321 Research shows that families coping with major mental illness feel isolated, stigmatized, and alone. Relationships become stressed, social networks shrink, and finances suffer. The result is that mentally ill individuals and their families cycle in and out of hospitals and therapy offices, to everyone's frustration. This workshop will present the Multi-Family Group model for working with these families, which has proven to be empirically effective in stabilizing clients and their families, increasing client functioning, and reducing hospitalizations. The presenter will describe the populations that most benefit from multi-family groups and why they are effective. Participants will learn the practical tools needed to set up and run successful multi-family groups--including how to facilitate complex groups with conflicting needs--and how to increase family members' coping skills and reinforce growth. We'll explore the use of the model with families suffering from major depression, personality disorders, schizophrenia, and bipolar illness.