NAMI Connection is a peer support group program for people who have one or more mental illnesses. This support group program is open to anyone with any kind or type of mental illness and each person is seen to have great value.

NAMI Connection support groups run for 90 minutes and meet once a week. This support group model is fairly formatted and there are two trained support group facilitators whenever possible. It doesn’t have an educational component, but there are often educational materials with local, state and national resources available on a resource table.

The meetings start off with a brief introduction and a quick share of how people have done in the past week. Then the support group facilitators pick a couple of topics and the sharing begins. People share and communicate and are supported by many different methods. To be a Connection Support Group Facilitator there is a three-day training.The trainers make sure that Connection Support Group Facilitators understand the twelve principles of support, and the many different ways or methods that can be used to provide support, and resolve problems.

This support group uses a problem solving method when people are stuck, and gives facilitators ways to handle hot topics like suicide, jail time and other topics that always deeply affect support groups, and may come up repeatedly.

NAMI Connection adheres to twelve principles of support. These principles have evolved through the years as the support group members have given their input.

The NAMI Connection Twelve Principles of Support are:

We will see the individual first, not the illness. We recognize that mental illnesses are medical illnesses that may have environmental triggers. We understand that mental illnesses are traumatic events. We aim for better coping skills. We find strength in sharing experiences. We reject stigma and do not tolerate discrimination. We won’t judge anyone's pain as less than our own. We forgive ourselves and reject guilt. We embrace humor as healthy. We accept we cannot solve all problems. We expect a better future in a realistic way. We will never give up hope.

The previous name of this program was NAMICARE. NAMI Consumers Advocating Recovery through Empowerment. The name changed in 2007 when NAMI revamped and then rolled the NAMI Connection program out nationwide.

The NAMICARE/Connection support group model has been around for many years.

There are one or two trainings a year in Michigan to become a NAMI Connection Support Group Facilitator. For more information about NAMI Connection, contact their state office in Lansing.