Support for Families
DBSA offers a number of ways for families to receive mutual support from other families of individuals living with a mood disorder. Learn more about local DBSA chapters and family support groups, online family support groups and online discussion forums for parents and family members. We’ve been there. We can help.

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Family and Friends’ Guide to Recovery from Depression and Bipolar Disorder (PDF)
More Family-Focused Brochures

Online Support Groups
DBSA offers online support groups for parents and friends and family of people living with mood disorders. Take care of yourself while helping a loved one: DBSAlliance.org/OSG

DBSAlliance.org
Understanding these illnesses is one of the best ways for individuals and families to find a route to recovery. DBSAlliance.org provides a wealth of information about diagnosis, treatment and recovery.

FacingUs.org
The Facing Us Clubhouse is an online home for wellness for individuals living with mood disorders. FacingUs.org is a refuge where visitors can do something positive every day and find inspiration from others who share a similar lived experience. 

Events

 Through a number of ongoing events, DBSA offers information, hope, and support for those with mood disorders, their family members and other audiences such as providers and the general public. For more details, see the links below.

As a family member, it’s important to build your own support system. You might think your problems are minor in comparison to what your loved one is coping with, but that doesn’t mean you’re any less deserving of help and comfort. Take time out for yourself and to do things you enjoy. Taking care of yourself means you’ll be better able to help the person you care about.

 Support Groups

For Family Members
A mother of a son with depression says, “When you are in the middle of a situation, it’s hard to see what’s happening, but when you sit in a support group meeting across from someone who is going through the same things, it gives you perspective.” Many DBSA chapters across the country offer support groups for families and friends of individuals living with a mood disorder. Find a local support group.

 DBSA also offers online support groups for families. Find an online support group. The Parents' Group meets every Wednesday at 8:30 pm EST.

For Consumers
If you live with bipolar disorder or depression, it’s important to know that you’re not alone. As one DBSA support group participant says, “The members of my DBSA support group reached out to me....If not for the support that I received from this organization, I probably wouldn’t be here.” Find a local support group in your community or find an online support group.

Online Discussion Boards

For Family Members
DBSA hosts two online discussion boards for families, our Friends & Families Forum and our Parents Forum. Before logging on, please read the terms of use for DBSA Forums.

For Consumers
For those living themselves with a mood disorder, DBSA also offers discussion boards not only on depression and bipolar disorder but also on topics such as dual diagnosis/recovery, anxiety, and advocacy.

Online Events

Periodically, DBSA and/or the Rebecca’s Dream Family Center will host an online event, such as an online chat or webinar, specifically for family members. Upcoming online events include the following:

• No online event currently scheduled. Please check back for updates.

www.RebeccasDream.org/

Rebecca’s Dream is a foundation established by a loving family in honor of Rebecca Lynn Cutler, a vibrant, talented, and successful young Chicago woman who lost her life to bipolar disorder.

The foundation’s mission is to foster awareness and compassionate understanding of depression and bipolar disorder as real diseases that affect real people like Rebecca and her family. Her family and DBSA are dedicated to keeping Rebecca’s legacy alive by helping those who live with mood disorders—and their loved ones—know that there is hope. Visit the website. Watch the video.