About Us

Our primary purpose is to provide peer support for people living with mental health disorders. Many studies agree that when people attend support groups, in addition to seeing therapists or other professionals, their recoveries are stronger and longer lasting.

Eliminating Stigma Through Peer Engagement

We began in Oklahoma in the mid-1980’s when psychologist Dr. Ed Beckham started holding support meetings in his living room. People from all walks of life attended, and the group eventually organized as Oklahoma Depressive and Manic Depression Association.

In 1991, we re-incorporated as Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance of Oklahoma with a mission to provide hope, help, education, and support for people living with mental health disorders. We’re a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Our meetings are led by facilitators trained to create a safe and confidential environment for adults to share and learn together, and are open to everyone with a mental health concern. We welcome family members of those affected as well.

You’re invited to attend several of our peer support meetings to see if you find them helpful. Do you have questions about peer support groups? Visit Support Group FAQs

Find Community. Find Wellness. Find Hope.

In the spring of 1978, Rose Kurland started her search for healing and support.

After being hospitalized for depression, she began looking for self-help support groups for people living with depression. But she didn’t find any.

So, she started a support group in her living room.

Rose founded DBSA because she sought something revolutionary: A supportive community of people living with depression and bipolar disorder. She sought wellness on her terms, not those as defined by doctors, employers, or other outside sources. And, perhaps most salient of all, she sought hope: Hope for herself and for the future of all people living with mood disorders.

While our mission remains the same, the DBSA of today is much different from the organization founded in 1978.

Visit national DBSAlliance.org for more information.