NAMI's Family to Family Program

What is NAMI’s Family-to-Family Program?
The NAMI Family-to-Family Education Program is a free, 12-week course for family caregivers of individuals with severe mental illnesses. 

• The course is taught by trained family members 
•  All instruction and course materials are free to class participants
• Over 300,000 family members have graduated from this national program

What does the course include?

• Current information about schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder (manic depression), panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, borderline personality disorder, and co-occurring brain disorders and addictive disorders
• Up-to-date information about medications, side effects, and strategies for medication adherence
• Current research related to the biology of brain disorders and the evidence-based, most effective treatments to promote recovery

Assertive Community Treatment (ACT)

A goal of NAMI is to make high quality ACT teams available to all who need them and to educate others about the effectiveness of this model.  On this page you will find many different documents about ACT -- an effective, evidence-based, outreach-oriented, service delivery model for people with severe and persistent mental illnesses.  NAMI seeks to educate people about ACT, expand and strengthen current ACT programs, and to ensure that the practices and values of ACT support consumer choice and meaningful participation in treatment and services. 

Please note that NAMI does not directly or indirectly operate any Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams or Programs of Assertive Community Treatment (PACT) teams. We use the terms Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) and Program of Assertive Community Treatment (PACT) interchangeably. ACT programs can be operated on a state, county, or local level by mental health centers, private non-profit or for-profit organizations, outpatient units of hospitals, managed care companies, and other providers