“To be able to communicate and feel a supportive connection and love for one’s self, peers and family is ultimately what we hope to achieve through our Participant/team interaction and the multiple opportunities that exist at OPI and the greater Los Angeles Community.”
Dr. Robert Fischer, M.D., cofounder and Executive Director
OUR EXPERIENCE: Dr. Robert F. Fischer, M.D., co-founded OPI almost a decade ago with Anne LaRiviere. With more than 30 years of experience in the psychiatric field, Dr. Fischer set our “achievement bar” very high. He is joined by a highly skilled staff of therapists and mental health workers. As a result, we are:
Successful at helping Young Adults find their passion in life, develop the persistence they need to meet goals as well as the resilience to persevere when the going gets tough.
A small community that combines therapy techniques with real life experiences.
OUR LOCATION: OPI attracts Young Adults who are interested in living in a Metropolitan area. Located between downtown Los Angeles and Malibu (about 45 minutes from each), we have so much to offer that we have never met a Participant whose interest we could not embrace and work to sustain.
WE TREAT THE “WHOLE PERSON”
Because of our location we have numerous educational, career, volunteer and extracurricular opportunities.
Our Participants can graduate from high school, get a GED or attend one of many local colleges, universities.
They can learn a trade by enrolling in a Culinary or Fashion Institute, attending an Acting or Musicians School.
Many are employed throughout our community.
They get paid or nonpaid work opportunities that permits a greater sense of true individuation and an understanding of the meaning of responsibility.
They meet real life people in fields of interests through our Mentorship opportunities.
They learn to function in a diverse community, understanding how to communicate and respect others who are different from themselves. This is preparation for our more complex world where an understanding of that complexity and diversity can facilitate greater success and fulfillment.
They learn to come from a position of greater patience, tolerance and compassion, not only for themselves but for each other.
At OPI there are many experiential opportunities to demonstrate, shape and cultivate these aspects of personality through experiences ranging from community meetings to group outings to intensive psycho-dynamically-oriented groups to groups that utilize Gestalt and experiential techniques.
Our Participants go into real life situations to practice the skills they have acquired in their individual, group and general milieu experiences.
OUR SUBSTANCE ABUSE ARM: What also distinguishes OPI is that we want each Participant to truly appreciate and embrace sobriety and acknowledge that maintaining sobriety is an essential part of their personal growth as they begin to move forward toward meeting their educational, professional as well as personal and recreational goals.
OUR CONTINUUM OF TRANSITIONAL CARE: Beginning on Day One, we construct an extremely individualized treatment plan that changes as each Participant grows and refines his/her goals and objectives. This continues throughout the program, from Phase One through After Care and Outpatient Services.
In this way, each Participant is permitted to grow and refine their goals and objectives, addressing more relevant goals they feel will assist them in leading a balanced, fulfilling and successful life.
OPI provides a true continuum not only in the range of services we offer but in the length of services and the creation of a supportive community.
OUR STRUCTURED PROGRESSION TO ADULTHOOD:
THE ABILITY TO TRANSFORM ONE’S SELF IS AT THE CORE OF OPI’S BELIEFS AND COMMITMENT TO EACH INDIVIDUAL PARTICIPANT AND FAMILY.
We do this by:
Increasing each Participant’s communication skills, self esteem and ability to recognize and value the unique gifts that each of them possesses.
Helping Participants learn to persevere, to tolerate the ups and downs that inevitably happen when one strives to complete goals and dreams.
Helping Participants cultivate tolerance, patience and compassion for themselves as well as for others. This helps them have greater success in achieving defined goals.
Helping Participants understand the value of having an ability to compromise while holding to core beliefs and values is something that is needed today in order to succeed in this complex world.
Helping the Young Adult and his/her family transform their relationship so that both parties can learn to communicate with greater clarity and focus on building a relationship based on mutually acceptable goals.
At OPI, we understand young adults must feel they are Progressing, not Regressing, and that it is possible to develop a “Passion” in life. Simultaneously they may require appropriate individualized structure, oversight, continuum of care and compassionate support as they gain independence.
At OPI there is a gradual reduction in supervision and structure consistent with each Participant’s developmental process.
JCAHO ACCREDITATION: OPI is one of the first programs of its kind in the country to be accredited by the national Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO).
We also are a member of the National Assn. of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP).
We also have a Clinical Training Affiliation with Phillips Graduate Institute in Los Angeles
