NAMI Support Groups
Click here to see the calendar of events.

Click here to access the Program Interest Form

• Family Support Group
  Peer-led support group for any adult with a loved one who has experienced symptoms of a mental health condition. Gain insight from the challenges and successes of others facing similar experiences.
  Every Thursday, 6:30-7:30pm via Zoom.

• Connection Recovery Support Group
  Peer-led support group for any adult who has experienced symptoms of a mental health condition. You will gain insight from hearing the challenges and successes of others, and the groups are led by trained leaders who've been there.
  Every Tuesday, 5:30-7pm via Zoom

• Hearing Voices and/or Special Messages (HVSM) Support Group
  Peer-led support group that provides a safe space where individuals who hear voices or have other unusual experiences can find social support and a sense of belonging.
  1st, 3rd, and 5th Thursdays of the month, 5:30-7pm  via Zoom 

Togetherall (by the Scanlan Center) - All PreK- 12 educators in Iowa have free access to Togetherall, an anonymous, 24/7 digital mental health and peer support community that is monitored by mental health professionals.

Parents as Teachers - LSI - Receive personal home visits from an LSI Parent Educator, and learn about your child’s development from other families in your community. Visit the link for more info. Contact Melissa Tucker at 563-288-4171

Parent Partners - This program can connect parents with other parents who have been involved with the Department of Human Services (DHS) due to child protection issues. At one time, their children were removed from their primary care and have since been successfully reunified, and can offer others support, guidance, and connections to resources. See link for more info. Contact Stacy Zachmeyer- Phone:  319-371-9128 or email: stacyz@cfiowa.org

Parent Cafe - Safe spaces where parents and caregivers talk about the challenges and victories of raising a family. Contact them for access to an event near you or their virtual gatherings

Powerful Tools for Caregivers  - Workshops for family caregivers of children with special health or behavioral needs or caregivers of adults with chronic conditions. These events are designed to empower family caregivers to take better care of themselves. Click here for the flyer.

Community Resource Finder - search for support groups and other services for older adults and caregivers of older adults

Iowa Foster and Adoptive Parents Association (IFAPA) - support group locator for foster, adoptive, and kinship parents (listed by DHS)

Please Pass the Love - virtual support groups for parents and educators, as well as a bilingual teen support group.

NCTSE Member Gatherings - virtual teacher gatherings for support

Life Connections Wellness Recovery Center - Dewitt, IA

Various support groups offered daily. Contact: ta@lifeconnectionsrecovery.org, info@lifeconnectionsrecovery.org, or call 563-659-9027

CHADD's ADHD Parents Together - This is a space to discuss the impact of ADHD on you and your child. Talk to others who understand and get valuable advice and support.

More support groups for specific needs, such as mental health, grief, or LGBT+, can be found under those designated tabs in our Resources section.

Supporting yourself as the parent/caregiver

• • ELEVATE is an 8-hour, research-informed, couples education curriculum that engages couples in learning and practicing the seven core principles/skills essential to maintaining healthy and stable relationships. Click here for the flyer.

  • Powerful Tools for Caregivers - Class designed to provide YOU -the family caregiver- with the skills you need to take care of yourself.  

  • Virtual Calming Room - for self-soothing 

  • How to make your own self-soothing sensory kit or self-soothe box

  • Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)- Modules and DBT Self Help - these skills help you regulate your emotions, improve your relationships and withstand times of distress without impulsivity

  • How to Manage and Reduce Stress

  • How to Avoid Passing Anxiety on to Your Kids - Techniques to manage stress in a healthy way

  • How parents can model healthy coping skills for anger

  • Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience (Website)- The website for this book is dedicated to cultivating emotional resilience for anyone. Contains personal narratives, book reviews, recorded meditations, printable tools, and many activities that you can incorporate into your daily life

Parenting/Family support

• • Hopscotch Family - free, interactive, clinician-developed resources designed to help parents address the social-emotional needs of their children.  Includes helpful tools, activities, and exclusive content to help your child cope with concerns related to anxiety, anger, self-esteem, and more.

  • Every Child- Programs and resources for parents of young children, including Basic Training for New Dads, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), Child Protection Center, Community Education, and more.

  • Family Engagement Activities for a variety of ages

  • Whitney's Wings - nonprofit with an aim to serve low-income and under-served families by providing free family outings and experiences as well as giving a space for families to request items they need while experiencing difficult times.

  • Common Sense Media - a variety of information about what kids currently enjoy and understanding the technology/websites kids use today

  • InternetMatters.org - Learn about age-specific internet safety for kids. This includes various online issues/concerns, advice by age group, setting parent controls on devices, and other guides and resources for teaching kids and learning about how to keep kids safe online.

  • Privacy and Distance Learning: Tips for Parents

  • Safe Youth Collaborative has age-appropriate tips and ideas for you to learn about keeping kids safe and to help raise safe, self-aware, connected, and empathetic kids.

