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Chapter 25 - Therapeutic Communities

from Section 2 - Work in Practice

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 May 2021

By
Steve Pearce  and
Adam Dierckx
Edited by
Rachel Gibbons  and
Jo O'Reilly
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Summary

Therapeutic communities (TCs) have a long history in mental health care, and the approach is now used in the areas of personality disorder, intellectual disability, forensic services, addictions, education and psychosis. They form the basis for tier 3 personality disorder services when delivered as day services. TC principles have had an enormous impact on current psychiatric practice and were influential in the foundation of social psychiatry. This chapter outlines the history, principles and practice of democratic TCs (DTCs) and traces their impact on service development more broadly. It describes DTCs as a treatment method. It does not treat the use of TC approaches in education, intellectual disability services, addictions, or TC as a philosophy of care in any detail.

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Seminars in the Psychotherapies , pp. 323 - 336
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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References

References

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Further Reading

The approach and theoretical background to DTC practice described in this chapter are treated in more detail in:Google Scholar
Pearce, S, Haigh, R. The Theory and Practice of Democratic Therapeutic Community Treatment. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2017.Google Scholar

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