Parents Find Hope in Sharing

Parents and primary caregivers participating in Parents Meeting the Challenge have an opportunity to learn, share, and connect with others who face similar challenges in caring for children/adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders.

Parents Meeting the Challenge is an 8-session educational program that provides tools, strategies, and information to help parents and caregivers meet the challenges of parenting/taking care of their child and to navigate the system and advocate for their child’s mental health needs.

Volunteer parents, who bring both personal experience and knowledge, have been trained and certified by NAMI NH to teach Parents Meeting the Challenge. Participants receive a copy of the Guidebook for Caregivers of Children and Adolescents with Serious Emotional Disorders and a participant's manual that includes research-based information and current publications on child/adolescent emotional and behavioral disorders.

One participant said, “It provided me with HOPE and new ways to meet my child’s needs.”

The curriculum will cover:

  • Facing mental illness in the family
  • Brain biology
  • Common childhood emotional disorders
  • Developmental stages
  • Managing family stressors and identifying service needs
  • Crisis planning
  • Negotiating the child serving systems
  • Advocacy
  • Communication
  • Self care
  • Special education

NAMI NH’s Spring 2016 program schedule is

Concord from April 20 to June 8

Keene from April 21 to June 9

Portsmouth from April 20 to June 8

 

If none of the listed programs are offered near you, please complete the ONLINE REGISTRATION FORM. Classes are scheduled for a location based on expressed interest. Applicants will be contacted to confirm receipt of their registration or to notify an applicant of a program being offered in or near their city/town.

By Laurie Foster, Family and Community Support Specialist at NAMI NH