Dr. Eli Penela

08/28/2025

Heartbroken.

07/17/2025

💫 My experience hiking the Inca Trail was magical.  It brought up so many emotions - joy, frustration, hope, grief, and - anxiety.  

🏔 While hiking this breathtakingly beautiful trail, I found myself relying heavily on ACT and CBT coping tools that I use with folks in the therapy room everyday?  The one that helped me the most on this 4-day, grueling trek? Staying in the present moment ... which is waayyyyy easier said than done!  

✅ Check out my blog post to see HOW I stayed present and other tools I used (link in bio): https://www.wellnessinbroward.com/blog/how-cognitive-behavior-therapy-cbt-helped-me-cope-with-anxiety-while-hiking-the-inca-trail

   

07/10/2025

I’m sadly going to be missing the IOCDF conference this year, and the FOMO is sure to kick in as soon as I start seeing all the photos and hear the buzz about the great talks I’ll be missing!

I never got around to posting about the 2024 conference 😆 - so I figured this as good as time as any to reflect on what a great conference it was! I met up with lots of amazing colleagues, and learned so much to continue to serve my patients with the best evidence-based care possible!

This year I’m sitting out the conference while I vacation with the fam. We’re exploring and visiting extended family in Brazil and Peru 🇧🇷🇵🇪. Seeing the kids bond with their cousins, hearing them use their Spanish while playing pick-up soccer games, and enjoying delicious Peruvian food - has been just incredible. So much to be grateful for 💗

I will miss seeing IOCDF conference folks, and hope to catch you all next time!

05/16/2025

When I went into solo private practice in 2020, I worried that I’d be sitting alone in my office - with no one to talk to or consult with!

But I checked myself with some great CBT tools 😉, made the leap, and have loved connecting with amazing colleagues outside of the office over the years!

The Florida CBT Association is the professional home I was looking for - a non-profit organization for Florida-based evidence-based practitioners to connect, learn and grow together.

Last week I had so much fun at our Professional Happy Hour in Boca, co-hosted by long-time friends at 🥳 It was great to connect with old colleagues, and meet new faces in the community!

💗 Thanks so much to everyone who came out to join us!

02/28/2025

Volunteering in my son’s First grade classroom is always such a treat!

Thankful for the opportunity to read I Am Martin Luther King, Jr. to these bright, curious young minds.

Book excerpt:
I am Martin Luther King, Jr.
I stand for peace. I stand for justice.
I stand to help others.
I stand as proof that no matter how hard the struggle, we must fight for what is right and work to change what is wrong.

- Thank you for these amazing books that open up the minds and hearts of so many children (and adults!).

01/19/2025

Special Sunday afternoon with the family - meeting and getting our I Am books signed! We’ve read all of the books in this amazing children’s biography series.

Thank you Brad for inspiring our children (and their parents!) through your stories to believe that with determination, kindness and bravery - anything is possible.

Our personal faves 💗
Lucas’s favorite: I Am Jackie Robinson
Marcelo’s favorite: I Am Jesse Owens

12/04/2024

Come hang with me this Sunday and support a great cause! The International OCD Foundation is hosting a One Million Steps for OCD Walk in Deerfield Beach 🥳

It's free to walk, but if you choose to donate - the IOCDF uses every dollar raised during this fundraiser to support those impacted by OCD and related disorders.

The Florida CBT Association will be walking as a group, and we hope that you will walk with us!

11/19/2024

Yesterday I went to my son’s First grade classroom and read, I am Sacagawea, by the amazing .

The kids shared so many thoughtful comments and questions:
“That’s sad.”
“Why did they kidnap her?”
“That’s called happy tears. When we’re happy, sometimes we cry.”

There are no easy answers, but reading this book opened up a great discussion. These are the small and important things we can do to help our children begin to understand the complexities surrounding Native American history and Thanksgiving.

“Wherever you go in life -
whatever mountains you climb and challenges you face,
find your own way.
Make your own path.
Shatter expectations.”
-I am Sacagawea, by Brad Meltzer

10/24/2024

📣 Calling all Florida-based mental health providers and trainees who are excited about providing evidence-based treatment! Please join us for our rescheduled Professional Happy Hour in Miami:

📍 Bar Taco in Coconut Grove
🗓 Thursday, November 7th from 6 - 8pm
🎉 Hosted by: The Florida CBT Association
🍷 Drinks and appetizers will be provided

✅ Please RSVP to intake@cbtdbtassocs.com

Curious to learn more about Florida CBT? https://floridacbt.org/

10/10/2024

Check out this amazing event coming up this Sunday, 10/13 at 7pm!

OCD Unfiltered! A Virtual, Community Event to Kick off OCD Awareness Week 2024

Geared towards Young Adults and their Parents/Caregivers

Sunday, October 13, 2024 from 7:00-8:30pm EST!

OCD Central & South Florida, an affiliate of the International OCD Foundation, is joining forces with the Young Adult Special Interest Group to host a special virtual event OCD Unfiltered! Our Young Adult leaders will share inspiring personal stories and answer parents' questions about their treatment journey and navigating school. Group participation is voluntary - feel free to simply join us and listen in.

The link to register is here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf6x7MfsEnfbKI6B6nr64sY4rHLvCmJQ2ZTFaD8AHf8wquOrA/viewform

If you have any questions about the event, email us at info@ocdcsfl.org.

To learn more about OCD Central & South Florida, please check out www.ocdcsfl.org.

07/27/2024

At the conference chatting with Dr. Jonathan Grayson, author of Freedom from OCD - one of my go-to book recommendations for folks living with OCD! We talked about uncertainty - and how it is everywhere 😆

Living with uncertainty can really stink sometimes - but if we accept the reality that our lives are actually constantly ful of uncertainty - things can be pretty great 💗

Thank you Dr. Grayson for all of your contributions to our field and effective OCD treatment ⭐️

06/28/2024

One of our fave books at home that I’ve read with my boys is: A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo. This sweet, funny, and charming about an important bunny (aka BOTUS - Bunny of the United States!) has an important message about love and diversity. Marlon Bundo and his friends teach kids that we are all different in our own unique ways, and that is not just okay - but to be celebrated!