NAMI Family‑to‑Family is a free, eight‑session educational program for family members, partners, and friends of adults living with mental health conditions. The course provides families with a deeper understanding of mental health challenges, practical skills for supporting a loved one, and tools for maintaining their own well‑being.

🌟 What the class offers

  •    Up‑to‑date information about mental health conditions, treatment options, and recovery
  •     Communication and problem‑solving skills that strengthen relationships
  •     Strategies for managing crises, navigating the mental health system, and advocating effectively
  •    A supportive environment where participants learn from trained volunteer teachers who have lived experience as family members
  •     A sense of community, connection, and hope

🧭 Why families value it

The course offers family members the invaluable opportunity of open conversation and mutual support in a stigma-free environment. Course participants, now more than 500,000 people nationwide, find that the Family-to-Family experience empowers them to understand and pursue paths toward healthy recovery for their loved ones, their families, and themselves.

Program Leaders

Paul Boisvert NAMI Massachusetts

My name is Paul Boisvert. I have been a member of NAMI since 2005 and I have been teaching Family to Family since 2007. As many of you probably are, I was deeply affected by my loved one’s mental illness. After much researching on my own, I found NAMI where I was given many resources I didn’t know existed. Being in Support groups at the time, I realized I was not alone. I saw how many people were suffering with the effects of mental illness as I was. I wondered how many people were suffering on their own, like myself. I took Family to Family for the first time in 2006 and then again in 2006 and I decided to take the training to be a teacher for Family to Family, Since then I have taught numerous classes with in person classes (where people attend in person) and virtually. I lead 2 Support groups and teach Family to Family. Yet the thing It I most like doing for NAMI is teaching the Family to Family course. It gives people a wealth of resources in 8 weeks time.

Christine P Downs NAMI Massachusetts

I have been a NAMI member since 2023. As the caregiver of a family member living with serious mental health challenges, I took the Family-to-Family course in 2025. I found the class so helpful, I became a NAMI Family-to-Family teacher. I bring both personal experience and compassion to my facilitation as a NAMI teacher. I understand firsthand the uncertainty, fear, advocacy and resilience that can come with supporting a loved one with mental health needs. My goal is to create a safe, supportive space where caregivers can learn, share experiences and feel less alone. Through this course, I hope individuals will learn practical tools, understanding and encouragement to help navigate their journeys with greater confidence and hope, as I did.

Registrant Information

We ask that all interested participants, even from the same family, register individually for this course. Registration will be limited to those that have officially registered.

This in an 8 week course. The materials are copyrighted and should not be copied or duplicated. We ask that you try your best not to miss more than 1-2 classes to get the full benefit. Missing more than 2 classes could result in being ineligible to receive a completion certificate at the end of this course.

To ensure you, and all other students, receive the best experience from this course, full participation from everyone is expected. We ask that all interested participants (even from the same family) register individually for this course. Attendance will be limited to those that have registered.
To maximize participant and program leader wellness, NAMI Mass has outlined the following mandatory guidelines for any in-person NAMI program activities:
● Program participants must either be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 to attend in-person programming OR they must wear a mask for the entire program. Participants will attest to their vaccination status at the time of program registration.
● All people present at the program or event must be COVID-asymptomatic, regardless of their current test results.
● All program participants should wait at least 7 days from a positive COVID-19 test before returning to in-person events.
● Program participants must agree to notify NAMI Mass if they are quarantined due to a COVID-19 exposure that occurred less than one week prior to the group meeting.
● All people present at the program or event, regardless of their vaccination status, may choose to wear a mask while at the program venue, including the time before, during, and after the event.
● Masks are not required for in-person programming unless a consensus is reached by the individuals present that they would like the group to continue wearing masks.
● All people present may choose and should be able to maintain no less than three feet of social distance while at the program venue.
● NAMI Mass encourages any immunocompromised individuals who choose to participate in NAMI Mass in-person programs or events to wear face masks and maintain social distancing.
● Any attendee who is unwilling or unable to adhere to the above guidelines should be promptly removed from the venue.

Emergency Contact Information

After submitting your registration form, one of the program leaders will be in contact with you shortly regarding the next steps in the registration process.

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