A common foundation: our collective beliefs form the foundation for unified, consistent messages about the treatment of mood disorders and the people who live with them.

DBSA believes:

  1. Mood disorders, while life-threatening, are highly treatable, and people living with a mood disorder can and do thrive.
  2. The lived experience of people should inform everything DBSA does.
  3. DBSA recognizes several pathways to treatment including peer support, personal wellness strategies, therapeutic and medical interventions. All individuals have the right to direct their own treatment.
  4. Peer support is a powerful wellness tool and can be beneficial to both peers and their supporters.
  5. Having the peer perspective at the center of conversations about mental health results in better outcomes.
  6. Wellness encompasses an individual’s whole life, and each person’s wellness journey is unique.
  7. DBSA provides support for all individuals living with or affected by mood disorders at all points in their wellness journey.
  8. Clinicians should collaborate with peers to provide options when developing personalized treatment plans that target complete wellness, not merely improvement.
  9. Researchers should work to provide treatment options that target complete wellness, not merely improvement.
  10. All people should have access to quality mental health care.