Hi everyone.

I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder over two years ago, and have abused alcohol off and on for far longer than that. Both issues have come under control recently, coinciding with a move 2/3 of the way across the U.S. (exercise combined with high altitude has blessedly made it easy for me to fall asleep at night, a major issue for me as both manic and depressive episodes can be triggered by insomnia, which has dogged me for years).

I attended a DBSA group back on the East Coast and I really enjoyed it, so I was eager to get connected with the chapter where I am now. When I e-mailed the person in charge I was told that in order to attend, I needed to have been formally diagnosed with BPD (no problem) and also needed to be currently in treatment with a mental-health professional (big problem--not only did I just get here but I have no insurance and very little money).

Have any of you who have used DBSA groups as a resource encountered such restrictions? I haven't heard back from the person since e-mailing her a second time to explain my situation, but it almost sounds as if I wouldn't be embraced by the group even if I'm given the green light to attend since I am not currently on any medications (I was on Depakote for a while, with equivocal effects) and am not (yet) seeing a mental-health professional.