A residential community offering specialist treatment for residents. The term was originally used by Maxwell Jones in the 1950s to describe an approach to the treatment of people with mental health problems in which patients and staff were encouraged to ignore us/them barriers and contribute to the healing of all. The term is now widely used to describe units which have none of the characteristics described by Maxwell Jones as essential elements of a therapeutic community.
A term of British origin, now widely used, for a specially structured mental hospital milieu that encourages patients to function within the range of social norms.
A concept in mental health care that views the total environment as contributing to prevention or treatment.
a drug-free residential setting that uses a hierarchical model with treatment stages that reflect increased levels of personal and social responsibility
a positive environment where people who have similar problems, such as criminality and alcohol and drug abuse, live and work together to better their lives
A residential treatment modality for the more serious cases of drug abuse; there are today 2 therapeutic communities in Wisconsin.
Therapeutic community is a term applied to a participative, group-based approach to long-term mental illness that includes group psychotherapy as well as practical activities, and which may or may not be residential with the clients and therapists living together.