No.1 Article of Holistic Center
I was a staff member at the Ovis Farm scheme in Devon, England, for three years. The scheme is run on the Therapeutic community model.
The Therapeutic community is a self help coming to medicine for citizen with addiction and linked problems. It is a drug-free environment in which citizen recovering from drug and alcohol addiction are able to live together in an organized and structured way. The aim is to promote convert and make possible a drug-free life in the community when they move on.
Holistic Center
1. The values of a Therapeutic Community
What is a Therapeutic Community?
The Therapeutic community believes that citizen can convert and creates an environment that helps to facilitate change. The Therapeutic community allows a man to grow by fostering an environment where citizen are valued and accepted.
A strong sense of belonging to a nurturing community in an atmosphere of trust and security, is a central tenet of the therapeutic community. Members of the therapeutic community need to take accountability for themselves, others and their environment.
Members of the community must be precisely motivated to change, and to accept the communitrules.
These rules uphold the values and norms of the community, which are a reflection
of those held by society.
Therapeutic community principles can be applied to the therapeutic care of a wide range of people
2. The corporal Environment of a Tc
Some Therapeutic Communities operate in concluded systems like a prison or, say, a nursing home for citizen recovering from mental illnesses. The residents of these, and similar institutions, may not have a say in either they enter in institution, but they are generally able to volunteer for the Therapeutic Community. In a prison that operates this model, a detach wing may be used.
Therapeutic Communities operate in purpose-built structures, as well as a range of converted structure such as schools, churches, or a farm. The size, grounds and originate of facilities also vary, but are generally adapted to the types of educational and vocational training offered by the Therapeutic Community. At Ovis Farm the residents were able to work with the farm employer on the work element of the programme. This probably represented one day each week. In its way, it was a unique highlight that this scheme could offer because of its location.
The residential capacity of a Therapeutic community agenda generally ranges from 50 - 150 residents. An ideal size is often described to be in the range of 80 - 120 residents. This suits big institutions but in new years the Therapeutic community model has been applied to smaller groups, like Ovis Farm, of maybe a dozen residents.
Therapeutic communities are generally open environments where residents pick voluntarily to live for a duration of 6 to 12 months, and in some cases, longer. Although accurate limits are placed on residents' comings and goings, residents who comply with all house rules and programme requirements may gradually earn privileges to leave the factory through day, overnight or weekend passes, particularly to visit parents, partners or children.
The key interior spaces in a Therapeutic community consist of areas where the operational, educational, and therapeutic activities of the agenda are held. Base spaces consist of lounges, training rooms, the dining room, and kitchen. Inexpressive spaces consist of administrative offices and seminar rooms. The residents have their own Inexpressive rooms, and some staff may live on site.
3. The communal Environment
Residents take on more accountability as they learn the concepts of the Therapeutic community and are able to help fellow residents. It is their understanding and application of the Therapeutic community concepts that gives a resident more responsibility, not the length of their residency. In this way, the group or peer dynamic is a persuasive influence on residents' desire to come to be more responsible and accountable.
Residents take on supervisory accountability in the different departments in the community. For example, one may oversee the kitchens to ensure that the principal provisions are ordered each week to fill the menu requirements. They would also ensure that the hygiene standards are met, and to help others prepare meals for the community. Another resident may look after the grounds or maintenance work.
4. Resident Profile
Most residents of Therapeutic Communities are determined to have hit 'rock bottom' either they voluntarily enter a community or arrive through the criminal justice system. Many residents have been drug addicted for years and have a history of criminal operation or other legal problems. Although many residents arrive with a host of health linked problems, most Therapeutic Communities stipulate that residents must be salutary sufficient to undertake corporal labour and partake in training programmes and other group-related activities.
The admission process for Therapeutic community residents should be rigorous. It typically involves an first visit or phone call, admission to a waiting list, an orientation process, one or more intake interviews, and in many cases, medical, legal and psychological assessments, and consent to treatment. A appropriate first assessment may help cut the drop out rate which is most principal while the first 30 days.
5. Staff Profile
Staff partake as members of the community. Staff often share daily tasks with the residents, as well as facilitate group meetings and one to one sessions. Staff are able to express their own reactions to events and situations, and accept challenge or criticism from residents. Many staff members in the smaller communities may have been previous residents. In this way the former 'them and us' split between professionals and service users is broken down. This helps to originate a sense of trust and intimacy enabling residents to sense different relationships with authority or parental figures. Staff and senior residents are also able to act as role models, by being open and honest. This carries the risk of staff becoming over-involved, which makes staff management principal in this way of working.
6. Instruction and Training
The elements of medicine at the Therapeutic community typically consist of addiction treatment, education, former curative and dental care, vocational skills training (e.g. Cooking skills, carpentry, general maintenance, and computer skills), on- and off-site job placement, and in rare cases, on-site resident-run businesses. Christian run Therapeutic Communities will give some chance for residents to address their spiritual needs but will not insist that residents are Christians when they enter, or that they come to be Christians while their stay.
7. The Daily Timetable
Residents can expect a very structured and demanding daily disposition within the Therapeutic Community. The typical day includes a 6:30 or 7:00 Am wake-up call, morning and evening house meetings, job functions, therapeutic groups, life skill seminars, vocational training sessions, some personal time, recreation, and individual counselling when necessary.
Weekend schedules are somewhat less demanding, although Saturday mornings may be taken with group meetings. A Christian run Therapeutic community may have a commitment to attend a church service on Sundays. This is not just a spiritual consideration, it allows members of the Therapeutic community an chance to growth their reserve network and generally meet obvious citizen outside of their usual peer groups.
Structure and disposition are integral to the daily running of the Therapeutic Community
8. Challenging On
The most important part of any recovery programme is probably preparing the resident for 're-entry' into the community. This term sounds a bit like a space craft returning to the earth's atmosphere. In some ways, this is a sound metaphor. If this is not done correctly the resident can burn up and disintegrate rapidly.
Some Therapeutic Communities insist that no resident leaves the agenda without a full-time job along with a place to live and a reserve network. Family reconciliation is often incorporated into re-entry. Maintaining a drug free lifestyle often means learning more coping skills so it is recognized that Challenging on is a transitional process. One of the supports most generally identified as principal to resident success once they leave the Therapeutic community is transitional housing (a half way house) and affordable longer term housing. This is a major obstacle in the Uk (and many other countries) due to lack of good basic accommodation. Many Therapeutic Communities find creative ways of organizing this.
What is a Therapeutic Community?