  • Circle of Care: A Guidebook for Mental Health Caregivers - designed to guide unpaid friends, family, and neighbors who care for someone with a mental health condition

  • Parenting - Iowa State Extension Office - guidance and information for understanding how to support your kid through each stage of life

  • The Science of Parenting Podcast - Dealing with toddler meltdowns or an angsty teen who doesn’t want to talk? Find real-life solutions based on the latest scientific research.

  • Mental Health and School Refusal:

    • What parents need to know

    • Ways parents can stop the cycle

    • Anxiety and school avoidance/refusal

  • Oppositional Defiant Disorder: A Guide for Families

  • Child Mind Institute Parent Guides for just about any social-emotional and behavioral concern

  • How to be an Active Listener

  • Anxiety in the Classroom -  includes resources for parents/guardians of youth with anxiety/OCD

  • Parent to Parent: Introduction to ADHD - free online course with 8 lessons about ADHD for parents

Supporting yourself as the teacher

• Virtual Calming Room - for self-soothing 

• Learn about workplace trauma, burnout, and self-care on our About Trauma page.

• How to make your own self-soothing sensory kit or self-soothe box

• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)- Modules and DBT Self Help - these skills help you regulate your emotions, improve your relationships and withstand times of distress without impulsivity

• How to Manage and Reduce Stress

• Self-Care Portfolio for Adults

• When Trauma is Triggered at Work

• Celebrate YOU: Self-Care Tips for the Teachers We Love

• National Education Association (NEA) - articles for supporting teachers, including wellbeing such as preventing secondary trauma

• Teacher Mental Health Tips You Can’t Afford to Ignore - advice on how to de-stress, maintain physical health and strive for better work-life balance.

• Mindful Teachers - tips, reflections, mindfulness practices, and more to help with common challenges educators face.

• 10 Mental Health Tips for Teachers During the COVID-19 Pandemic - advice for work-life balance and remote teaching.

• Happy Teacher Revolution - a resource for supporting the mental health and wellness of teachers

• Teaching with Mental Health in Mind - mental health resources and support to educators who come in contact with youth daily.

• ACSD - includes articles with practical and actionable strategies to help teachers and school leaders with self-care and more

• Resilient Educator - articles for educators with content ranging from self-care to teaching tips and professional development.

• Why Teacher Self-Care Matters and How to Practice Self-Care in Your School - activities and tips for teachers to use inside and outside the classroom. 

• Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience (Website)- The website for this book is dedicated to cultivating emotional resilience. Contains personal narratives, book reviews, recorded meditations, printable tools, and many activities that you can incorporate into your daily life

Supporting your classroom

• COPING de-escalation model - how to deescalate a situation (from CPI training)

• Child Mind Insitute - Resources for Teachers - classroom mental health guides, managing behavior in the classroom, supporting kids with learning disorders, responding to trauma, and tips for remote or hybrid learning

• How to be an Active Listener

• Supporting SEL in Students' Digital Lives: Tips and Advice for Teachers

• Anxiety in the Classroom - includes resources for school personnel that may be involved in helping to identify or manage kids with anxiety or OCD in the school setting.

• Classroom Mental Health - a teachers toolkit of resources for managing student mental health

• Healthy Kids, Thriving Minds Project - These evidence-based resources can help you teach your students the mental health skills they need to be more ready to learn

• Mylemarks - creative and interactive social-emotional tools 

• Really Good Stuff - Social Emotional Learning - posters, activities, conversation cards, and more

• CASEL - SEL curricula

• ACSD - includes articles with practical and actionable strategies to help teachers and school leaders with self-care, classroom management, and more

• Teaching with Mental Health in Mind - mental health resources and support to educators who come in contact with youth daily.

• CARE (Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education) - programs to help teachers, principals, and other educators develop healthy social and emotional behavior.

• Resilient Educator - articles for educators with content ranging from self-care to teaching tips and professional development.

• Why Teacher Self-Care Matters and How to Practice Self-Care in Your School - activities and tips for teachers to use inside and outside the classroom. 

• TEACHFLIX - Classroom age-appropriate videos for various topics. You can find videos for Math, Music & Art, Science, History, Physical Education, Read Alouds, World Languages, Computer Science, Virtual Field Trips, English Language Arts, Social Emotional Learning, and Digital Citizenship

If your student or child has mental health conditions, you can also find resources for supporting them on our About Mental Health page.

Social-emotional tools to teach students

• Virtual Calming Room - for self-soothing 

• How to make your own self-soothing sensory kit or self-soothe box

• The Blob Tree - for teaching emotional intelligence 

• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)- Modules and DBT Self Help - these skills help you regulate your emotions, improve your relationships, and withstand times of distress without impulsivity

• Healthy Minds, Thriving Kids Project - A series of free, evidence-based video and print resources that caregivers and educators can use to teach their kids critical mental health and coping skills

• Tips for Beating Test Anxiety

• Student Self-Care Toolkit

• Hopscotch Family - free, interactive, clinician-developed resources designed to help parents address the social-emotional needs of their children.  Includes helpful tools, activities, and exclusive content to help your child cope with concerns related to anxiety, anger, self-esteem, and more.

