Mental Health Education

Taught by trained leaders with lived experience, Peer-to-Peer includes activities, discussions, and informative videos. However, as with all NAMI programs, it does not include recommendations for treatment approaches.

What You’ll Gain

NAMI Peer-to-Peer is a safe, confidential space. The course provides an opportunity for mutual support and growth. Experience compassion and understanding from people who relate to your experiences. This is a place to learn more about recovery in an accepting environment. 
NAMI Peer-to-Peer helps you:

• Set a vision and goals for the future
• Partner with healthcare providers
• Develop confidence in making decisions
• Practice relaxation and stress reduction tools
• Share your story
• Strengthen relationships
• Enhance communication skills
• Learn about mental health treatment options

Family-to-Family is a designated evidence-based program. This means that research shows that the program significantly improves the coping and problem-solving abilities of the people closest to a person with a mental health condition.

NAMI Family-to-Family is taught by NAMI-trained family members who have been there and includes presentations, discussions, and interactive exercises.

What You’ll Gain

NAMI Family-to-Family provides information and strategies for caring for the person you love, but you’ll also discover that you’re not alone. Recovery is a journey, and there is hope.

The group setting of NAMI Family-to-Family provides mutual support and shared positive impact—experience compassion and reinforcement from people who understand your situation. Sharing your own experience may help others in your class. In the program, you’ll learn about:

• How to solve problems and communicate effectively
• Taking care of yourself and managing your stress
• Supporting your loved one with compassion
• Finding and using local support and services
• Up-to-date information on mental health conditions and how they affect the brain
• How to handle a crisis
• Current treatments and therapies
• The impact of mental health conditions on the entire family

This program is free to participants, 99% of whom say they would recommend NAMI Basics to others. NAMI Basics is available in person, online via Zoom, and through NAMI Basics OnDemand.

The in-person and Zoom courses are taught by trained teams with lived experience raising a child with a mental health condition. They know what you’re going through because they’ve been there too.

NAMI Basics OnDemand

NAMI Basics OnDemand is also guided by parents and family members with lived experience but is self-paced and available 24/7. OnDemand offers the flexibility of participating in the course on your schedule. Both formats provide identical information, strategies, and the opportunity to connect with other parents and caregivers.

Ending the Silence is a free, evidence-based, 50-minute presentation for middle and high school students. Your students will learn about mental health conditions through an engaging video and personal testimony from a young adult who describes their journey to recovery.

NAMI Ending the Silence presentations include two leaders: one who shares the new informative NAMI Ending the Silence video presentation and a young adult with a mental health condition who shares their mental health recovery journey. Audience members can ask questions and gain an understanding of an often-misunderstood topic. Through dialogue, we can help grow the movement to end stigma.

• Free of cost to schools and communities
• 50-minute presentation designed for middle and high school students that includes warning signs, facts, statistics, and how to get help for themselves or a friend. 
• Research has shown that NAMI Ending the Silence for Students effectively changes middle and high school students’ knowledge and attitudes toward mental health conditions and seeking help.

In Our Own Voice presentations provide:

• An opportunity to hear open and honest perspectives on a highly misunderstood topic
• A chance to ask leaders questions, allowing for a deeper understanding of mental health conditions and dispelling of stereotypes and misconceptions
• The understanding that people with mental health conditions have lives enriched by hopes, dreams, and goals
• Information on how to learn more about mental health and get involved with the mental health community

Family & Friends participants learn about diagnoses, treatment, recovery, communication strategies, crisis preparation, and NAMI resources. Seminar leaders have personal experience with mental health conditions in their families.

NAMI Family & Friends Companion eBook

The NAMI Family & Friends companion eBook provides important information about mental health conditions, including conditions and diagnoses, treatment and recovery, crisis planning, resources, and more. You can download it for free:

• PDF file – English
• PDF file – Spanish

NAMI FaithNet strives to encourage welcoming, caring congregations and promote the vital role of spirituality in the mental health recovery journeys of many who live with mental health conditions, those for whom faith is a key component.

Through the NAMI FaithNet website and efforts nationally and in local communities, NAMI and NAMI Affiliates encourage an exchange of information, tools, and other resources to help educate and inspire faith communities about mental illness and the vital role spirituality plays in recovery for many.

NAMI FaithNet is not a religious network but includes an outreach effort to all religious organizations.

Members and allies contact state legislators, local government officials, health care administrators, law enforcement representatives, and many other people and agencies that touch our lives on a daily basis.

Like NAMI Oregon, NAMI Central Oregon uses the term advocacy in the broadest sense. Nearly everything we do concerning public outreach and education we believe contributes to our advocacy.

Our parent state organization NAMI Oregon’s primary role is to interact with state agencies and the Oregon Legislature to advance NAMI’s mission and policy priorities.