basics Education Program:  Full description: https://www.nami.org/Find-Support/NAMI-Programs/NAMI-Basics

1. Meets for six sessions, 2.5 hours
2. Designed for parents and other family caregivers of children and adolescents living with mental illness.
3. Taught by a team of trained teachers who are family caregivers of individuals who developed symptoms of mental illness as children.
4. Provides critical information and strategies related to care giving.
5. Incorporates presentations, discussion and interactive exercises.

•  NAMI FaithNet is an information resource for NAMI members, clergy and congregations of all faith traditions working together to create welcoming and supportive faith communities for individuals and families living with mental illness.  NAMI FaithNet provides a wide variety of resources, including an e-newsletter, articles, referrals, handouts and other Web pages at www.nami.org/faithnet.

• General Meetings (Temporarily postponed due to pandemic) are free, open to the general public and are held the fourth Tuesday of each month (except July and December). These educational meetings are held at the Providence Hospital Medical Building, 8th floor. 22250 Providence Drive, Southfield, Michigan (Northeast corner of Providence Drive and Northpark Drive). In addition to information on upcoming events for the tri-county area, items of concern to families of persons with mental illness are presented. The educational speakers include psychiatrists, professionals, consumers and service organizations. The meetings begin at 7:00 pm.

• In Our Own Voice (IOOV) is a NAMI National signature program. It is a free recovery education presentation given by trained consumer presenters for other consumers, family members, friends, professionals, and lay audiences. This is a brief, yet comprehensive interactive presentation about mental illness – including video, personal testimony, and discussion – enriches the audience’s understanding of how people with these serious disorders cope with the reality of their illnesses while recovering and reclaiming productive lives.  In Our Own Voice (IOOV):  Living with Mental Illnesses is a practical tool to educate and increase awareness about the true nature of brain disorders, commonly known as mental illnesses.  The presentation covers issues frequently faced by those dealing with severe mental illnesses:

1. What Happened
2. What Helped
3. What Next

• A few of the benefits of this program is that it:

1. Raises awareness in communities about recovery from mental illness
2. Empowers consumers by providing a path to recovery
3. Presents the real face of mental illness
4. Combats stigma by opening dialogue

For more information or to schedule speakers for your organization, group, school, etc. contact NAMI Metro at (248) 348-7197.

• Educational Outreach/Speakers Bureau Our volunteer speakers come with a tremendous amount of experience and insight. We do free presentations to civic, religious, education, community and professional groups and are available on request. Please contact NAMI Metro at (248) 348-7197  for information. These may include talks on the nature of mental illness, family experiences, public policy, stigma, the mental health system, etc. We will tailor the presentation to the specific interest, forum or conference.

• Quarterly Printed Newsletter – Our volunteer communications committee produces four printed newsletters a year for our members, winter, spring, summer and fall. These newsletters provide current events, upcoming events and general membership information. It also provides educational information through articles on mental health research, treatment, legislative issues, caregiver tips, etc.

• Electronic newsletters – news/issues get mailed to members and friends of NAMI Metro. These are educational with the most recent information and mental health news getting in the hands of members.