Office of Consumer and Family Affairs, Behavioral Health and Substance Use

The Office of Consumer and Family Affairs provides education classes, support groups, consultation, resource linkage and advocacy for individuals and families affected by behavioral health, substance use and co-occurring disorders. The staff also coordinates the Virginia Beach Community Trust for individuals with behavioral health disorders.



Services include:

• Friends and Family Education is a six-week class that provides education for friends and family members affected by another's addiction.  The class offers information about how to emotionally care for an individual with an addiction without being trapped in the addiction with them.  Registration required.  No fee, no residency requirement.
  
• Help Me Understand is a series of 1 and a half hour classes that address information related to serious behavioral health disorders (SMI), one topic at a time. Class topics include bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), trauma and recovery. 
  
•  National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Family to Family is a series of twelve classes, offered in collaboration with NAMI Virginia Beach, designed to provide education on behavioral health disorders and to reduce the stress that can occur when parents, siblings, spouses, other relatives and friends support an individual with a behavioral health disorder. Registration is required. The class has no fees and no residency requirement. Call 757-385 0802 for more information.

• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Basics is a six-week class for the parents and caregivers of children and adolescents living with behavioral health disorders. Topics include the biology of behavioral health, trauma, research, treatment options, the impact of a child's mental illness on the family and an overview of systems involved with caring for children and adolescents with behavioral health disorders. Registration is required.  The class has no fees and no residency requirement.

• Basics of Caring Support Group meets monthly during the school year and is for parents and caregivers who have completed the NAMI Basics education class. The class has no fees and no residency requirement.

• WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) classes are for people living with behavioral health, substance use and co-occurring disorders. WRAP focuses on wellness and recovery. Writing a crisis plan is part of the curriculum.  WRAP is offered in specific program areas within the Behavioral Health Substance Use Division.
  

•  The Virginia Beach Community Trust offers the opportunity for families to set up a Special Needs Trusts for individuals with behavioral health disorders. Trusts are managed by a five-member Board of Trustees and coordinated by the supervisor of the Office of Consumer and Family Affairs.