NAMI Contra Costa
P.O. Box 21247
Concord, CA 94521

(925) 465-3864
xnamicc@aol.com

Family to Family


family to family

Have you taken the free, 12 week Family-to-Family course? It is offered at several locations throughout the county. The course covers the symptoms and treatment of major mental illnesses, as well as skills to help family members communicate with and advocate for their loved one(s) more effectively.

If you wish to enroll or have questions please contact Thomas Cloney at famtofamcc@gmail.com or 510-223-6873.

For the Family to Family in Spanish class (De Familia A Familia), please contact Veronica McManus at 925.250.4032 or defamiliaafamilia@pacbell.net.



A Message from Program Director Joyce Burland:
Goals of NAMI's Brand of Family Education

This fall the NAMI Family-to-Family Education course celebrates its twelfth year in the field. Developed by NAMI-Vermont in 1990, the course is now taught by over 2,000 trained NAMI volunteers in 43 states, four large municipalities, and two provinces of Canada. To date, 50,000 family members have graduated, and the project is constantly expanding across the nation. As one commentator on the NAMI scene said to me, "Wow! This program has really got legs!"

I appreciated the show-biz expression signifying that public enthusiasm and word-of-mouth can give wings to a project when it is "right for its time" and touches a submerged human need. Such is the case with NAMI's family education program-the first in this century to reach out to thousands of family members on a continuing basis, the first to fully acknowledge the trauma and heroism in their lives, the first to lead family caregivers through pain and stigma to emotional understanding, clinical insight, healing and action.

The NAMI Family-to-Family Education Program entrusts education to NAMI members who are, by any measure, the most advanced self-educated lay population in modern medicine. The goals of this peer program are radical; they go far beyond the traditional curriculum of illness information and behavioral training. Although the course is rich in clinical detail, our primary mission in education involves orchestrating a transformation from personal devastation to action and power.

To serve this end, we have over the years defined our own brand of family education. Here are the specific features of the course that families tell us are life-changing:


EMOTIONAL UNDERSTANDING AND HEALING (PERSONAL REALM)

  • Guaranteeing a safe, protective place where family members can debrief the traumatic events and feelings they have experienced (Speaking Pain).
  • Teaching the specific guideposts of the emotional process traumatized people go through in their process of adaptation and recovery (Normalizing).
  • Creating a group-bonding process that will encourage candid self-disclosure (Coming Out).
  • Helping family members understand the subjective experience of their relative with a mental illness (Empathic Identification with the Victim).
  • Providing teachers who have borne this personal trauma and have "come through" (Modeling).
  • Showing the way to put living-with-trauma into a life perspective that fosters self-care and self-realization (Restoring One's Own Life-Line).

POWER AND ACTION (SOCIAL REALM)

  • Encouraging family members to recognize and express their anger at discrimination and stigma (Breaking the Silence).
  • Providing a premeditated, detailed "informational overload" regarding the neurobiological aspects of brain disorders to disconfirm learned stereotypes about mental illness (Consciousness Raising).
  • Modeling peer mastery of basic biomedical knowledge (Empowerment).
  • Introducing and practicing new coping and communication techniques (Assertiveness and Skill Training).
  • Releasing family members, through group support and mutual affirmation, from the gross misperception of their experience (Liberation).
  • A fostering self-respect and pride in families as exemplars of courage, strength, and perseverance (Solidarity).
  • Showing families a way to join the fight against social injustice by linking them with family advocacy groups on the local and national level (Activism).

Please click on each header for more information.

Evening in the Tropics Gallery


Click on the gallery for more pictures


Family to Family Classes


General Contact Info:

Thomas Cloney: 510-705- 2608 famtofamcc@gmail.com

Family to Family Education Program is a twelve week, free week-night series for family members and friends of those individuals with mental illnesses.

Class Schedule:
May - Pleasant Hill
September - Lafayette & Richmond

For information and/or registration contact Nancy Seibert at
fam2fam4u@gmail.com or 925-285-5995

Pleasant Hill F2F Class:

When: Wednesday, May 16th
Time: 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Where:404 Gregory Lane
Pleasant Hill
Hillcrest Congregational Church

Download the flyer here.