Tips, Guides, and More

• How to be an Active Listener

• Tips for Supporting Others with Mental Illness

• How to talk to boys about teen mental health

• Mental Health America Supporting Students Toolkit

  • Supporting Students at Home

  • Supporting Students Facing Trauma

• Shine Light on Depression

• Safe Youth Collaborative - age-appropriate tips and ideas for you to learn about keeping kids safe and to help raise safe, self-aware, connected, and empathetic kids.

• Child Mind Insitute's Resource Center - find information to help you support children who are struggling with mental health, behavior, or learning challenges. Includes a wide range of mental health/SEBH topics, parenting and teacher guides, symptom checker, resource finder, and more.

  • How to Know if Your Child Is Being Bullied

  • Strategies to Make Homework Go More Smoothly

  • Teens and Anger: How parents can model healthy coping skills

  • How to Help Kids Who Are Too Self-Critical /Perfectionist

  • How to Change Negative Thinking Patterns

  • Guide to Helping Children Cope After a Traumatic Event

• Anxiety in the Classroom - An online resource center for school personnel, students, and their families. This website provides useful information, resources, and materials about anxiety and OCD as they relate to the school setting

• CHADD Toolkits for ADHD: For Parents & Educators, ADHD & COVID-19 Resources, For Parents & Caregivers, Diagnosis and Treatment of Children and Teens

For supporting LGBTQ+ students, see our LGBTQ+ page.

To learn about Human Trafficking and how to prevent it, see our Human Trafficking page. 

For information on Grooming, visit our Domestic/Sexual Violence section.

• iNDIEFLIX - educational-based films focused on topics such as mental health

• Age-appropriate movies with SEL curriculum

• The Orchid and the Dandelion: Why Some Children Struggle and How All Can Thrive by W. Thomas Boyce

• The Science of Parenting Podcast - Dealing with toddler meltdowns or an angsty teen who doesn’t want to talk? Find real-life solutions based on the latest scientific research.

• Virtual Calming Room - videos and links for self-soothing 

• ADHD Toolkits - There are podcasts, videos, articles, blogs, and more (you have to enter your email for these) for parents/caregivers and educators

Books on trauma and trauma-informed care

Several are listed on our About Trauma page under the section titled "Learn more about Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care".

Books for supporting students

• To Raise a Boy by Emma Brown

• List of children's books to help kids understand their emotional and mental health

• Can I Catch It Like a Cold: Coping with a Parent's Depression by Centre For Addiction And Mental Health

Books for teacher well-being 

• Moment for Teachers: Self-Care for Busy Teachers by Alice Langholt

• The Beginning Teacher’s Field Guide: Embarking on Your First Years by Tina H. Boogren 

• First Aid for Teacher Burnout: How You Can Find Peace and Success by Jenny Grant Rankin

• The Happy Teacher’s Handbook: From Overwhelmed to Inspired – Helping Teachers Embrace Resiliency by Jen Molitor

• Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators by Elena Aguilar

• Overcoming Teacher Burnout in Early Childhood: Strategies for Change by Ellen M. Drolette

• Positive Mindset Habits for Teachers: 10 Steps to Reduce Stress, Increase Student Engagement and Reignite Your Passion for Teaching by Grace Stevens

• See Me After Class: Advice for Teachers by Teachers by Roxanna Elden

• Stress Management for Teachers: A Practical Guide by Keith C. Herman and Wendy M. Reinke

• Take Time for You: Self-Care Action Plans for Educators by Tina H. Boogren

• Today I Made a Difference: A Collection of Inspirational Stories from America’s Top Educators by  Joseph W. Underwood

Podcasts for teachers

• The Cult of Pedagogy - series that focuses on educators, students, administrators, and parents sharing insight and advice with veteran educator Jennifer Gonzalez.

• HMH Learning Moments - series from educational content publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt that highlights teachers who share their stories, ideas and innovations to help others.

• Passing Notes - experts offering practical advice with host Stephanie Hinton, the early childhood education coordinator for Oklahoma City Public Schools.

• Teach Me, Teacher - podcast with teachers sharing experiences to help their peers and offering their perspectives on teacher development with host and middle school teacher Jacob Chastain.

• Teachers’ Aid - episodes focus on social and emotional support for teachers with discussions led by hosts and educators Jon Harper and Mandy Froehlich.

• The Teacher Self-Care Podcast - series features teachers and administrators sharing what self-care looks like for them with host Franchesca Warren, founder of The Educator’s Room.

• Truth for Teachers - episodes on subjects such as flexible resilience, dealing with personality differences, and work-life balance from veteran educator Angela Watson.

book and podcast lists from teach.com