Course Helps Families

Deal With Mental Illness

A free family-to-family educational course in Oak Bluffs for family members of individuals with a serious mental illness will begin on Thursday, Feb. 17.

The course consists of 12 weekly two-and-one-half hour sessions from 6:30 to 9 p.m. and covers information about schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety disorders and borderline personality disorder. It also covers topics such as coping skills, crisis and relapse, listening and communication techniques, problem solving and limit setting.

The free course is open to close relatives, spouses, and significant others of persons with a serious mental illness. However, it is not open to individuals who themselves suffer from a serious mental illness, unless their condition is stable and they wish to attend as caregivers for close relatives who have a mental illness.

The course, which has been given to over 115,000 people nationwide, was given on the Vineyard in 2009 and 2010 to over 40 Vineyard families. Comments on the course by class participants included: “Thank you for saving our family;” “I came here with fear, anger, dejection, horror, pain. The class gave me tools to reopen my faith in myself and hope for healing;” and “My son’s life has improved remarkably, and I owe it all to the perspective and resources this course gave me.”

The course is taught by two trained family member volunteers and is intended to help family caregivers cope with a close relative’s mental illness.

It is sponsored by the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Massachusetts, with funding support from the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health.

The class size is limited to 30 people and advance registration is required.

Classes end on Thursday, May 5. For more information or to register, please call 508-693-5872.