Pre-registration is recommended for some programs. Please click the REGISTER ME link located below our program descriptions and reserve your space. Or call the NAMI WC Welcome Center at (262) 339-1235 and leave your name, phone number, and the name and date of the program you would like to attend.
NAMI Washington County
Welcome Center Program Descriptions
All programs are held at 279 S. 17 th Ave., Ste 7, West Bend (enter parking lot off of Chestnut Street driveway)
Crafting Connections
Offered twice weekly, Crafting Connections has a relaxed atmosphere that encourages communication and sharing to build support networks. NAMI Washington County provides a wide-variety of art supplies such as paints, clay, canvas, markers, and card-making supplies. This group shows how creativity can reduce anxiety and increase happiness.
Offered every Monday from 12:30 – 2:00 pm at the NAMI WC Welcome Center, 279 S. 17th Ave., Ste.7, West Bend (enter driveway off Chestnut Street)
Offered 1st and 3rd Wednesdays from 1:00 – 3:00 pm, same location as above
For more information, email executivedirector@namiwashingtonwi.org or call the NAMI WC Welcome Center at (262) 339-1235 and leave a message.
Mindful Creativity Adult Art Therapy
Facilitated by a professional art therapist, art materials are used to help improve cognitive functions, foster self-esteem and self-awareness, cultivate emotional resilience, and enhance social skills, to facilitate improved conflict resolution.
This program is on hold
Arts & Craft Open Studio
This will be an opportunity for creativity and socialization. Participants will be able to use any of the art or craft supplies at NAMI WC to create their own work of art. There will be no peer facilitated project. Participants may bring in art projects or craft projects they are working on outside of the Welcome Center, however they may not leave them at NAMI WC between sessions as we do not have storage space for them.
The course is offered the second and fourth Wednesday of each month at 12:30 – 2:00 pm at the NAMI WC Welcome Center, 279 S. 17th Ave., Ste.7, West Bend (enter driveway off Chestnut Street). Please email executivedirector@
R.I.S.E. Adult Support Group
Facilitated by Certified Peer Specialists, R.I.S.E. (Recovery Inspired by Shared Experiences) is for adults living with mental illnesses to share experiences, celebrate successes, offer an empathetic listening ear, and share resources. Participants can gain insight into managing their own mental health. Snacks are provided.
Offered weekly on Wednesdays from 5:30 -6:45pm at the NAMI WC Welcome Center, 279 S. 17th Ave., Ste.7, West Bend (enter driveway off Chestnut Street)
Let’s Connect Young Adult Support Group (18-30 yrs.)
Offered weekly, this is an open forum for peer support, problem-solving, and building critical support networks. Discussion topics may include everyday achievements and challenges, relationship-building, planning for the future, and living well while managing mental illness. Group members choose and enjoy a monthly social outing. All costs for outings are paid by NAMI Washington County.
Offered every Tuesday from 6:00-7:15 pm at the NAMI WC Welcome Center, 279 S. 17th Ave., Ste.7, West Bend (enter driveway off Chestnut Street)
Please contact Robin at (262) 707-0792 or robin.namiwashington@gmail.com for more information.
Hope Connections
This group is dedicated to adults who have lost someone by suicide. The death of a loved one by suicide presents challenges with the grieving process. There is often more shock, a greater sense of injustice, more guilt and blame, and a heightened sense of hopelessness. This is a safe space for survivors to share their loss with others who are experiencing similar thoughts and feelings.
Offered twice monthly on the first and third Tuesday of the month from 6:30 – 7:45 pm at the NAMI WC Welcome Center, 279 S. 17th Ave., Ste.7, West Bend (enter driveway off Chestnut Street)
Please contact Suzanne at (262) 629-5187 or suzanne.namiwashington@gmail.
Teen Connections
Led by trained facilitators, these support groups are for teens ages 13-18 years of age with a suspected or diagnosed mental health condition. This is a safe place for teens to talk with peers and trained facilitators about emotions, symptoms experienced, positive coping strategies, and how mental health is positively/negatively affecting the challenges of being a teenager. Teens receive support and build friendships with peers who understand what they are going through. Snacks and beverages are provided for free.
Offered every Thursday from 4:15 – 5:30 pm at the NAMI Welcome Center, 279 S. 17th Ave., Ste.7, West Bend (enter driveway off Chestnut Street)
Please contact Suzanne at (262) 629-5187 or suzanne.namiwashington@gmail.
Offered every Monday during the school year on a rotating schedule at Germantown HS (for Germantown HS teens) and West Bend High Schools (for West Bend HS teens)
Contact Stephanie (Germantown HS) at (262) 502-7121 for more information.
