In the eighth class will focus on improved communication skills with a family member whose illness can inhibit the processing of information as well as family members who are uncertain of how to proceed with emotional expression. The group will learn more about how their family member may be organizing complex ideas and how to exchange emotional information in a more constructive way, as well as practice these methods in a group exercise. This will help family members connect to the person "behind the symptoms". Opening Not teaching communication skills because you are doing it wrong Every mental illness invoices problems in attention, memory and information processing How a Thought Disorder Interferes with the Capacity to Understand Communications How people with schizophrenia react to Information First person accounts of this processing Empathy Exercise: What This Is Like Simulation of the experience of a person with a thought disorder Simulation of the reaction to complex information Connecting the exercises to principles and guidelines Why Do We Need To Work On Communication Skills? Learning to talk to each other in a way not constrained by illness Stating our position while remaining receptive to our relative's position I-Statement Communications I-Statement Exercise: The Best Way Ending the statement You-Statement Exercise: The Wrong Way Blame and judgment Reflective-Responses Communications Putting yourself in the other persons shoes Listening to the emotional content of statements Why reflective-responses are necessary When to use them Basic steps for making reflective-responses Talking to the Person Behind the Symptoms of Mental Illness Talking about the issues and emotions Allowing communication that may be uncomfortable