Posts by OPI Team
Overcoming Failure to Launch: Creating Space for Dialogue within the Extremes of Idealization and Devaluation in Borderline Personality Disorder
Individuals diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder often have a characteristic pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships. They may idealize therapists, caregivers, friends, or lovers during the first initial period together. They may then demand to spend an exorbitant amount of time together and share the most intimate and personal details early on in their…
Read MoreAddiction in Young Adults & Failure to Launch Syndrome
Addiction in Young Adults For many young adults, identifying as an addict is a terrifying and foreign notion that doesn’t come easily and isn’t well understood by their peers. The field of addiction is growing and changing every day, with research continually working to identify the factors in the environment and genetic makeup of individuals…
Read MoreFeeling Lucky? : Extracurricular Activity at OPI
This year for St. Patrick’s Day, OPI’s Extracurricular Activities Department, led by Jenna Madeiros, put together “Lucky Grams” for each Participant. Each “Lucky Gram” was sprinkled with the “Luck of the Irish,” in hopes that someone would win the huge pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Each participant handpicked his or her…
Read More…I can see a different life ahead of him – one that he creates and lives.
Dear OPI, Thank you so much for the work you have done with D. and for your obvious dedication to your job and to helping him move to this next stage in his life in a healthy and safe way. We were so impressed with the OPI program when we visited; the commitment that everyone…
Read MoreThe Connection between Bipolar Disorder and Failure to Launch Syndrome
To understand how bipolar disorder and Failure to Launch Syndrome are connected, one must first understand them separately. Bipolar Disorder is classified as a manic-depressive illness. It causes intense mood shifts in one’s everyday life. This is different than commonly experienced highs and lows. Bipolar Disorder moods range from mania, evidenced by extreme happiness, hyperactivity,…
Read MoreBorderline Personality Disorder and Failure to Launch Issues
Are you a young adult who has received a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder? BPD may have affected your ability to jump-start new relationships, your career, and may be holding you back from living the life of your dreams. Learn more about Failure to Launch Syndrome, Borderline Personality Disorder, and how OPI Intensive can offer…
Read MoreYou Rock! (Valentine’s Day at OPI)
Who said Valentine’s Day is only for couples? Here at OPI, Valentine’s Day is yet another day to emphasize how important friendships, happiness, and of course candy, mean to everyone! Although participants may be away from their families and loved ones on this remarkably affectionate holiday, OPI continues to spread the love through individualized Valentine’s…
Read MoreReleasing Body Shaming
She sat there taking in the radiant sunbeams, soaking in every last ray upon her chest before the sun set on the first day of 2015. The concepts of a New Year and its resolutions were non-existent, so she wasn’t genuflecting to the next 364 days ahead of her. She was just there, present to the…
Read MoreNew OPI Participant Volunteer Hours Tracker
Several years ago the Department of Volunteer and Career at the Optimum Performance Institute implemented a mandatory volunteer commitment for all participants in Phase 1 and Phase 2 of our program. Prior to this requirement, volunteering was not consistent, and many participants were expressing their concern over the purpose. They were unable to make the…
Read MoreHealthy Body, Healthy Mind: Exercise and Mental Health
With the New Year now upon us everyone has resolutions on the mind, and the most popular of all is to get in better shape. Gyms all over the country get tons of new members coming in, diets are some of the most popular searches online, and people are determined to whip their bodies into…
Read MoreNew Year Self-Care Strategies for Mental & Physical Well-Being
We often talk about the importance of self-care in supporting mental health, but what does that mean? Simply put, self-care refers to the maintenance of mental and physical well-being – checking in with yourself frequently to ensure that your basic needs are being fulfilled. There’s even a Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skill set, “PLEASE Master”,…
Read MoreHealing with Horses: Life Lessons
Ask most people to give you a word to describe horses, and you’ll usually hear “powerful,” “majestic,” “magical,” or “amazing.” I’ve spent my entire life living and working with horses, and the first word I think of is “teacher.” I first started riding horses when I was six, got my first horse at nine, and…
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