NAMI Southern Nevada

What Is NAMI Basics?
NAMI Basics is the new signature education program for parents and other caregivers of children and adolescents living with mental illnesses. The NAMI Basics course is taught by trained teachers who are the parent or other caregivers of individuals who developed the symptoms of mental illness prior to the age of 13 years.

The course consists of six classes, each lasting for 2 ½ hours. Classes may be offered weekly for six consecutive weeks, or may be offered twice

per week for three weeks to accommodate the hectic schedules of parents.

All instruction materials are FREE to participants.

What Is NAMI’s Peer-To-Peer Program?
Peer-to-Peer is a unique, experiential learning program for people with any serious mental illness who are interested in establishing and maintaining their wellness and recovery.

The course was written by Kathryn Cohan McNulty, a person with a psychiatric disability who is also a former provider and manager in the mental health field and a longtime mutual support group member and facilitator.

What does the course include?

Peer-to-Peer consists of ten two-hour units and is taught by a team of two trained “Mentors” and a volunteer support person who are personally experienced at living well with mental illness.
Mentors are trained in an intensive three day training session and are supplied with teaching manuals.
Participants come away from the course with a binder of hand-out materials, as well as many other tangible resources: an advance directive; a “relapse prevention plan” to help identify tell-tale feelings, thoughts, behavior, or events that may warn of impending relapse and to organize for intervention; mindfulness exercises to help focus and calm thinking; and survival skills for working with providers and the general public.

What Is IOOV?
In Our Own Voice (IOOV) is a unique public education program developed by NAMI, in which two trained consumer speakers share compelling personal stories about living with mental illness and achieving recovery.

The program was started with a grant from Eli Lily and Company.

IOOV is an opportunity for those who have struggled with mental illness to gain confidence and to share their individual experiences of recovery and transformation.

Throughout the IOOV presentation, audience members are encouraged to offer feedback and ask questions. Audience participation is an important aspect of IOOV because the more audience members become involved, the closer they come to understanding what it is like to live with a mental illness and stay in recovery.

IOOV presentations are given to consumer groups, students, law enforcement officials, educators, providers, faith community members, politicians, professionals, inmates, and interested civic groups.

All presentations are offered free of charge.

NAMI Connection Recovery Support Group
NAMI Connection is a weekly recovery support group for people living with mental illness in which people learn from each others’ experiences, share coping strategies, and offer each other encouragement and understanding.

NAMI Family Support Group is a peer-led support group for any adult with a loved one who has experienced symptoms of a mental health condition. Gain insight from the challenges and successes of others facing similar experiences.

NAMI’s support groups are unique because they follow a structured model, ensuring everyone has an opportunity to be heard and to get what they need.

Free of cost to participants
Designed for adult loved ones of people with mental health conditions
Led by family members of people with mental health conditions
60-90 minutes long and meets weekly, every other week or monthly (varies by location)
No specific medical therapy or treatment is endorsed
Confidential

NAMI Smarts for Advocacy is a hands-on advocacy training program that helps people living with mental illness, friends and family transform their passion and lived experience into skillful grassroots advocacy.

NAMI Smarts for Advocacy is designed as a series of three 1-2 hour workshops or modules or as a single full-day training that develop the following skills:

Telling a compelling story that is inspiring and makes an “ask” in 90 seconds
Writing an effective email, making an elevator speech and making an impactful phone call
Orchestrating a successful meeting with an elected official
The unique step-by-step, skill-building design of NAMI Smarts is effective with a wide range of participants, including those who are new to advocacy as well as individuals with years of experience.

Participants routinely share that they’ve never been able to condense their story or made a clear “ask,” but with NAMI Smarts, they are now able to.

Lobbyists who represent NAMI State Organizations or mental health coalitions also love this program—they see participants come out confident and able to share their story in a way that moves policymakers

NAMI Homefront is a free, 6-session educational program for families, caregivers and friends of military service members and veterans with mental health conditions.

Based on the nationally recognized NAMI Family-to-Family program, NAMI Homefront is designed to address the unique needs of family, caregivers and friends of those who have served or are currently serving our country. The program is taught by trained family members of service members/veterans with mental health conditions.

What You’ll Gain
Recovery is a journey and there is hope for all people affected by mental health conditions. This in-person experience provides the opportunity for mutual support and shared positive impact. You will experience compassion and reinforcement from people who relate to your experiences. Through your participation, you have the opportunity to help others grow.

NAMI Homefront teaches you how to:

Learn to care for yourself, including managing your stress
Support your family member with compassion
Identify and access federal, state and local services
Stay informed on the latest research and information on mental health, including posttraumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, anxiety, depression and substance use
Understand current treatments and evidence-based therapies
Navigate the challenges and impact of mental health conditions on the entire family
Manage a crisis, solve problems and communicate effectively

NAMI Ending the Silence is an engaging presentation that helps audience members learn about the warning signs of mental health conditions and what steps to take if you or a loved one are showing symptoms of a mental health condition.

NAMI Ending the Silence presentations include two leaders: one who shares an informative presentation and a young adult with a mental health condition who shares their journey of recovery. 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.

Who Can Participate?
NAMI Ending the Silence for Students is a 50-minute presentation designed for middle and high school students that includes warning signs, facts, and statistics and how to get help for themselves or a friend. Research has shown that NAMI Ending the Silence for Students is effective in changing middle and high school students’ knowledge and attitudes toward mental health conditions and toward s

NAMI Family & Friends is a free 90-minute or four-hour seminar that informs people who have loved ones with a mental health condition how to best support them. It is also an opportunity to meet other people in similar situations and gain community support.

Who Can Participate?
NAMI Family & Friends is open to the general public.

What Will You Learn?

The seminar is led by trained people with lived experience of supporting a family member with a mental health condition. They will walk you through the following topics.

Understanding diagnoses, treatment, and recovery
Effective communication strategies
The importance of self-care
Crisis preparation strategies
NAMI and community resources