Lifeskills Outpatient Services - Delray Beach, Florida

Bad A.

I left this place 4 months ago. I was contemplating writing this review. I usually dont write reviews but here goes. People must know.

Great techs and therapists. Classes are too big, a lot of socially off people are there, Old, low class building, pee in the bathrooms, old folding chairs, people are stuck there for months and months without knowing what thier next move is. Seems like the people who are hands-on (the techs, therapists, and facilitators) are great people who care a lot about the clients, but the higher-ups simply don't give a . It's terrible that those working hands-on have nothing to work with. In my opinion, this is a complete money-making scam by those who own the company.

And I'm usually a nice, optimistic, and pleasant person. I have nothing personally against Lifeskills. The people I saw who were hands-on were all wonderful, amazing, sensitive people who absolutely care and work their hearts out the whole day.

In my opinion, it's very damaging to one's mental health to come here unless you have someone that is on the spectrum that needs social skills.

Sorry, not sorry. You got to up your game.

Wendy S.

My brother has been at Lifeskills’s for approximately one year.
The professional therapist’s are the best.
Stephanie Firth as his primary therapist & Gina Bonfigli as his family therapist are a
dynamic combo.
They not only treat patients with their very capable knowledge & experience they personally care about their patients with so much compassion to find the very best outcome possible.
Lifeskills’s has relieved my husband and I of an abundance of stress, highly recommend.

Addison T.

I wrote a review while I was still at LS and honestly, at the time, I thought LS was a good place. It was not. (except the Ft Lauderdale location, I have nothing but good things to say about that).Yes, there are some really good therapists, and techs (Kristen, Dr Laura, Alvin, Ed, Celine, Sheryl, to name a few), but I got kicked out for being "too comfortable." To be fair I probably was because I spent 2 years there between residential and outpatient, for reasons that do not matter for the sake of this review. But I was failed by LS. LS allowed a sexual predator, who sexually assaulted me on 3 separate occasions, go without facing any consequences. This happened at the Deerfield location and when I got to PHP, and he was there, I was told there was nothing they could do about it because it happened at residential. I felt like I had to hold my breath when I walked past him because I was so afraid he would do something again. I was told to stop talking about what happened, and after processing about it in group (wellness and sexuality group), I got pulled into the clinical director's office (Miguel), and told to stop talking about it, again. When the client got sent back to residential, I was relieved. I finally moved on to IOP, I had a job, and was making steady progress.He came back 2 months later. When he moved back to Osceola, I relapsed with SH after 180 days because it was so hard to handle. And so terrifying. I stopped participating, going on outings, required meetings, community dinner, my own mental health took a dip to the point that I needed to be Baker acted, I stopped eating, stopped cleaning my room and ADLs. I talked to my therapist (Claudia) for help and to express my concerns, and she went to Miguel who in turn, instead of helping me, reiterated that they'd already spoken to me about it. After spending months advocating for myself, I was at the end. I told my therapist I was going to press charges on this client, and discussed with my parents about going to DCF. A week later I was baker acted (as I wrote above), and while in the psych ward, told I couldn't come back. LS failed me. LS didn't protect me. Please, don't send your loved ones here, don't go here.

Luke S.

I recommend this program for anyone in the area who knows exactly what kind of care they need and how long they want care. The upsides to PHP are more personal freedom (compared to Lifeskills residential), fitness groups with Heather Wright, and the “coin out” ceremony for clients leaving the program. These work together to create a sense of community and give clients a tangible goal to work towards.

Coming from such a positive experience at Lifeskills’ Fort Lauderdale location, my expectations for PHP were—unfortunately—not met. I was not prepared in the slightest to go from an institutionalized environment to having near-total independence, so my first two weeks were plagued by stress and anxiety from the adjustment. I don’t know how much of this could have been avoided due to how long I was at residential, but some ease with the transition would have been greatly appreciated.

A common theme for Lifeskills PHP/IOP is a prioritization of rules over wellbeing. Despite claiming to offer client-focused, individualized care, there is a blanket approach to all clients for a “recommended” 60-90 days, no matter how well or poorly you are doing. Part of my motivation for reaching PHP was being able to spend time with my family and friends, who were planning a visit towards the end of my first week. I hadn’t seen them face-to-face in a very long time. Instead of supporting something that was clearly positive for my treatment/recovery, my therapist seemed combative towards the visit since new clients were not allowed to leave the premises for the first two weeks. I wish this concern would have been brought up when we began planning the visit two months prior, but we were able to iron it out and allow me to spend quality time with my support network.

The groups are the same as residential (even down to using identical worksheets), and most clients completely tune out or take naps during group. For the groups where clients do speak, it almost always involves complaints about the clinical staff or the quality of their treatment. Very few groups produce a conversation that is positive or beneficial. I have found the most help from my family sessions with Magda Paredes and some individual therapy sessions.

The logistics of the facility feel lacking. There are two back-to-back community meetings on Mondays and Tuesdays, and they cover the exact same topics and include the same clients. It feels like a waste of time since they could be combined into the same meeting. Recently, the system for getting clients trust money and Publix gift cards for groceries has been a disaster. Instead of going shopping Wednesday afternoon, we either go late on Wednesday or have to wait several days due to issues obtaining the cards and/or the trust money. Among many others, these kinds of issues should not occur when the price of treatment is measured in thousands and tens of thousands of dollars.

I wish you the best of luck with your search for treatment, and make sure to give this facility some consideration.

Lynn L.

The team at Lifeskills was very caring and supportive leading to great progress for my son. I highly recommend Lifeskills to others, who have loved ones with serious mental illness, for the program excellence and for the continuum of care offered.!

Jackson D.

I enjoyed my time at Lifeskills, it helped me focus on my recovery. All the groups there were helpful, and so were the therapists.

Emily B.

Working with Kate Berlongieri has been incredible. She explained details with us that were made very digestible. Love her.

Mary W.

After the worst 6 months of my life, I came to Lifeskills and over the last 7 months, I have found the will to live. I have been in treatment consistently over the last 5 years, and this is the first time where I am of sound mind and in a place where I am sober AND with my mental health under control. I'm finally bought into my recovery and I want a better life for myself and my loved ones. Outpatient was a good environment and I felt safe (mentally and physically) and cared for. Big shoutout to Travis, my therapist, all the staff at Osceola, especially Geoff, techs Dani and Freeman, and Bella, the intern.