The OPI Difference
What makes OPI unique is its combination of strong clinical support alongside community integration.
At OPI we treat the whole person, not just the diagnosis. We understand that our young adults genuinely want to progress and move forward with their lives, just like everyone else their own age. And we know from our experience with appropriate individualized structure, oversight, continuum of care and compassionate support they can get there.
TREATING THE WHOLE PERSON, NOT JUST THE DIAGNOSIS
The ability to transform is at the core of OPI’s beliefs and commitment to every participant and family.
This occurs in all of our OPI Programs because participants are given the support and clinical help they need to discover and:
- Begin to move out into the real world, discover their passions and find a life worth living
- Gain a solid understanding about what has held them back in the past and learn the most skillful ways to cope with it
DEVELOPING INDEPENDENCE THROUGH ADVANCED CLINICAL SUPPORT
Every participant has their own case manager (therapist) who helps guide them toward an independent life. Depending on individual interests, a single day may consist of going to school or to a job, volunteering at an animal shelter or taking Tae kwon do lessons. Among other activities, it also includes group and individual psychotherapy sessions, one-to-one life skills management training and medication management meetings with a psychiatrist
There is a gradual reduction in supervision and structure through our Phased System of Independence which is consistent with each participant’s developmental process.
INDIVIDUALIZED PROGRAMMING
Identifying and pursuing their own interests helps our participants see life‘s potential and begin to move forward. Through life coaching sessions and specialization, we help clients develop persistence and resilience: persistence to set and meet goals, and resilience to persevere when life gets hard.
In this way, each participant is beginning to move forward as is appropriate for their age and their program is individualized because they are:
- pursuing their own interests that act as “springboards” to help us help them begin to move forward.
- receiving the support of staff, clinicians and peers in group therapy, meetings with individual therapist/case manager or psychiatrist for medication management, meeting with their life skills coach, etc.
By the way, don’t worry about Los Angeles freeways: We drive everybody everywhere.
COMMUNITY INTEGRATION THAT BUILDS RELATIONSHIPS AND LIFE SKILLS
Being located in LA gives our participants access to a vast array of community resources including a multitude of colleges, universities, music schools, acting programs, fashion and culinary institutes, employment opportunities, internships, and recreational and vocational opportunities.
OPI participants make close friendships in their beautiful, secure and staffed 2-or-3 bedroom apartments where there is a maximum of two participants per bedroom and everyone is involved in meal planning and preparation and maintenance of their personal space. The apartment complexes have swimming pools, work out rooms, recreational areas and computer rooms (Males live in their apartments. Females live in theirs).
The result is that, in the OPI Intensive and OPI Standard programs, we help participants:
- Increase their communication skills, self esteem and ability to recognize and value the unique gifts that each of them possesses.
- Learn to persevere, tolerate the ups and downs that inevitably happen when one strives to complete goals and dreams.
- Cultivate tolerance, patience and compassion for themselves as well as for others. This helps them have greater success in achieving defined goals.
- Understand the value of having the ability to compromise while holding to core beliefs and values is something that is needed today in order to succeed in this complex world.
- Transform their relationship with family members so that all parties can learn to communicate with greater clarity and focus on building a relationship based on mutually acceptable goals.
