Provider Education Program

NAMI Provider Education Program

NAMI Utah provides a free 5-week course in Mental Illness Education and Consumer/Provider/Family Collaboration Skills for Line Staff at Public Mental Health Agencies. The course is held for 5 consecutive weeks, for 2 1/2 hours per session, and for staff convenience, it is offered at an agency site

What is NAMI Provider Education?

The NAMI Provider Education Program is a 5-week course that presents a penetrating, subjective view of family and consumer experiences with serious mental illness to line staff at public agencies who work directly with people experiencing severe and persistent mental illnesses.

The course helps providers realize the hardships that families and consumers face and appreciate the courage and persistence it takes to live with and recover from mental illness.

How is the Provider Education course unique?

The Provider Course emphasizes the involvement of consumers and family members as faculty in provider-staff training.  The teaching team consists of five people:

•      Two family members of individuals with serious mental illness;
•       Two consumers who are knowledgeable about their own mental illness, have a supportive relationship with their families, and are dedicated to the process of recovery; and
•       A mental health professional who is also a family member or consumer.

Few teaching programs employ consumers in this kind of sustained training effort in which they are paid to participate on a teaching team as they present a 5-week course.

The course reflects a new knowledge base -- the “lived experiences” of people coping with a mental illness or caring for someone who lives with a mental illness.  Including this deeply personal perspective creates an appreciable difference in the program’s content.  It adds a means of teaching the emotional aspects and practical consequences of these illnesses to the academic medical information in the course.

NAMI Provider Education Program: A Sample of Participants’ Responses

“By hearing so many different views on mental illness I have learned so much more than I would have by just having one person teaching & lecturing. This is the most useful & informative course I have ever taken. Please try to get as many providers as possible to take this course!”

“I have learned more about the unique circumstances and struggles that those with mental illness go through, as well as the difficulty family members have in understanding what their loved one is going through. I have been impressed with the caliber of people who have presented and their willingness to share their personal pain with mental illness.”

“I have become more aware of how much those with mental illness have to overcome and the day-to-day struggles they face. I also have gained a greater understanding of the challenges that the families go through and how much they get the brunt/blame for their family member’s illness. I have made the decision to be more empathic with consumers and their families and to have a more positive attitude on their ability to overcome their illness.”

“Overall I think this course should be mandatory for every provider trying to help others with an illness.”

Download the Provider Ed Site Responsibilities HERE. For more information about the Provider Education Program, please contact Sarah at (801) 323-9900 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .