There is little existing research on the long-term impact of a Therapeutic Community (TC) on staff and service users alike, particularly for a TC that no longer exists. With TCs becoming a “dying breed”, often due to funding cuts, this information is as important as it’s ever been. The purpose of this paper is to provide more evidence into the long-term effectiveness of TCs.
The Acorn Programme at The Retreat, York, closed its doors in 2018 after 18 years as a TC for women with self-defeating behaviours. Staff and service users from across the span of the programme were asked about the impact of having been a member of the TC, four years after the physical unit had closed. The themes from their answers were drawn out using interpretive phenomenological analysis, which includes reflexivity from the Lived Experience Research – a former client from the Acorn Programme.
The themes arising could be grouped into several broad categories; impact on life, impact on interacting with others, impact in managing stressful events, impact in dealing with mental health services, useful things taken forward and negative impacts. It was clear that members had taken the ethos of Acorn forward into their work and personal lives, after having left the programme.
The message was clear, being a member of a TC does have a significant impact – mostly positive, although some negative – on the staff and service users involved. This stands the test of time, withstands other difficult life experiences and the TC lives on in the hearts and lives of the people who were part of it, long after the physical place has gone.
