Posts by OPI Team
Eating Disorders and Overcoming Failure to Launch Syndrome
Are you concerned that your young adult child may be suffering from an eating disorder? Although the majority of individuals battling eating disorders are female, between 5 and 15% are male, according to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. If your daughter or son appears to have disordered eating patterns or body…
Read MoreStacy Pershall on BPD and Suicidality (at OPI Intensive)
It can be difficult at times for clients to feel that the staff working with them truly understand their struggles. How could we know what they are experiencing? How could we understand what it’s like to deal with Borderline Personality Disorder, anxiety, depression, or know the feeling of being in residential treatment? We as staff…
Read MoreHealing with Art for Beginners
You may have heard of Art Therapy – a type of psychotherapy that encourages the expression of emotions through artistic activities, such as painting, drawing, or sculpture. This psychotherapy is based on the belief that the creative process involved in the making of art is healing and life-enhancing (dictionary.com). Art can be an excellent…
Read MoreFailure to Launch Syndrome – Radio Show Replay
Listen in as Robert Fischer, M.D., psychiatrist and Executive Director here at OPI, speaks about Failure to Launch Syndrome on the Dr. Kim Taylor Show. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vDjTlZKgFE] For more information on OPI’s residential and intensive outpatient (IOP Day Treatment) programs and our measures to help young adults overcome anxiety related Failure to Launch issues,…
Read MoreBorderline Personality Disorder in College
Being a college student can be both fun and challenging; however, for a college student with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), the goal of obtaining a college degree can seem downright impossible. For a student with BPD, successfully getting from point A (the beginning of the semester) to point B (completion of the semester), can be very…
Read MoreAccommodations and Stigma in College
“What are accommodations? Do I need them?” These are questions frequently asked here at OPI by our young adult participants. Part of helping students transition back into a successful life is educating them on the opportunities available to them. Often they have experienced failures at previous schools, attributing to their depression and sense of hopelessness.…
Read MoreAsperger’s and Failure to Launch Syndrome
Asperger’s Syndrome can present with many symptoms that can have debilitating effects on young adults as they try to launch into adulthood. Individuals often exhibit impairment in reading and interpreting social cues as well as difficulty understanding and demonstrating empathy. Most of these add up to the most devastating effect for young adults:, difficulty forming…
Read MoreOvercoming Depression: Daniel’s Story
Not long ago, on a nice sunny day in south Florida, I sat on the edge of my bed, pen and paper in hand, and began to write. I wrote about my life: the trials and tribulations of my despair, my desperate quest for inner peace, and an announcement that I had given up on…
Read MoreBody Language, Trust, and Being Taken Seriously
“Sit up” “Stop fidgeting” “Don’t Slouch” “Look at me when I’m talking to you” “Speak up” “Don’t yell” “Sit still” And so on. . . . . . . . . Most of us, at some point growing up heard some form or…
Read MoreEveryday Ways to Combat Stress (April is Stress Awareness Month!)
“Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths”—Etty Hillesum Stress can be a terrible thing. We live in a world full of it; from money issues to school deadlines to social obligations, it seems that stress is following us into all avenues of our lives.…
Read MoreEating Mindfully – Practical Steps for Mindful Eating
Mindful Eating is a state of being in the PRESENT moment while eating a meal or snack in front of you. It requires immense focus/attention to sensations of the body, thus learning to fully trust the body to guide you to what you need for a full nourishing experience. Mindful Eating is so beneficial because the noise of the judgmental mind…
Read More7 Awesome Spring Cleaning & Organization Tips
It’s that time of year again. The days are getting longer, and the pollen count is getting higher. Time to dust off and clean out your stuff. If you’re anything like me, the thought of cleaning and organizing can feel like an annoying chore, one that I would easily like to avoid. However, below are…
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