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.
- 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.
- An advisory board comprised of NAMI consumer members, in consultation with Joyce Burland, Ph.D., author of the successful NAMI Family-to-Family Education program, helped guide the curriculum’s development.
- Since 2005, NAMI’s Peer-to-Peer Recovery Program has been supported by AstraZeneca.
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.
- 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.
Classes are open to anyone experiencing mental illness. For more information call the NAMI office at 937-322-5600 or toll free 1-888-220-5600.
Family-to-Family
The Family to Family Education Program was created by Dr. Joyce Burland, a psychologist and family member. This twelve-class course, especially designed for families experiencing the effects of severe brain disorders, focuses on three major psychiatric illnesses: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder (manic depression), and major depression. Treatment strategies and coping skills, including improved communication and problem solving, are covered in the program curriculum.
Classes are team-taught by intensively trained family members. Participants are encouraged to support each other, to be knowledgeable, and to be effective members of a team that includes the family, the consumer, the doctor, and the case manager.
Through the Family to Family program, family members can learn to be effective providers and advocates for an ill relative. Many participants also find the emotional support that is so vital during times of illness and stress.
Participants attend twelve classes which cover the following topics: Facts and Feelings -Learning the Difference; Introduction to Schizophrenia - Diagnosis and Causes; Introduction to Depression and Bipolar Illness - Diagnosis and Causes; Brain Basics; Problem-Solving Skills; Medication; Empathy Workshop - What is it like to experience a brain disorder?; Communication Skills; Relative Groups and Self-Care; Rehabilitation Strategies; Advocacy: Fighting Stigma; Celebration! Certification for those completing the course.
Classes are open to anyone with a family member or close friend experiencing mental illness. For more information call the NAMI office at 937-322-5600 or toll free 1-888-220-5600.