Corey Trench passionately advocates for mental health as a member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and a leader at Williamsburg’s affiliate group.
But he’ll tell you, just a few years ago, things were different.
“I knew nothing about serious mental illness,” Trench said. “In my world, it didn’t exist.”
After realizing his son suffered from mental illness, and taking NAMI’s Family-to-Family course, Trench’s worldview flipped. He recognized the realness, the prevalence, of mental illness. And he felt relief.
“You realize you’re not alone,” he said.
NAMI Williamsburg plans to again offer the Family-to-Family class, an educational program for families and friends of those suffering from mental illness. Taught by Trench and Marcia Partch, the free 11-week course begins Feb. 11.
In 2014, an estimated 43.6 million U.S. adults ages 18 and over, or 18.1% of the national population, experienced a mental illness, according to a report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Still, silence and stigma surround mental illness. Families often don’t know how to react, how to help. Family-to-Family fills those gaps.
“It offers an awareness, and an education,” Partch said. “And for those who are dealing with it, the tools to help them begin to care for their loved one.”
Partch said the course emphasizes mental illness is biological – not, say, a character fault. Then, the class delves into the terminology, characteristics and treatments of the diseases: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, clinical depression, borderline personality disorder, panic disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder. It touches on resources in the community.
The heart of Family-to-Family lies in the name. Though Trench and Partch aren’t professionals, both have loved ones experiencing mental illness. Both took the Family-to-Family course as students, and now, they offer up their own experiences.
“We offer them compassion,” Partch said. “The idea that they are not alone in the world.”
“Family-to-family is talking with other people who have been through similar experiences,” said Keris Myrick, SAMHSA’s Director of Consumer Affairs, a national mental health leader and longtime NAMI member.
“It’s not like you have to explain anything,” Myrick said. “People get it.”
Support creates acceptance. Acceptance leads to openness. Openness combats stigma.
“I think part of our course is being very comfortable talking about it openly, so that others will feel like it’s okay for them to dive into the water with us,” Trench said. “It’s nothing to feel ashamed about. It’s normal.”
Mental illness in a family can cause havoc, Partch said. But the class often catalyzes healing, as education turns to action.
For the affected loved one, “Now they’ve got somebody that they will begin to believe is actually listening to them and paying attention to what they’re going through,” Trench said.
“We’re at least one person that’s out there and is rooting for them,” he said.
Before coming to NAMI, Partch experienced despair, isolation and guilt, related to her son’s mental illness.
“My son was in total chaos,” she said. “And I was in chaos with him.”
Over the years, and through the Family-to-Family class, Partch has come to better understand and relate to her son. And, finally, to advocate.
“We’re helping ourselves, because we know that we’re helping other people,” Trench said. “You know that this situation can be turned around.”
“The family members who teach the classes are people who can provide hope,” Myrick said. “That there is help, there is hope, and there is the possibility that your loved one will get better.”
Bridges can be reached by phone at 757-275-4934.
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Family-to-Family Course When: 6:30-8:30 p.m., every Thursday from Feb. 11 to April 21 Where: Second floor of St. Stephen Lutheran Church, 612 Jamestown Road Cost: All classes and course materials free Register: Contact Partch at 757-564-8564 or marciapartch@aol.com. Pregistration required by Feb. 5. NAMI Williamsburg NAMI Williamsburg offers free educational classes, support groups and advocacy opportunities for individuals affected by mental illness, their families and friends. For more information, call 757-220-8535, email info@namiwilliamsburg.org or visit namiwilliamsburg.org. |
