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A free, confidential, and trauma-informed service for family members of individuals with a mental illness. Family Support Services works with individual families to assist them by clarifying options to make informed, educated choices, helping them cope with crisis situations, and provide emotional support and education.
Those We Serve
Family Support Services offers free, confidential, trauma-informed services to family members and friends of adults with mental illnesses such as:
- Schizophrenia and other thought disorders
- Depression, Bipolar, and other mood disorders
- Trauma and anxiety disorders
- Personality disorders
- Co-occurring disorders
Goals of Family Support Services
- To help families manage their day-to-day grief and stress
- To decrease families’ feelings of isolation and helplessness
- To increase families’ feelings of hope in the future
- To strengthen the relationship between families and their loved ones
- To enhance partnerships between families and mental health professionals
Contact our Family Support Specialist at (269) 364-6961.
Family-to-Family Program
Family education classes and training for family members
ISK collaborates with NAMI Southwest Michigan (formerly NAMI of Kalamazoo) to offer a free Family-to-Family Program, facilitated by two family members with lived experience.
This 11-session educational program is evidence-based and is designed for caregivers, like family members, partners, friends, and significant others, to learn to balance the sometimes difficult tasks of caring for adults living with a mental illness while also maintaining their own well-being.
Thousands of families describe the program as life-changing and praise its teaching principle: “You don’t have to deal with mental illness in isolation.”
What the program offers:
- Family-to-Family educational series
- Written information
- Topical speakers
- Consultation with families, professionals, and community groups
- Resource referral
- A lending library of books, journals, and videos
Family members of individuals with a mental illness can learn about:
- Symptoms of mental illness
- Co-occurring disorders
- Dealing with grief and loss
- Dealing with violence
- Suicide prevention
- Treatment options
- Stress reduction
- Communication skills
- Community resources
Learn more about Family-to-Family
For information about upcoming sessions, visit NAMI Southwest Michigan here. To register, email FamilyEducation@namikzoo.org.
Family Support Groups
Free, confidential, and safe groups of families helping other families
ISK also collaborates with NAMI Southwest Michigan to provide Family Support Groups as an extension of our Family Support Services. Participants join a caring group of people helping one another by utilizing their collective lived experiences and learned wisdom. Family Support Groups are facilitated by trained individuals who have lived experience with loved ones who struggle with mental health challenges.
NAMI Southwest Michigan currently offers two groups, one virtual and one in person. Both are free; registration is required for the virtual support group. (You can register here.)
Find support in a place where you can speak freely with others who have faced similar experiences and achieve a renewed sense of hope.
Learn more about Family Support Groups (including location & times) HERE.
About our partner, NAMI Southwest Michigan
NAMI is the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to improving the lives of persons living with serious mental illness and their families. Founded in 1979, NAMI has become the nation’s voice on mental illness, a nationwide organization with affiliates in every state and in more than 1,100 local communities across the country.
NAMI Southwest Michigan is committed to:
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Offering hope and help to people affected by mental health conditions, and
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Providing support, advocacy, and education to individuals living with mental health conditions, as well as their families, in order to increase understanding, reduce stigma, and promote a community in which the opportunity for recovery is maximized.