Contact Jamie (West Bend HS) at jthomas@wbsd-schools.org for more information.
NAMI Family Support Group
This support group is for any adult with a loved one who has a mental health condition. Participants can gain insight from the challenges and successes of others facing similar experiences. This group will help them gain better coping skills and find strength in sharing experiences. They will learn to embrace humor as healthy, forgive themselves, reject guilt, and accept that they cannot solve every problem. By sharing experiences in a confidential, safe setting, participants can gain hope and develop supportive relationships.
Offered the THIRD Monday of the month from 7:00 – 8:30 pm at the NAMI WC Welcome Center, 279 S. 17 th Ave., Ste.7, West Bend (enter driveway off Chestnut Street)
Teen Art Expressions
Led by a licensed Art Therapist, this group is for teens 13-18 years of age who live with a suspected or diagnosed mental health condition. Art therapy uses materials such as paint, oil pastels, beads, crayons, as a means of self-expression. The process of working with art materials to create the final product helps teens begin to develop self-understanding, learn new or alternate coping methods, release distress, and work through problems. Guided peer discussions are an excellent way to help build critical support networks. Participants can talk about their fears, feelings, relationships, and build interpersonal skills.
Offered twice every Thursday at the NAMI WC Welcome Center, 279 S. 17th Ave., Ste.7, West Bend (enter driveway off Chestnut Street)
Session 1 – 4:15 – 5:30 pm for middle school teens who do not attend the Teen Connections Support Group
Session 2 – 5:30 – 6:45 pm for high school teens and those who attend the Teen Connections Support Group
Please contact Bethany at (262) 404-7883 or Bethany.namiwashington@gmail.com for more information or to register for this group.
Community Education Program Descriptions
Offered throughout the year as scheduled. Please call (262) 339-1235 for more information.
NAMI Family & Friends Education Seminar
Offered three or four times annually, NAMI Family & Friends is a free 90-minute or four-hour seminar that informs people who have loved ones with a mental health condition how to best support them. It’s also an opportunity to meet other people in similar situations and gain community support. The seminar is led by trained people with lived experience of supporting a family member with a mental health condition. Specific topics covered in the seminar include understanding diagnoses, treatment, and recovery; effective communication strategies; crisis prevention strategies; the importance of self-care; and NAMI Washington County and other community resources.
Please contact us at (262) 339-1235 to learn of the next offering of this seminar and to be placed on the waiting list.
NAMI Ending the Silence Education Program
Ending the Silence is a free, evidence-based, 90 minute (or 2 class periods) session designed for middle and high school students. Students will learn about mental health conditions through a brief presentation, short videos, and personal testimony from a young adult who describes their own journey to recovery. NAMI Washington County’s trained instructors and speakers provide this program to all public middle school and high school health classes throughout Washington County, reaching over 1,600 students per school year. Research has shown that NAMI Ending the Silence is effective in changing middle and high school students’ knowledge and attitudes toward mental health conditions and toward seeking help.
With the start of the 2022-23 school year, NAMI WC has facilitated 8 years of Ending the Silence by going into health classrooms throughout Washington County. We reach approximately 1600 teens each school year.
NAMI Family-to-Family Education Class
Offered twice annually, this free 8-week class is specifically for family members, significant others and friends of people with mental health conditions. This is an evidence-based program. Research shows the program significantly improves the coping and problem-solving abilities of the people closest to a person living with a mental health condition. The course is taught by NAMI-trained individuals who are or have taken care of someone living with a mental health condition. With the instructors’ lived-experience you will hear from people who have been there, who have had or are having similar experiences as you, and who are implementing tools taught in the Family-to-Family class. The class includes presentations, discussions and interactive exercises.
Specific topics of the class include:
- How to solve problems and communicate effectively;
- Taking care of yourself and managing your stress;
- Supporting your loved one with compassion;
- Finding and using local supports and services;
- Up-to-date information on mental health conditions and how they affect the brain;
- How to handle a crisis;
- Current treatments and therapies; and
- The impact of mental health conditions on the entire family.
Please contact us to learn of the next class at (262) 339-1235 and to be placed on the waiting list.
Mental Health Chat
This program is a fun, interactive, high-energy presentation developed to bring awareness and provide education about mental illness to elementary students in the fourth grade. Program goals include educating students about mental illness, helping students understand that getting help for a mental illness is good, providing positive coping skills for dealing with strong emotions, and teaching students how to help themselves or a friend identify an adult they can talk to if feeling sad, depressed or anxious.
