NAMI South Central Indiana, the local organization of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is beginning an eight-week Peer-to-Peer program this November. This free recovery-focused course is designed to help adults living with a mental illness better understand and nagivate mental health conditions.
The program begins Nov. 11 and will conclude on Dec. 30. Classes are held at the Recovery Cafe, 1412 Sycamore St. in Columbus, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. To register, email namisouthcentral@gmail.com, call or text 301-641-0980 or call 812-376-9364.
Those attending must be 18 years old or older and have a mental health condition to join. It does not have to be a diagnosed condition.
“There are people that are trying to sort it out that come as well,” NAMI South Central Indiana chairperson Debbie Teike said. “They know they have a mental illness, they’re not exactly sure what it is.”
Each class teaches skills that contribute to mental health and wellness, including life skills, adaptation tools, relaxation exercises and goal setting, according to NAMI. Those attending are also given tools for recovery such as stress management and therapies.
The classes are confidential and no one is pressured to share.
“No one has to awkwardly self-disclose, however, there’s such power in sharing stories,” Teike said. “Oftentimes in the evaluations, we see that people feel really empowered by being able to be with others who really understand and where they can have the freedom to be able to discuss and to talk about the challenges that they face and the victories that they face as well.”
Similar to NAMI’s other programs, classes are led by trained peers who also have a mental health condition. This lived experience creates an understanding amongst attendees that these peers have been there themselves and helps them feel comfortable, Teike said.
“There are lots of, in fact in our community, wonderful mental health classes,” Teike said. “Ours is the only class that is peer-led, peer-trained, peer-engaged.”
Teike said people who live with mental health conditions oftentimes live alone in silence and feel misunderstood. These classes can help give attendees power and encouragement not only through the education, but the comradery that is created through shared experiences, she said.
“It’s not only the education about what is this, it’s also all the things that go along with the mental health condition that you have to function, you have to function in your day-to-day life with other people and sometimes that’s very hard to do,” Teike said. “And then you listen to other people, how they’re doing that, you get the NAMI tools and educational resources and all that comes together to make for a really great experience.”
