Seminar Frequently Asked Questions

NAMI Family & Friends is a 4-hour seminar that informs and supports people who have loved ones with a mental health condition.  

Please note: NAMI Family & Friends is currently in the pilot phase and is only availble in AK, CA, MT, NM, OR, TX and WA. The seminar will become available nationwide in mid-2018.

  • Are Kindles the best device to use? What would NAMI recommend? Does it need to be in color?

    NAMI has tested the following three devices: The Kindle Fire, the Kindle Paper White and the Nook. Of the three, the Kindle Fire performed the best and is the only one in color. The other devices performed well, but are slightly smaller and not as responsive to touch as the Kindle Fire. We also tested on the Android Galaxy S8 smart phone using the both the Nook and Kindle apps; both apps worked similarly.

    It is not necessary to view the eBook in color.

    To get the eBook for either Kindle or Nook, search for NAMI Family & Friends and purchase the eBook. The cost is $0.00 (free).

  • Can we purchase tablets for participants to use during the seminar?

    It's not NAM's intention to ask NAMI State Organizations and NAMI Affiliates to purchase devices for this seminar so participants can read the eBook. However, if you wish to do so, we recommend you buy one device and make sure it meets your needs before buying more.

    If you choose to use Kindles, each device will require its own user account. If the goal is to purchase 15 devices, you’ll want to have 15 different accounts—one for each device—or conflicts can occur between devices sharing accounts.

    Keep in mind that many participants may already have a device that they can use to read the eBook. Registered participants will be able to download the eBook prior to the class and can bring their device with them.

    Note: Both the paper and eBook versions of the participant manual are for reference and are not required to attend the seminar.

  • I have a program leader who’s completed the online training and is ready to teach. Is there anything else they need to do before teaching the seminar?

    We are glad to hear that seminar leaders are excited about the program! Please remember that the NAMI Family & Friends requires two presenters to lead the seminar.

    The goal is to release the program leader manual at the end of August. Once the manual is released NAMI State Organizations and NAMI Affiliates can begin using the online portal to schedule NAMI Family & Friends seminars.

  • Is the eBook ready? If not, when will it be?

    The English version of the eBook is available for download on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, search for NAMI Family & Friends. The cost is $0.00 (free). The six other eBooks translations will be available later this year.

  • Will there be a registration cutoff date for each seminar so we know how many attendees there will be and what supplies we'll need?

    NAMI State Organizations and NAMI Affiliates can designate a registration cutoff date when entering the seminar details in the online portal. Overall, supplies should be minimal. Part of the pilot is supplying the participant manual as an eBook although you will have a print-ready file of the manual as well.