Q.P.R. - Question, Persuade, Refer. A Suicide Prevention Training Program
The mission of Q.P.R. is to save lives and reduce suicidal behaviors by providing innovative, practical and proven suicide prevention training. Much like CPR – short for cardiopulmonary resuscitation – an emergency medical intervention, Q.P.R. is an emergency mental health intervention for suicidal persons. Created in 1995, Q.P.R. is the abbreviation for Question, Persuade and Refer. The intent of the process is to identify and interrupt the crisis and direct that person to the proper care. Once trained, participants know about the warning signs of a suicide crisis: expressions of hopelessness, depression, giving away prized possessions, talking of suicide, securing lethal means, and then taught how to respond. Once trained participants know how to recognize warning signs, know how to offer hope, and know where to get help to save a life.
Offered the second Thursday of every month from 6:30 – 8:00 pm in person at the NAMI WC Welcome Center, 279 S. 17th Ave., Ste.7, West Bend (enter driveway off Chestnut Street) or via Zoom (participants are encouraged to arrive at 6:15 to complete required paperwork)
Also offered by appointment at your site in person or via Zoom. Call 262-339-1235 to arrange.
C.I.T - Crisis Intervention Team
Twice annually, NAMI Washington County facilitates the 40-hour national Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Training Program for local law enforcement. This program creates connections between law enforcement, mental health providers, hospital emergency services and individuals with mental illness and their families. Through community partnerships and intensive training, CIT improves communication, identifies mental health resources for those in crisis, and ensures officer and community safety.
CIT programs bring community leaders together to help keep individuals with mental illness out of jail and in treatment, on the road to recovery. Diversion programs like CIT reduce arrests of people with mental illness while simultaneously increasing the likelihood that individuals will receive mental health services. In some communities, CIT programs have helped reduce officer injuries by 80% during mental health crisis calls, have reduced the amount of time officers spend on a mental health call thus putting officers back into the community more quickly, and have produced cost savings between the criminal justice system and community-based mental health providers.
Some of the topics covered in the training are mental illness and prescription education, de-escalation techniques, effective listening strategies for different mental health calls, veteran services, trauma-informed care, and community resources for the diverse population in our county.
The next CIT Training is scheduled for October 2023. For more information, email executivedirector@namiwashingtonwi.org
NAMI Support Groups and Programs OnDemand (available online)
NAMI Basics OnDemand (for parents and caregivers of elementary age children)
NAMI Basics OnDemand is a free, online, 6-session education program for parents, caregivers and other family who provide care for youth (ages 22 and younger) who are experiencing mental health symptoms. The OnDemand program is guided by parents and family members with lived experience but is self-paced and available 24/7. OnDemand offers the flexibility of participating in the course on your schedule. This format provides information, strategies and the opportunity to connect with other parents and caregivers.
By participating in NAMI Basics OnDemand, you’ll realize that you are not alone. You’ll find support and shared understanding—compassion, reinforcement and empathy from people who truly get your situation. And don’t forget: Your experiences may also help others in the course. Together, you will all learn that recovery is a journey, and there is hope.
The course covers:
- The impact mental health conditions can have on your entire family
- Different types of mental health care professionals, available treatment options and therapies
- An overview of the public mental health care, school and juvenile justice systems and resources to help you navigate these systems
- How to advocate for your child’s rights at school and in health care settings
- How to prepare for and respond to crisis situations (self-harm, suicide attempts, etc.)
- The importance of taking care of yourself
What People Are Saying
“This is such a great step-by-step program that walks parents through every step. It’s as if they’re holding your hand through it all.”
“This class was unexpectedly wonderful! I did not expect to learn so very, very much! This program is well-written with excellent segues between topics. It covers so much more than BASICS—the title doesn’t do it justice.”
“I find it truly remarkable that this is free to those who are interested.”
Let’s Talk About Mental Illness (for parents/teachers of elementary school-age children)
A fun and engaging video made for elementary age kids to start the conversation about mental illness. After watching the video with your children or class, check out our free downloadable worksheets to continue learning about mental illness. You can find the videos and worksheets free to use on NAMI Wisconsin’s website at namiwisconsin.org/lets-talk-about-mental-illness
NAMI Homefront (for families, caregivers, & friends of military service members and vets)
NAMI Homefront is a free, 6-session educational program for families, caregivers and friends of military service members and vets with mental health conditions.
NAMI Homefront Mental Health Resources is a suite of online resources for military service members, veterans and their families! To register and learn more, visit: https://homefrontresources.nami.org
Learn more about NAMI Homefront
NAMI Online Support Groups
