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Programs

All classes are sponsored by NAMI Kansas members and donors; education classes are free for participants.

1) Family-to-Family Education Program

The NAMI Family-to-Family Education Program is a free 12-week course for family caregivers of individuals with severe brain disorders (mental illnesses). The course is taught by trained family members. All instruction and course materials are free for class participants.

The Family-to-Family curriculum focuses on schizophrenia, bipolar disorder (manic depression), clinical depression, panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The course discusses the clinical treatment of these illnesses and teaches the knowledge and skills that family members need to cope more effectively. 
Click here for a class schedule.

2) NAMI-C.A.R.E: Consumers Advocating Recovery through Empowerment

NAMI-C.A.R.E. is a peer-based, mutual support group program for individuals facing the challenges of recovering from any serious mental illness.

*  Led by consumers, for consumers, NAMI-C.A.R.E. employs guidelines and principles of support designed to empower its members.

*  NAMI-C.A.R.E. is not illness-specific, and welcomes persons with all psychiatric diagnoses.

*  A support group model that focuses on allowing all participants to share their experiences and learn from each other in a safe and confidential environment.

3)     Visions for Tomorrow 

Visions for Tomorrow is an education course  for caregivers of children with brain disorders and consists of a series of workshops for caregivers of children with brain disorders.  Caregivers may be parents, extended family, or foster parents.

Following the lead of other successful educational curriculums, Visions for Tomorrow is a family member-to-family member course. Teachers of the program are trained family members who have experienced firsthand the rewards and the challenges of raising children with brain disorders.   

The course offers caregivers an opportunity to share mutual experiences and learn valuable lessons from one another. Visions for Tomorrow covers educational material and provides the basics for day-to-day caregiving skills. 

Course Topics

*  Introduction/Brain Biology

*  ADD/ADHD, PDD/Autism, Tourette's Disorder, Conduct Disorder

*  Bipolar Disorder, Depressive Disorder, Eating Disorders

*  Anxiety Disorders: Obsessive-Compulsive, Post-Traumatic Stress, Separation Anxiety, Panic, Phobia, Generalized Anxiety

*  Early Onset Schizophrenia/Schizoaffective

*  Empathy and Sharing Our Unique Life Experiences

*  Organization of Data and Record Keeping

*  Communication

*  Coping and Self-Care

*  Problem Management

*  Rehabilitation, Recovery and Transition

*  Advocacy, Judicial and Stigma

Who Should Attend

Participants in Visions for Tomorrow should be those who are direct primary caregivers, and depending on family circumstances, may be an extended family member (aunt, uncle, grandparent), respite care provider, or foster parent.

4) In Our Own Voice: Living with Mental Illness - Speakers Bureau

In Our Own Voice: Living with Mental Illness is...

*  A presentation by consumers that creates awareness about what is involved in recovery from mental illness.

*  A powerful anti-stigma tool to change hearts, minds, and attitudes about mental illness.

*  An opportunity for consumers to gain self-confidence, self-esteem, and income while serving as role models for the community.

*  Living proof that recovery from mental illness is an ongoing reality.

The Presentation:

*  Hear from people who have struggled with disorders such as depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other severe mental illnesses.

*   A brief video features consumers speaking about the topics of Dark Days, Acceptance, Treatment, Coping Skills, and Successes, Hopes, and Dreams.

*  Gain insight into how people with serious mental illnesses cope with the realities of their disorders while reclaiming productive lives.

*  Ask questions from the real experts -- the consumers are the ones who "have been there."

*  A Take Home Folder is distributed to all attendees, which includes resources and an opportunity for program evaluation.

The Audience:

*  Family and friends.who may need further reassurance of the possibility of recovery for their loved ones.

*  Health care providers.who desire strengthened communication with their clients and improved outcomes.

*  Law enforcement officials.to increase awareness of and sensitivity to behaviors triggered by mental illness.

*  Faith communities.to increase responsiveness to people with mental illnesses who may first turn to their spiritual community for guidance.

*  Students.of various age levels, who wish to expand their knowledge of living with mental illness.

*  Any community or civic organization.who may be interested in learning more about mental illnesses and recovery.

Why Must We Have This Program?

*  Raises awareness in communities about recovery from mental illness

*  Empowers consumers by providing a path to recovery

*  Presents the real face of mental illness

*  Combats stigma by opening dialogue

*  Provides supported employment opportunities for consumers

*  Increases visibility of NAMI as a resource

To request a presentation, or to register for the next IOOV weekend program training, please call (800) 539-2660 or email namikansas@nami.org.

5) NAMI Family-to-Family Provider Education

The NAMI Provider Education Program 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 brain disorders. The course helps providers realize the hardships that families and consumers endure and to appreciate the courage and persistence it takes to find ways to reconstruct lives which must be lived, through no fault of the consumer or family, "on the verge."

The Provider Course emphasizes the involvement of consumers in the challenging work of provider-staff training. 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 illness, have a supportive relationship with their families, and are dedicated to the process of recovery; and

*  a mental health professional who is also a family member or consumer.

Few teaching programs employ consumers in this kind of sustained training effort in which they are paid to participate on a teaching team as they present a 10-week course.

The course reflects a new knowledge base, the "lived experiences" of coping with a brain disorder or caring for someone who struggles with this life-long challenge. Including this deeply personal perspective creates an appreciable difference in the program's content. It adds a means of teaching the emotional aspects and practical consequences of these illnesses to the academic medical information in the course.

In written evaluations and in focus-group surveys of their reactions to these classes, staff members reported that the course was fresh, relevant, helpful, enlightening, and emotionally overwhelming.

Participants felt that not only had their approach towards families changed, but that their understanding of consumers' dealing-with-life dilemmas had expanded as well. Almost every participant described how his or her own clinical practice had changed because of what was learned in class.Family-to-Family Education Program, Provider

6) Peer-to-Peer: NAMI's Recovery Curriculum

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.

*  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.        

*  Mentors are trained in weekend-long training sessions, supplied with teaching manuals, and are paid a stipend for each course they teach.

*  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, behavior 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.

7) Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT)

Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) programs are designed to educate and prepare police officers who come into contact with people with severe mental illnesses in crisis, to help them recognize the signs and symptoms of these illnesses, and to respond effectively and appropriately to people who are experiencing a psychiatric crisis.  CIT programs are designed to protect both the law enforcement officer and the mentally person in crisis from harm and to divert the mental health consumer out of the criminal justice system and into treatment.

In Kansas, CIT programs have been established in Hutchinson/Reno County, Emporia/Lyon County as well as in Johnson County and a number of its local jurisdictions.  Active plans are underway to develop new programs in Topeka/Shawnee County and Wichita/Sedgwick County.  A number of other communities are beginning to explore the CIT model and expressing interest.

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