MARQUETTE — Family members of individuals diagnosed with a mental illness may greatly benefit from a 12-week “Family to Family” education course to be offered by NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) – Alger/Marquette.

The 12-week series of classes is free and confidential. Classes will be held Tuesdays, Sept. 18 to Dec. 4, 2018, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at 129 W. Baraga Avenue, Marquette, Mich..

The course will cover a broad range of topics, including information about schizophrenia, mood disorders (bipolar disorder and major depression), panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and PTSD.

This will be the 14th time this class has been offered in the area and is presented by trained educators. To date, more than 200,000 family members in 48 states across the country have completed the course.

The course is designed specifically for parents, siblings, spouses, teenage and adult children, significant others and friends of people with a mental illness. This course also helps people understand that this is an illness and not something they can just “deal with it, shape up” as most times they just have no control over their actions.

Some responses from previous family members who took the class are: “I feel the course has saved my family,” “I no longer blame myself for my child’s illness,” and “This course has given me a broader understanding of the diagnosis and more comfort in speaking about this to others.”

With the tragedies of well-known public figures dealing with depression, now more than ever the timing of this class is important for families to learn more about the types of mental illnesses.

Please call to register for the classes by Sept. 11; however, new class members will be accepted until Sept. 25. For further information or to register, contact Louise Wilcox, 906-235-0231, or Cindy Bertucci, 906-360-7107.