Depression and Bipolar
Support Alliance Succasunna
Everything you always wanted to know about
DBSA Succasunna
To view our current schedule of meetings, click here.
DBSA Succasunna History
Founded in August 2003 to reach out to residents in the Morris County and surrounding areas, the group has touched hundreds of lives since it’s inception. As a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, being an affiliated chapter with the prestigious Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, the DBSA Succasunna board of trustees works to improve the services we offer and the quantity of persons we reach out to all the time. All meetings are open to the public, including board meetings, and our mission includes providing an empowering experience to all persons who are in attendance. Currently, DBSA Succasunna offers various activities to assist all persons who live with depression and bipolar disorder whether the person is a patient/consumer, family member, including parents of minors, or a friend. Being that all DBSA affiliated groups are required to maintain a professional advisor, we are assisted by our professional advisor, Jennifer Whitlock, LPC. Ms. Whitlock, a fellow consumer, volunteers in this role assisting us as necessary. To find out more about Ms. Whitlock or find out how to contact her directly, click here.
What Do We Offer?
Peer led support/rap group meetings held 2x’s per month. Groups are aided by a peer trained facilitator and are not larger than 10 - 12 people each, thus everyone getting the opportunity to share and care. Click here or go to our support/rap group tab for more information about peer based support/rap groups and a schedule of meetings. Self help specifically designed for consumers/patients, family members, and friends. Living Successfully with a Mood Disorder curriculum and a specially designed Pathways to Recovery curriculum. Click here or go to our Self-Help Education tab for more information. Special Events - None scheduled at this time. Lending library (Click here to view it's contents.) A reassuring smile Caring friendship Opportunities for growth Open mindedness Freedom from stigma No judgment E-mail alerts with national, state, and local mental health news. (If you want to be added to our list, click here to let us know.) Our educational website filled with lots of resources Ways to get involved
Educational lectures on various mental health related topics held monthly. Various professional speakers & topics volunteer their time to share their knowledge and experiences. Click here or see our educational tab for more information and for a calendar of speakers and topics.
Free literature available on depression and bipolar disorder as well as various mental health topics
Sunshine Club (recognition of group member’s birthdays)
Fellowship
A sense of hope and optimism
What Do the Meetings Offer Participants?
Support
A confidential, safe, and non judgmental environment in which to share
Peer to peer support from people who have been there and who can help thus the logo “We’ve been there. We can Help!"
An empowering experience (helping people to recognize their strength and feel more confident in exercising their freedom).
Fellowship
A sense of hope and optimism
Education
What "Kinds" of People I will Find at a Meeting?
Patients/consumers, family members, friends, and parents of children of all ages. Persons in attendance range in age and come from all walks of life and cultures. Essentially, the group attracts people wishing to get support and/or to give support. Governance of group DBSA Succasunna is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. Therefore all donations, which are always welcome to defray costs, are tax deductible. Our roots - Where do we stem from? The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance is a national non-profit, 501(c)3 organization composed of people living with depression and/or bipolar disorder (manic-depression) along with their family members and friends. DBSA is the largest illness specific patient run organization in the U.S. accounting for over 1,000 self help support groups throughout the U.S. and abroad.BSA Succasunna is non-profit 501(c)3 organization. Therefore all donations which are always welcome to defray costs are tax deductible. To improve the lives of people living with mood disorders.
Being that we are a non-profit corporation (DBSA local chapters must be in order to be affiliated with DBSA); we have a Board of Trustees that meets on a monthly basis. Board meetings are open and can be attended by anyone. Our board is required by our by-laws to be comprised of at least 1 person who has depression, 1 person who has bipolar disorder, and 1 person who is a family member in order to best represent the population of persons utilizing DBSA Succasunna. We look to our members to let us know what is going right, wrong, and what people want out of the group. The Board is continuously working to try to make the group better in order to help all persons living with mood disorders.
To obtain more information about our structure, please click here to choose how you wish to contact us.
For more information about DBSA or services offered log on to www.dbsalliance.org or contact them directly at (800) 826-3632.
DBSA's Mission Statement
To view our current schedule of meetings, click here.