JERE BRANDS: Support orgainzations available for those with mental illness and their families

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the third in a series of columns focusing on mental health. This week is Mental Illness Awareness Week.

More often than not, individuals and families feel isolated when they first have a personal experience with mental illness. Mental illness is the “no-casserole illness.” Friends and family members don’t know what to say, or they may be afraid of the situation because they do not understand. So they may not say anything. They may not call, visit, or bring a gift.

Support is essential. And support is available in many Georgia communities, including Albany and Moultrie in Southwest Georgia, in programs developed by the National Alliance on Mental Illness. NAMI support groups are safe places to speak and learn from the experiences of others.

A.J. Parker, a longtime member of NAMI Albany, has recently been trained to facilitate the Family Support Group. She values the strength of the group: “Our support group is a helpful and encouraging circle. It helps tremendously with coping skills and resources. When your family member comes down with an illness, you try to learn more about it, so that you can help. It’s the same way with mental illnesses.”

Members of the NAMI Albany Connection support group for adults in recovery often refer to each other as “brothers and sisters.” A strong and lively group, the members embrace each other as unique individuals.

Although NAMI Night educational programs are open to anyone interested, the support groups themselves are restricted to those with a mental health diagnosis (Connection) or to family and close friends. The support group facilitators are members of these two groups who have been trained by NAMI Georgia.

What is it like to attend a support group? NAMI groups strictly follow Support Group Guidelines which ensure absolute confidentiality, respect for each other, and a focus on what is happening in the present.

The 12 NAMI Support Group Principles of Support express the belief system which underlies the groups:

1. We will see the individual first, not the illness.

2. We recognize that mental illnesses are medical illnesses that may have environmental triggers.

3. We understand that mental illnesses are traumatic events.

4. We aim for better coping skills.

5. We find strength in sharing experiences.

6. We reject stigma and do not tolerate discrimination.

7. We won’t judge anyone’s pain as less than our own.

8. We forgive ourselves and reject guilt.

9. We embrace humor as healthy.

10. We accept we cannot solve all problems.

11. We expect a better future in a realistic way.

12. We will never give up hope.

NAMI offers two separate support groups – Connection, and the Family Support Group for close friends and family members.

In Albany the groups meet at 6:30 p.m. on two Tuesday evenings a month at Phoebe Northwest on the Dawson Road. On the second Tuesday evening of the month, NAMI Night, the support groups meet after a short educational program which is open to the public. On the fourth Tuesday of the month, support groups begin at 6:30. On Tuesday, Oct. 13, there will be a public program from Liberty House on family violence at 6:30 p.m., with support groups following. For more information and a NAMI Albany calendar of events, contact Pam Barfield, [email protected], or call her at (229) 343-8791.

In Moultrie, NAMI Nights are on first Thursdays at 6 p.m. followed by the two support groups at 7 p.m. On third Thursdays, support groups meet at 6 p.m. NAMI Moultrie meets at the First United Methodist Church Social Hall. Contact Joyce Burley: [email protected].

Jere Brands is president of NAMI Albany, the local affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.