Free Depression & Bipolar Peer Group — Metairie, LA | DBSA NOLA
The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance of New Orleans is the local chapter of the country’s largest peer-directed organization for people living with mood disorders. The chapter runs free, in-person peer support meetings twice a month for adults in the greater New Orleans area who live with depression, bipolar disorder, or both — and for the friends and family members who love them.
What to Expect
Meetings are held on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month in the cafeteria at Tulane-Lakeside Hospital. Most of the time is spent in small-group discussion, with one or two trained facilitators at each table. People bring what is actually happening in their lives right now — a medication change that isn’t landing, a rough stretch at work, the specific exhaustion of a long depressive episode — and the group works through ideas and solutions together. The chapter also keeps free materials and a lending library on hand. The tone is practical and unhurried; nobody is required to speak, and first-time attendees are welcome to just listen.
Who This Group Is For
Adults living with depression, bipolar disorder, or related mood conditions, at any point in treatment or diagnosis — including people who are newly diagnosed, people who have managed symptoms for decades, and people who are not sure what is going on yet. Friends and family members are explicitly encouraged to attend. There is no requirement to be in therapy, on medication, or under a psychiatrist’s care to participate.
Why Peer Support Works
DBSA’s peer model rests on something clinical care cannot supply on its own: the sustained company of people who have the same condition and are still here. Mood disorders distort perspective by design — depression argues that this is permanent, hypomania argues that everything is fine — and a room of peers is a reliable reality check between appointments. There is also a modeling effect worth naming: watching somebody two years further along talk casually about a hard season is more persuasive evidence that recovery is possible than any pamphlet. Peer groups are widely used as a complement to clinical treatment, not a replacement for it.
How to Join
There are no dues or fees to attend, though voluntary contributions toward materials and website costs are welcomed. Just show up to a meeting on the 1st or 3rd Tuesday at Tulane-Lakeside Hospital. To confirm the current start time or ask a question first, call (504) 780-8282 or visit dbsaneworleans.org.