NAMI-WC Offers Free Class for Families of Mentally Ill

Mental illness affects 1 in 4, or nearly 60 million  Americans every year.
Mental illness affects 1 in 4, or nearly 60 million
Americans every year.

In any given year, one of 17 people will live with a severe and persistent mental illness.

This figure is true for people living in the U.S. and throughout the world. Mental illnesses are illnesses that occur biologically in the brain. New medicines and therapies are being developed to control these illnesses, just as diabetes and high blood pressure can now be controlled.

NAMI Western Carolina, an affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, will offer the free NAMI Family-to-Family Education Program for families of a person with a severe mental illness beginning September 26 at Rock Hill Baptist Church. The weekly classes will be from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturdays through November 2. The class size is limited and will fill quickly, so register early.

The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry reports that when family members take this or a similar course, persons with mental illness experience a 50% reduction in relapses, increased stabilization, and a decrease in hospitalizations. Historically, stability has been the goal of treatment; today, increasingly for many, the goal is recovery.

Dr. Jim Pitts and Sharon Pitts will teach the 12-session course that provides caregivers with communication and problem-solving techniques, coping mechanisms, and self-care skills needed to deal with their loved one’s mental illness as well as its impact on the family. Despite gains in treatment and opportunities for recovery, caring for a relative or friend with mental illness can be stressful.

NAMI Family-to-Family is designed for families and caregivers of adults living with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, anxiety disorders, or borderline personality disorder. Course participants gain vital information, insight, and understanding of their loved one that many call life-changing. More than 250,000 people have taken this class.

For information and/or to register, call Jim & Sharon Pitts at (828) 258-5359 or email [email protected].