Student Profile
“You can have confidence that Dragonfly and Mona and Glenn will do what they say they will do, and do it well. I have referred several clients to Dragonfly.”
— Educational Consultant and father of a Transitions student
Typical TRANSITIONS Participant
No two residents share the same background or issues, however many do share certain characteristics. For starters, our residents are young men and women between the ages of 18-24. Many have “fallen off the developmental curve” somewhere between the ages of 14-18, typically due to drug and alcohol use, a mood disorder, identity issues, body image issues, family breakup, significant loss, and/or trauma. In essence, their maturation was temporarily “paused” somewhere in their teen years.
They often come to TRANSITIONS feeling frustrated and defeated by their inability to keep up with family and societal expectations. They may not recognize it yet, but our applicants frequently need help with matching up their emotional and chronological age. Fortunately this can be accomplished with commitment and effort in Dragonfly’s supportive, safe, respectful, non-institutional, real-life setting in the calm of Southern Oregon’s High Desert, on the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains.
Typical TRANSITIONS Participant Goals Include:
- Understanding and controlling self-destructive and/or self-defeating behaviors
- Gaining further understanding and control of their mood disorder
- “Stepping down” from a short term inpatient substance abuse treatment center
- Finding and following purpose, meaning, and direction
- “Trying on” new social and life coping skills
- Adapting to a new and stronger sense of self
- Overcoming painful anxiety, shyness, isolation, and/or phobias
- Finding ways to be at peace with unresolved family issues or life events
- Establishing healthy boundaries and expectations with family, friends, and co-workers
Family and Friends of Applicants often Observe:
- An inability to set and achieve even modest goals
- An inability to stay focused and motivated
- Difficulty building and maintaining healthy relationships
- A poor track record with gaining or sustaining employment
- Ongoing failure to managing school and basic daily commitments
- Deteriorating personal hygiene, grooming, and concern about appearance
- Constant moodiness, irritability, isolation, unpredictability
- Self destructive, self defeating, self harming behaviors
- Anger, defensiveness, and avoidance in response to feedback about any of the above observations or other concerns about their well-being and future