WATERVILLE — NAMI Mid-Maine will sponsor a free NAMI Family-to-Family Education Program for families and close friends of people challenged by serious mental illness. The 12 weekly sessions will take place from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Mondays, starting March 7, at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 60 Eustis Parkway.

NAMI is the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the largest grass roots organization supporting individuals and families living with mental illness. The Family-to-Family Program is listed in the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Registry of Evidence-based Best Programs and Practices.

The course will cover information about schizophrenia, the mood disorders (bipolar disorder and major depression), panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, borderline personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), coping skills such an handling crisis and relapse, basic information about medications, listening and communication techniques, problem-solving skills, recovery and rehabilitation, and self-care around worry and stress.

The curriculum will be taught by NAMI Mid Maine family member volunteers who have taken intensive training as course teachers, Murray Campbell and David Dawson.

Preregistration is preferred. This program is targeted at the extended mid-Maine area, including Waterville, Augusta and Skowhegan, but welcomes members from further away.

For more information or to enroll, call Campbell at 293-2921, or Christine Canty Brooks at 800-464-5767, ext 2305. Family-to-Family Programs offered at other locations this spring in Maine can be found at www.namimaine.org.