GMTA - Great Minds Think Alike

The Education Course for Teens with Mental Illness

NAMI Texas, as an addition to their existing Visions For Tomorrow curricula, offers a new education awareness program for youth diagnosed with a mental illness ages 13-18: GMTA – Great Minds Think Alike.  GMTA is designed to provide youth with the skills necessary to take a leadership role in their own recovery and to aid others who suffer from the symptoms of mental illness.

Through GMTA, youth begin to understand their symptoms; positive and appropriate interventions for their symptoms; and through the interventions, a reduction in the stigma they face.  GMTA includes the following topics:

• Understanding Your Illness
• Understanding Your Symptoms
• Coping with Symptoms and Side Effects
• Understanding Your Medication and the Importance of Therapy
• Managing Crisis and Emergency Situations
• Nutrition and a Healthy Lifestyle
• Helping to Prevent Relapse
• Communications
• and other much needed skills and topics

GMTA helps youth learn to cope with their diagnosis and find success in their daily lives.  It provides easy to understand workbooks to learn from and refer to; opportunities to build relationships with other youth who have similar symptoms; and, despite the barriers, an approach to leading healthy and productive lives.

NAMI TX’s goal through this program is to empower youth with mental illness to understand their own needs, take an active role in their treatment and recovery, support other youth who have similar symptoms, and provide input in all appropriate venues as to what it is like to be a youth with mental health needs.  GMTA also helps these students identify the type of supports they need to be successful, productive members of society.

It is a cornerstone belief of NAMI TX that ALL children and youth should have every opportunity to find success in their daily lives.  This is often not the case for children and youth with mental health needs.  The barriers these young people face frequently prevent them from recognizing even the smallest of success.  GMTA is a program that will enable youth to have a better understanding of what success can look like, and how to achieve their own successes.

For more information, you can contact the Director of Educational Development for NAMI TX at dcr@namitexasvft.com

Great Minds Think Alike