Mental illness organization offering classes

A local organization is working to help parents and caregivers cope with the mental illness of their child or adolescent.

The Aiken chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness is preparing a series of classes called NAMI Basics to help provide education and support for parents and caregivers of children and adolescents living with serious mental illnesses.

The classes will be held at New Covenant Presbyterian Church from 6 to 8:30 p.m., beginning on March 23. Registration is required for the classes, which are free for participants.

Blake Hamrick, the facilitator of the courses, said they will be geared toward adolescents from kindergarten to middle-school age. He said those who participate in the course will learn more about specific disorders, where to get help, the types of medications that doctors could prescribe and their side effects.

The course will cover a variety of disorders such as attention deficit disorder, depression, bipolar disorder, conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, childhood schizophrenia and substance abuse disorders.

Course elements also include the trauma of mental illness for the child and the family, the biology of mental illness (getting an accurate diagnosis), the latest research on the medical aspects of the illness and advances in treatment, an overview of treatment options and the impact of a child's mental illness on the rest of the family. Hamrick said the NAMI Basics classes are new to the Aiken chapter of NAMI.

NAMI was founded in 1979 and operates under the mission of working to offer hope, reform and health to America through support, education and advocacy efforts for mental illnesses.

The Aiken NAMI chapter meets on the fourth Thursday of each month for education and support of caregivers at Aiken's First Baptist Church, 120 Chesterfield St. N.

In February, the Aiken chapter began its Family to Family Education Program, a series of 12 weekly classes structured to help caregivers understand and support individuals with serious mental illness.

The class is taught by a team of trained family member volunteers who have personally coped with a loved one struggling with a brain disorder.

For more information on NAMI Basics, call 270-5221 or 663-3247.

Contact April Bailey at abailey@aikenstandard.com.