BRUNSWICK — The Maine chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) will sponsor a free Family-to-Family Education Program specifically for families of people diagnosed with mental illness.

The 12-week series of classes will begin on May 8 in Brunswick. Advance registration is required.

The course will cover information about schizophrenia, the mood disorders (bipolar disorder and major depression), panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and other major mental illnesses, according to a NAMI release.

In addition, coping skills such as handling crisis and relapse; basic information about medications; listening and communication techniques; problem-solving skills; recovery and rehabilitation; and self-care around worry and stress will be included.

The course is designed specifically for parents, siblings, spouses, teenage and adult children and significant others of persons with severe and persistent mental illness.

The curriculum has been written by an experienced family member mental health professional, and the course will be taught by a local NAMI family member volunteer who has taken intensive training as a course instructor.

For more information or to sign up for the course, please call Tracie at 798-5891 or Tilly at 729-8055.

To contact the NAMI Maine office, call Christine Canty Brooks at 800-464-5767 or email ccantybrooks@namimaine.org.

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