NAMI to present course for parents

    DEXTER — NAMI Piscataquis County, an affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness and NAMI Maine, will present a free six-week course called NAMI Basics for parents of children and adolescents with mental health challenges. Classes will begin on Thursday, March 5 from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m, at the Abbott Memorial Library.

Nye

    NAMI Basics is for parents or other primary caregivers of children and adolescents up to 18 years of age diagnosed with emotional and behavioral mental health challenges resulting from brain disorders such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, depressive disorders, bipolar disorder, disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, substance abuse disorders, and anxiety associated with autism spectrum disorder. Other mental health disorders that children and adolescents may experience are post traumatic stress disorder, separation anxiety, borderline personality disorder, anorexia, bulimia, reactive attachment disorder and tourette’s syndrome.
    Parents and other primary caregivers of children with mental health disorders face their own overwhelming difficulties of social stigma, challenging family dynamics, navigating the mental health and educational systems, and crises inherent in the disorders. Classes are designed to help parents with their own wellbeing through understanding and support.
    Classes cover the topics of the biology of mental health challenges, getting an accurate diagnosis, treatment options, communication skills, tips for handling difficult behavior, crisis preparation and response, the mental health system services, the juvenile justice system, the school system services and advocacy. Class activities will include role-play, lecture, storytelling, and support within the class community. This class is packed with in-depth information to help parents understand and cope with frustrations and trauma when there are mental health challenges in the family.
    Teaching this course will be Lynn Nye of Old Town. Nye is the ideal teacher for these classes because she is “living the experience now” and, therefore, can relate well to parent/caregiver participants. Nye and her husband have six children with special needs including mental health challenges — they are foster/adoptive parents. Nye brings a background in occupational therapy, child development, early intervention and elementary education to her parenting and teaching. She is most happy in her current role as full-time parent, homeschooler, and homemaker.
    The co-teacher for this class is NAMI Piscataquis County’s Designated Leader, Beth Ranagan. Although Ranagan no longer has a child or an adolescent at home, she often observed the need for support, education and advocacy training for parents during her work with children as a speech-language pathologist in schools and private practice. She is grateful that these classes can now be offered in the greater community of Piscataquis County and elsewhere in Maine.
    Both women received their training to teach NAMI Basics with Dr. Teri Brister, Ph.D, from the National Alliance on Mental Illness at a program sponsored by NAMI Maine in Augusta in December 2014. Dr. Brister is the author of the NAMI Basics Curriculum. NAMI Basics is one of NAMI’s signature education programs that is peer-directed and based on the trauma model of education, which fosters healing, consciousness-raising, and empowerment.
    NAMI Piscataquis County has served individuals from Piscataquis County and western Penobscot County through its support group and periodic educational classes usually held evenings at Mayo Regional Hospital.
    The affiliate is thankful for the daytime space offered to it by Liz Breault, librarian at the Abbott Memorial Library, so that this course can be brought to the tri-county area.
    If you would like to register for this course or have more information, please call Beth at 924-7903.