German Society for Bipolar Disorders
The German Society for Bipolar Disorders eV (DGBS) is a registered association in Germany, which was founded in June 1999 as a specialist society for professionals as part of the 3rd International Conference on Bipolar Disorder, in Pittsburgh (USA) with the aim of helping people with bipolar affectives Support disorder (formerly manic-depressive illness ).
The goals of the association at the time were to promote clinical and basic research in the field of bipolar disorder as well as to promote the correct detection of bipolar disorder and its adequate therapy. In addition, the DGBS set itself the goal of informing socially relevant professional groups such as politicians, journalists and those involved in the health system such as health insurance companies, pension insurance companies and associations of statutory health insurance physicians about the economic significance of bipolar disorders. Patients and relatives should be motivated to contribute to improving clinical care modalities and to influence relevant professional groups. Cooperation with other, national and international, societies with similar objectives should be sought.
In the current statutes, the aims of the association are to promote the health system, public education, civic engagement in the sense of the idea of self-help as well as science and research.
Since 2007, the board of the association has been made up of trialogues (exchange of experiences between patients, relatives and practitioners).
The association has over 2,000 members.
History of the club
In June 1999 the association was founded in Pittsburgh (USA). The association's statutes were adopted in December. Membership was open to all interested parties, although it was discussed whether this should be reserved exclusively for experts.
In 2000 the DGBS was entered in the register of associations in Freiburg / Breisgau . The first annual conference also took place here from 17.-18. November. The first office of the association was in Hamburg .
In 2001 the association's website went online and the first organ of the association, the specialist journal psycho , was published. The first trialogue conference officially took place at the annual conference in Munich, which took place in cooperation with Horizonte eV . E. Lange & Hinderk M. Emrich received honorary membership.
In 2002 the DGBS published the first white paper and vademecum on bipolar disorders in Germany. In addition, the internet forum bipolar-forum.de went online this year and offered advice seekers a platform to find out about the various topics related to bipolar disorder.
The DGBS series of publications started in 2003 and the association presented itself to the Federal Ministry for Health and Social Affairs in Berlin. A guideline commission for bipolar diseases was established and bipolar chat days were offered, during which those affected and their relatives could interview experts.
In 2004, the DGBS set up the Bipolar Self-Help Network BSNe , an association of self-help groups from all over Germany. In addition, the first conference for self-help groups took place in Kassel. In addition, advisory boards were appointed as part of the association's organization and Jules Angst received honorary membership.
The association's InBalance media has been published since 2005 . Also in 2005 the Young Scientists Working Group was set up in the DGBS and the association took the opportunity to present itself as a trialogue society in the Office of the Federal President .
In 2006 the association began to organize advanced training seminars for doctors in psychiatric outpatient departments. The film also appeared: The Poles of Saturn - Life Between Mania and Depression and the first seminars for relatives of people with bipolar disorders were offered.
In 2007 the 1st Bipolar Disorders Health Day took place in Berlin . In the same year the Foundation for Bipolar Disorders IN BALANCE was founded by the actress Eleonore Weisgerber , about which the ZDF broadcast Johannes B. Kerner reported. This year, the board of directors was expanded to include two people from the group of people affected by bipolar disorder and their relatives, making them trialogue.
In 2008 the DGBS joined the Mental Health Action Alliance and began developing the S3 guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of bipolar disorders in cooperation with the DGPPN (German Society for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Neurology). The guideline was published in May 2012 and the guideline was updated in 2019. What was unusual about it was that those affected, relatives and self-help organizations were included in the creation and updating process from the start. Dieter Borchers became an honorary member.
In 2009 the board of directors was expanded by a further 2, to a total of 7 people. From now on, at least 4 affected persons and / or relatives were represented in the trialogue board, equally if possible.
In 2010, the DGBS became a member of the BAG Selbsthilfe , began to send out a newsletter and expanded the range of services in the form of an advice telephone. The 10th anniversary conference took place in Friedrichshafen .
In 2011 the website was revised and the club magazine InBalance received a relaunch. At the 11th annual conference in Mannheim in 2011, the speech by DFB President Theo Zwanziger , who dealt with the subject of “top-class sport and depression”, caused a stir in the media.
In 2012, the first bipolar patient brochure was published and provided interested parties with comprehensive information on all aspects of bipolar affective disorder. Telephone counseling was expanded to include volunteers and relatives.
In 2013 the first DGBS seal of approval was awarded to the LWL Clinic Dortmund and the members' working group was founded. The DGBS became an Associate Member of the International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD) and published a brochure for the treatment of Bipolar Affective Disorder in the general practitioner’s practice. The S3 guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of bipolar disorders was published in book form.
In May 2014, the DGBS started a series of events called the Bipolar Roadshow . In eight German cities, information on bipolar disorder was conveyed in an easily understandable and very entertaining way with cultural events. The performing artists were bipolar themselves and told in songs and with a book reading about their experiences with the disease and psychiatry. In addition, this year other exemplary clinics were awarded a seal of quality by the DGBS and the presentation of the trialogue concept of the association aroused international interest at the ISBD congress in Seoul . At the annual conference, the Aretäus Prize was awarded for the first time for special commitment in the field of bipolar disorders. The organization of the association continued to develop and the units affected and relatives were founded. In addition, the working group “ Self Affected Professionals” made up of therapists and practitioners who are themselves affected by bipolar affective disorder. At the end of 2014 the seminar series Lernort: Selbsthilfe started , an offer for active people in bipolar self-help.
