NAMI Wisconsin - programs

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home news conference library links legislative nami national links affiliates services programs links		NAMI Wisconsin programs Breaking the Silence (BTS) Breaking the Silence (BTS) (developed by NAMI Queens/Nassau) includes classroom lesson plans for grades four through twelve designed to de-stigmatize mental illnesses. The curriculum meets national health education standards and fulfills the Safe Schools Against Violence in Education Act (SAVE). What does the course include? Activities promoting tolerance, anti-bullying, and character development Students learn that mental illnesses are real illnesses, not character flaws Students learn that mental illnesses are treatable and about warning signs Students learn how to fight the stigma surrounding mental illnesses BTS is an excellent anti-stigma curriculum and an excellent vehicle for early education about mental illness. NAMI Wisconsin has made BTS curriculum materials available to all of its affiliates. Crisis Intervention Team Training NAMI Wisconsin’s Fox Valley affiliate piloted a Crisis Intervention Team Training program for law enforcement in 2004, the first in the state of Wisconsin, based on the Memphis Model of CIT. Nationally recognized for its effectiveness, CIT training helps law enforcement personnel learn to recognize basic signs and symptoms of mental illness along with skills to de-escalate a crisis situation. What does the course include? A comprehensive, five day, 40 hour training Twenty-five hours of classroom training Fifteen hours of experiential training through tours of community sites, ride-along experiences with human service workers, and role playing scenario training Crisis Intervention Team Training coming to localities around the state. Family-to-Family Education Program The Family-to-Family Education Program is a 12-week course for families of individuals with severe mental illness designed to foster learning, healing, and empowerment within those families. Trained family members teach the course. What does the course include? Current information about schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, borderline personality disorder, and co-occurring brain disorders and addictive disorders Up-to-date information about medications, side effects, and strategies for medication adherence Current research related to the biology of brain disorders and the evidence-based, most effective treatments to promote recovery Gaining empathy by understanding the subjective, lived experience of a person with mental illness Learning in special workshops for problem solving, listening, and communication techniques Acquiring strategies for handling crises and relapse Focus on care for the caregiver: coping with worry, stress, and emotional overload Guidance on locating appropriate supports and services within the community Information on advocacy initiatives designed to improve and expand services The Family-to-Family Program is offered at no cost to the participants. Created by Joyce Burland, Ph.D., the Family-to-Family Program has become an integral program within the NAMI Wisconsin organization, and has brought hope, understanding, and acceptance to families affected by mental illness. Click "Affiliates" to find a Family-to-Family Program in your area. Family-to-Family Education Program Teacher Training NAMI Wisconsin sponsors the training of Family-to-Family Program teachers. Click "Affiliates" for your local contact or consult the "Calendar" for details. Hand to Hand Hand to Hand (developed by AMI of Greater Toledo, Ohio) is an eight-week education program designed to foster learning, healing and empowerment among families of children with emotional/mental/neurobiological disorders. This course is similar to Family-to-Family in structure and goals, with each week of the curriculum dedicated to a particular aspect of having a child with a mental illness. NAMI Wisconsin has five trained teams to deliver the Hand to Hand curriculum. In Our Own Voice In Our Own Voice (IOOV) is a unique, informational outreach program developed by NAMI that offers insight into the recovery now possible for people with severe mental illness. In Our Own Voice shows how people with serious mental illnesses cope with the realities of their disorders while recovering and reclaiming productive lives with meaning and dignity. The program provides a safe way for consumers to share the ups and downs of their recovery and learn from others. What does the program include? Two trained presenters give personal testimony about their journeys with mental illness through dark days, acceptance, treatment, coping skills, and successes, hopes, and dreams. Target audiences include: consumers, families, mental health service providers, educators, students, law enforcement personnel, professionals, faith communities, and all people wanting to learn about mental illness. Contact NAMI Wisconsin if you would like to schedule an In Our Own Voice presentation in your community. NAMI Wisconsin also sponsors the training of In Our Own Voice presenters. Click "Affiliates" or consult the "Calendar" for information. NAMI Peer-to-Peer Program Peer-to-Peer is a unique, experiential learning program for people with any serious mental illness who are interested in establishing and maintaining their wellness and recovery. The course was written by Kathryn Cohan McNulty, a person with a psychiatric disability who is also a former provider and manager in the mental health field, and a longtime mutual support group member and facilitator. What does the course include? Peer-to-Peer consists of nine two-hour units and is taught by a team of three trained "Mentors" who are personally experienced at living well with mental illness. Participants come away from the course with a binder of hand-out materials, as well as many other tangible resources: an advance directive; a "relapse prevention plan" to help identify tell-tale feelings, thoughts behaviors, or events that may warn of impending relapse and to organize for intervention; mindfulness exercises to help focus and calm thinking; and survival skills for working with providers and the general public. Click "Affiliates" for information on the Peer-to-Peer program in your area. NAMI Provider Education Program The NAMI Provider Education Program is a 10-week course that presents a penetrating, subjective view of family and consumer experiences with serious mental illness to line staff at public agencies who work directly with people with severe and persistent mental illnesses. The teaching team consists of five people: two family members trained as NAMI Family-to-Family Education Program teachers; two consumers who are knowledgeable about their own mental illnesses, have supportive relationships with their families, and are dedicated to the process of recovery; and a mental health professional who is also a family member or consumer. What does the course include? Gives providers a personal view of the hardships that families and consumers endure, and an appreciation of the courage and persistence it takes to recover Emphasizes the involvement of consumers in the challenging work of provider-staff training Reflects a new knowledge base, the "lived experiences" of coping with a mental illness or supporting a loved one who struggles with this challenge Adds a means of teaching the emotional aspects of these illnesses and the practical consequences of mental illness to the academic medical information in the course Includes deeply personal perspectives, having an appreciable impact on the program's content In written evaluations and in focus-group surveys, providers reported that the course was fresh, relevant, helpful, enlightening, and emotionally overwhelming. Trained Provider Education teams exist in seven affiliates and training occurs annually. Click "Affiliates" or check the "Calendar" for information on the NAMI Provider Education Program. NAMI Support Group Facilitator Training Joyce Burland, Ph.D., who wrote the NAMI Family-to-Family Education Course, recognized that support groups need structure in order to provide maximum benefit to its members. She created a group facilitator training course that teaches facilitators the basics of groups dynamics and processes, effective facilitator leadership styles, and strategies to use for problematic group dynamics. Click "Affiliates" or the "Calendar" for information on the next Support Group Facilitator Training. NAMI support groups NAMI Support Groups are peer "work groups" of people who are joined together for mutual understanding and support for coping with serious and persistent mental illness. These structured groups, led by trained facilitators, are often organized by the relationship to the relative with mental illness, for example, parents, spouses, or siblings. Other support groups are organized by the mental illnesses, such as, depression, bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia. How does a Support Group operate? Groups meet at various locations: NAMI local affiliate offices, churches, schools, or places of business. Attendance at NAMI Support Groups is optional. People are free to attend whenever they feel the need. People may attend a Support Group when loved ones are in crisis. Some may want knowledge about community mental health resources. Others attend to provide support for other group members. Click "Affiliates" for support group information in your area. Peer-to-Peer Mentor Training Mentors are trained in weekend-long training sessions, supplied with teaching manuals, and are paid a stipend for each course they teach. Check the "Calendar" for information on Peer-to-Peer Mentor Training. Planning For The Future Planning For the Future is a training developed by NAMI Wisconsin addressing the concerns and needs of aging, older families who want to assure the quality of life for their loved one with a disability through the use of life plans, trusts, estate planning, and the like. Planning For the Future trainings will be posted on the "Calendar."