About Us

The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance - Greater Chicago (DBSA-GC) is a self-help organization offering support and education to those with mood disorders, their families, and friends. We are a 501(c)(3)chapter of DBSA, a national organization, with hundreds of affiliates across the US, Canada, and now, Mexico, Brazil, China, and Singapore. DBSA-GC is also the founding chapter of what became DMDA and then later renamed DBSA.

Our Mission

Offering multiple support groups and educational meetings in the Greater Chicago area.

Counteracting the isolation that often accompanies these illnesses. DBSA-GC knows that the confidential sharing of experiences with peers can help in the recovery process.

Giving emotional support, resources, practical assistance and encouraging members to seek medical advice. Mood disorders are treatable and with treatment comes recovery.

Encouraging our constituency to volunteer...wherever their passion and interests lie. We encourage advocacy on the local, state and federal levels to ensure that mental health issues are not neglected.

DBSA-GC Officers & Board of Directors

Marjorie Mitchell, Interim President & Secretary

Margie has been active in the DBSA-GC Andersonville support group for several years. She is a trained DBSA-GC support group facilitator, and has been on the DBSA-GC Board of Directors since 2018. She was elected Secretary of DBSA-GC in November 2019. She actively facilitates the Andersonville support group and enjoys working on the board of directors in community involvement events.

Judy Sturm, 1st Vice President

Judy is the 1st Vice President of DBSA-GC and long-time member of 25 years. She is a support group facilitator for the Palatine Library groups and was previously President of the Board of Directors for 10 years. She took a break from the DBSA-GC Board of Directors for a few years to encourage "young blood" to join, but still volunteered her time as DBSA-GC's community liaison, responding to inquiries from our members and the public about our organization. Judy came to DBSA-GC after her daughter found DBSA-GC and got help from a family group facilitator. She started attending Devon Bank groups and found the support groups helpful and stabilizing as she learned more about bipolar disorder.

Marty Heller, Treasurer

Marty has been active with DBSA-GC as a board member, support group facilitator, and Treasurer for several years. His contributions to the board include handling all of DBSA-GC's finances and weighing in on important decisions. His thoughts on DBSA-GC are: "DBSA-GC support groups are considered to be an integral part of learning to live with some very heinous mood disorders. I'm extremely pleased to help others based on my experiences to recovery." Marty enjoying spending time with his grandchildren and facilitating the Northwestern and Evanston support groups.

Hank Trenkle, Director

Around 1992, seeing an ad in a local newspaper from DBSA for a meeting for people with depression, Hank decided to attend after battling depression for 9 years. The meeting was a godsend, as he realized there were many other people sharing his symptoms and he found comfort in attending support groups for 6 years. He then joined the board of directors, attended the peer support group specialist training and is still a support group facilitator to this day. His crowning achievement for DBSA-GC was recruiting educational speakers for monthly Devon Bank educational meetings – over 10 years he was able to get 94 speakers to impart knowledge on our members. Hank is now relatively free of symptoms but prides himself on helping others in their journey toward mental health. He enjoys playing with his 3 grandchildren, sports, playing basketball, movies, music, reading, traveling, helping animals and following politics.

Wayne Hoffman, Director

Wayne has been active with DBSA-GC for several years. He regularly attends and facilitates the Andersonville support group. Wayne joined the DBSA-GC Board of Directors in November 2019 as a director and has been active in important decision-making on the board.

Corey Goldstein, M.D., Medical Advisor

Corey Goldstein, MD, completed medical training at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia and is currently an assistant professor of psychiatry as well as an emergency medicine physician at Rush University Medical Center. He has been the associate director of the Treatment Research Center, conducting multiple clinical trials in the treatment of mood disorders and has long worked as a general psychiatrist in clinical practice. In addition, Dr. Goldstein has expertise in behavioral emergencies with a unique perspective as a psychiatrist and emergency physician. He has been the medical advisor for DBSA-GC for several years.