In 2015, the entries in the Bipolar Forum broke the 500,000 mark and the 15th anniversary conference was celebrated in Essen .
In 2016 the DGBS office moved to Frankfurt / Main and the association presented itself with symposia at the ISBD congress in Amsterdam .
The Bipolar Roadshow was continued in 2017 and the Jules Angst Prize was awarded for the first time to support young scientists in the field of bipolar disorders. The annual conference took place for the first time without industry sponsorship.
In 2018, work began on developing a patient brochure for the S3 guideline on the diagnosis and treatment of bipolar disorders. The self-affected professionals became an independent unit of the DGBS. Club members also reported on bipolar disorders on the Stern TV program .
In 2019 an interview took place on Deutschlandfunk , the DGBS celebrated its 20th anniversary at the annual conference in Frankfurt / Main and the first future workshop on club development took place. The unit self-concerned professionals received the anti-stigma price of DGPPN .
The 20th anniversary conference in Heilbronn was planned for 2020 , but was canceled due to the restrictions imposed by COVID-19 . In addition, the website has been completely redesigned.
Harald Scherk has been chairman of the DGBS since 2019.
Club structure
The main organs of the association are the general assembly and the board .
The active work of the association is organized mainly through five units and the working and project groups formed from them.
At the 2013 conference in Greifswald, the Members' Working Group was founded, which in 2014 was transferred to the Relatives Department . The relatives' department, as a counterpart to the affected persons department, coordinates all activities in which relatives of bipolar patients are involved within and on the part of the DGBS. The department attaches great importance to close cooperation with the other departments and with other organizations with similar objectives.
The section Affected is the result of the working group Affected People, which was created in 2009 through the dissolution of the Association Affected Self-Help Network (BSNe) , and was brought into being at the 2014 annual conference in Würzburg . The objectives of the lecture are the general exchange on bipolar disorder, the help for self-help as well as the coordination and bundling of all activities in which bipolar sufferers get involved in trialogical working groups and other sub-structures within the DGBS. Other important fields of work of the department are self-help support, the planning and development of information materials on all aspects of bipolar disorder and the writing of statements and reports as a basis for decision-making in the work of the association.
The Research and International Relations department emerged in 2012 from the Young Scientists Working Group, which had existed since 2006 and in which academically committed people carried out joint projects. The department strives for more intensive networking of the various German research clinics and institutes in order to enable more efficient use of capacities. In concrete terms, it pursues the task of promoting the acquisition of knowledge about the diagnosis and treatment of bipolar diseases, supporting the establishment of guideline-compliant, modern treatment methods in practice and establishing or establishing links with organizations in Germany and other countries that also deal with bipolar disorders . to deepen.
The public relations department coordinates all activities related to the announcement of the association, the dissemination of information about bipolar disorder and the creation of information material for relatives, practitioners, those affected and those interested.
The section “Self-Affected Professionals” emerged from the working group Affected Professionals , which was founded by three doctors with bipolar disorder in 2014 at the DGBS annual conference . Since 2018 it has been an independent department of the DGBS. It is open to anyone in the healthcare sector who has bipolar disorder themselves. One focus is on self-help via email, video conference or telephone. Another focus is on destigmatizing the disease and those affected by it through public relations, e.g. For example, by actively participating in the DGBS annual conference, helping to organize other medical congresses or through interviews on the radio or in specialist journals on the specific topic. There was also international networking and support for research projects in this area. Members of the unit are also involved in the revision of the S3 guidelines and the design of the manual for those affected and their relatives.
The Care Unit has set itself the goal of improving the quality of care for those affected by bipolar disorder. This is to be achieved by promoting collaboration between professional providers of medical services, those affected and their relatives. The trialogical concept of the DGBS is the basis for all activities of the department. In 2013, a seal of approval was developed that is intended to serve as an incentive to review the range of professional services and expand them if necessary. One of the prerequisites is quality care. In addition to the quality criteria of the treatment, such as B. Orientation of treatment to the S3 guidelines, the structural and formal requirements of the hospital or clinic with a bipolar outpatient clinic or bipolar consultation as well as regular training on bipolar diseases. Cooperation with the local self-help groups and relatives is expected, as is cooperation with the DGBS on the basis of a cooperation agreement. The department coordinates all activities related to the quality seal.
Self help
Self-help is one of the main focuses of active association work. The DGBS coordinates and promotes the establishment of self-help groups and provides comprehensive information material. With telephone advice and email advice, it offers advice seekers and interested parties the opportunity for personal exchange. In addition, the DGBS has been running the Internet self-help forum bipolar-forum.de since 2002. The seminar series Lernort: Selbsthilfe offers people who are active in self-help or who would like to become one, comprehensive information and assistance. In addition, there is the possibility of intensive exchange in the sense of a trialogue on current topics relating to bipolar disorder at the annual conferences.