<bt>People who are trying to better understand and cope with a family member who has a mental illness have somewhere to turn to starting Saturday.
Nancy and Jim Merrill, trained volunteers, will present a free, 2 1/2-hour workshop every Saturday for the next 12 weeks. They will address schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder and other related mental illnesses. There will be classes on the brain, medications, problem solving, how to better communicate with the family member and other topics.
“These are no fault diseases caused by a brain disorder,” she said. "The professional helps the person who is mentally ill, but nobody helps the family.”
In one class, two people will share their experiences.
The classes are run by people who know first hand what it is like having a family member with mental illness. “That’s why it is family to family,” Nancy Merrill said.
For more information or to sign up, call the Merrills at 703-444-5326. The classes are held at the Lutheran Community in Cascades, next to the Eastern Regional Library.
<1b>— Andrea Zentz