... as a psychotherapeutic community – a setting that sees the combination of therapeutic community approaches with the psychoanalytic understanding of its senior staff (Main, 2002). We have long been aware of the writings of Cassel staff such as Main (1967 , 1989), Denford (1986) , Griffiths and Hinshelwood (1997...

...Jessica Atkinson; Mark Freestone Purpose Therapeutic communities and psychologically informed environments have been shown to be effective in improving individual’s mental health and well-being by providing an empowering, structured and supportive environment where service users feel safe...

...Ellie Louise Wildbore Purpose 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...

... A collaborative–autoethnographic approach immerses readers into the psychodynamic, psychosocial community-based treatment. Initially, this paper discusses lived-experience research and therapeutic community treatment, including a description of the Outreach programme and its rationale. The second part...

...Adrian J Hayes; Tulane Chiarletti; Stephanie Hares; Sarah Devereux; Stephanie Upton; Daniel McNamara; Sally Brookes Purpose The therapeutic community (TC) is an environmental intervention where principles of working together democratically can enhance self-agency. While availability of inpatient...

... was with them” (Pestalozzi quoted in Tröhler, 2013 , p. 67). This desire to withdraw from society is a recurring theme in such environments and regularly contributes to their demise. Therapeutic communities History Enabling environments Mutual support Quakers York retreat Historians and those...

...Rex Haigh; Jan Lees Purpose This study aims to describe Italian and UK therapeutic community developments during 1960–2021. Design/methodology/approach Historical review and personal experience. Findings After significant divergence in the nature of “therapeutic communities”, mostly based...

...Robert Douglas Hinshelwood; Gary Winship Purpose A one-day conference organised by the University of Essex and the Consortium of Therapeutic Communities, 10 December, 2021 with the theme, “The Unconscious and Organisations”. Presentations and discussions throughout the conference had the aim...

... an audit to examine influencers of patient engagement within Millfields, whose treatment approach is that of an adapted therapeutic community (TC). The purpose of this study was to explore themes raised by patients in relation to engagement, drivers for and barriers to engagement and to make...

... have more control over their own mind by learning new ways to think differently. Design/methodology/approach The pilot study adopted a mixed-methods approach to collect and analyse data pre- and post-intervention. Ten women serving a custodial sentence at the Democratic Therapeutic Community (DTC...

...Giada Boldetti; Luca Mingarelli Purpose The learning from action (LfA) workshop was born more than 20 years ago and held in various places in Italy. This study aims to provide a learning experience for therapeutic communities (TCs) workers. During these years, the LfA work has developed...

...Sixtus Dane Asuncion Ramos; Allan B. I. Bernardo Purpose The therapeutic community (TC) is a widely used treatment approach for substance use disorders. Several psychological theories have been used to explain its processes but have put less emphasis on the specific contributions of the person’s...

...Simone Bruschetta Purpose This paper aims to present results achieved by the first, and to date only, Democratic Therapeutic Communities (DTC) quality improvement program developed in Italy, in the past 10 years, named “Visiting DTC Project.” Process of bottom-up identification, definition...

...Keith Leverett Warren; Nathan Doogan; Uwe Wernekinck; Fiona Claire Doherty Purpose While recent years have seen a number of studies of social networks in therapeutic communities (TCs) and other residential settings, these have primarily focused on male residents. This paper aims to conduct...

...Vafa Pirjamali; Daniela Ivanova; Andrew John Howe Purpose The intensive 18-month treatment in the personality disorder (PD) therapeutic community (TC) is felt to offer improvement in many aspects of patients’ lives. This study aims to understand if the use of acute services was also affected via...

...Richard Shuker; Lawrence Jones Purpose This paper aims to review the clinical approach adopted in prison-based therapeutic communities (TCs) for working with residents who have committed sexual offences. It reviews recent research and practice developments and explores the implications for TCs...

...Merryn Jones; Andrew John Howe Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic has affected psychotherapy practice. A common change is a move to online sessions over video calls. In their therapeutic community (TC) for those with personality disorders, the authors have used video calls but not all clients could...

...Daniela Ivanova; Andrew John Howe; Patricia Burns; Merryn Jones Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the effectiveness of the therapeutic community and to look at the potential changes that some patients may experience following treatment at the therapeutic communities (TC). Design...

...Pablo Kurlander; Antony Tomaz Diniz; Guilherme Godoy; Katia Isicawa de Sousa Barreto; Lewis MacDonald-Winship Purpose This paper aims to reflect upon the findings of a fast-track study carried out in April 2020, by the Brazilian Federation of Therapeutic Communities, focused on the impact...

...Helena Gosling; Rowdy Yates Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: to reflect upon what the global therapeutic community (TC) movement has learnt from coronavirus and to consider how TCs will continue to adapt and evolve in a post-pandemic climate. Design/methodology/approach...