Contact Information:
Nancy Seibert: 925-285-5995 fam2fam4u@gmail.com

Veterans F2F:

When: Monday, June 11
Time: 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Where: Martinez VA Campus
150 Muir Road

Download the flyer here.

Contact Information:
Susan Horrocks:
925-262-3404 or sl2read@comcast.net
NAMI Office:
925-942-0767 or namicc@att.net

De Familia a Familia

Curso gratuito de 12 semanas.
Para mayor información, haga click aquí.

Para mayor informacion, contactar a Verónica a 925-250-4034 ó defamiliaafamilia@pacbell.net.


Peer to Peer Classes
Starting May 19, 2012

The next Peer - To - Peer class will be starting Saturday May 19, 2012 through July 28 from 2:00 - 4:00 pm. Classes will be held in Central Contra Costa County with the location to be announced soon.

For information or to get an application for the next available class, please contact
The NAMI CC Office:
(925) 942-0767
namicc@att.net


NAMI-CC Care and Support Group


NAMI CC Care and Support Group
3rd Mondy of each month
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Walnut Creek Campus
John Muir Hospital
1601 Ygnacio Valley Road
Downstairs in the Epstein Conference Room

Park in the free public garage on the La Casa Via side of the hospital.
Facilitated by Sharon Madison and Bob Thigpen.

For more information
E-mail: xnamicc@aol.com
or call
925-256-9640
925-676-5771 or
925-521-5121.


ClutterLess:
Clutterer's Support Group

Overwhelmed by clutter?


ClutterLess is a 510(c)3 non-profit, peer-based, self help support group for people who want to change their cluttering behaior on a deeper level than learning how to organize.


For more information,
please call us at:
925.200.1943
or visit or
www.clutterless.org


NAMI FaithNet

NAMI FaithNet is a new information resource for faith communities, NAMI members and community partners and for clergy and congreations of all faith traditions who working together to create welcoming, supportive faith communities for individuals and families living with mental illness.

Contact: Kay Derrico
(925) 933-4012
kayderrico@comcast.net

NAMI Office
(925) 942-0767


NAMI-CC Writers' Group

1st thursday of each month
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM

You may drop in or attend regularly. All are welcomed. All writing levels welcomed.

Crestwood Healing Center, far back room by back parking area. Call for room location, as it can be tricky to find.

550 Patterson, Pleasant Hill
Contact: Susan Medlin
(925) 957-5104 or
smedlin@hsd.cccounty.us

RSVP is helpful:
Leave a message at
925-942-0767
To help with cookies, set up, or get information: leave a message at 925-942-0767

Sponsored by a partnership of NAMI CC and Office of Consumer Empowerment


New Hope Support Group

New Hope Support Group -

Offering support, education and resources to parents/caregivers of older teens and young adults diagnosed with a mood disorder, (bipolar, depression, anxiety and more). Meets the 2nd Monday of the month at the Lafayette/Orinda Presbyterian Church, 49 Knox Drive in Lafayette from 7-9pm.

Contact Annette 510-733-0577 or
Cyndy 925-362-9434 for more information.

Membership in the support group is free and open to the community.


Dual Recovery Anonymous

Dual Recovery Anonymous is a 12 Step self-help program that is based on the principals of the Twelve Steps and the experiences of men and women in recovery with a dual diagnosis. The DRA program helps us recover from both our chemical dependency and our emotional or psychiatric illness by focusing on relapse prevention and actively improving the quality of our lives. In a community of mutual support, we learn to avoid the risks that lead back to alcohol and drug use as well as reducing the symptoms of our emotional or psychiatric illness.

Tuesdays 5:45 pm to 6:45 pm
John Muir Center for Recovery Classroom B
2730 Grant Street, Concord
Contact: 925.212.2241




Special Events

FaithNet Conference

 

What:
A conference for faith leaders and others interested in creating welcoming communities for those with mental illness and their loved ones

When:
Saturday, November 10, 9:00 am - 2:00 pm

Where:
Concord Rooms I and II, Concord Campus of John Muir Medical Center, 2540 East St., Concord

Fee: TBA

Presenters:
A partnership with NAMI CC, John Muir's Faith and Health Partnership Program, Sozo Health & Wellness Services, and Minister Monique Tarver

RSVP/Information:
kayderrico@comcast.net or
925-933-4012