Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > Daytop Village
DAYTOP Did Me Great Harm in the Long Run
SEKTO:
--- Quote ---Maybe, but at the same time, aren't you suggesting to him what he can and can not say? Just food for thought and I mean no disrespect. In any case, what you won't find here is any administration or authority interfering with what anybody can or cannot say. There are staunch industry supporters, program staff, and the like who come here from time to time, berate survivors, and generally make asses out of themselves but... why interfere with that? By letting them speak they make all the more clear to everybody just how bat-shit crazy many of these cult members are. Some AARC threads have particularly good examples of this behavior.
--- End quote ---
Good point, psy. Thanks. No hard feelings, Guest? More later. Must go now.
Ursus:
Sorry, I'm not sure what there is to quibble about. "Guest" is correct. TC's in this country are primarily used to treat drug addiction, along with so-called attending psychological issues. In Europe the definition and application is a little broader, encompassing certain mental illnesses in addition to substance abuse issues. (Although I am sure that there are some exceptions to the above.)
It doesn't sound as though this is about semantics at all, nor about mere "negative connotations"; my guess is that it is about the historical definition of the phrase.
Perhaps one might think that calling a community that offers therapeutic benefits a "therapeutic community" is technically okay. I can assure you, however, that you will probably generate a great deal of confusion in people who are more familiar with the term as it was originally defined, especially on this forum (Daytop being one of the original TC's).
Ursus:
From Wikipedia's definition which--I must hasten to humbly qualify--is woefully incomplete and needs some editing, but which does--nonetheless--serve to illustrate what I opined in my previous post (color emphasis mine):
Therapeutic community is a term applied to a participative, group-based approach to long-term mental illness, personality disorders and drug addiction. The approach is usually residential with the clients and therapists living together, is based on milieu therapy principles and includes group psychotherapy as well as practical activities.
Therapeutic communities have and gained some reputation for success in rehabilitation and patient satisfaction in Britain and abroad. In Britain, 'democratic analytic' therapeutic communities have tended to specialise in the treatment of moderate to severe personality disorders and complex emotional and interpersonal problems. The evolution of therapeutic communities in the United States has followed a different path with hierarchically arranged communities (or concept houses) specialising in the treatment of drug and alcohol dependence.
The term was coined by Tom Main in his 1946 paper, "The hospital as a therapeutic insititution",[1] and subsequently developed by others including Maxwell Jones, R. D. Laing at the Philadelphia Association, David Cooper at Villa 21, and Joshua Bierer.
History
Under the influence of Maxwell Jones, Main, Wilmer and others (Caudill 1958; Rapoport 1960), combined with the publications of critiques of the existing mental health system (Greenblatt et al. 1957, Stanton and Schwartz 1954) and the sociopolitical influences that permeated the psychiatric world towards the end of and following the second World War, the concept of the therapeutic community and its attenuated form - the therapeutic milieu - caught on and dominated the field of inpatient psychiatry throughout the 1960’s. The aim of therapeutic communities was a more democratic, user-led form of therapeutic environment, avoiding the authoritarian and demeaning practices of many psychiatric establishments of the time. The central philosophy is that clients are active participants in their own and each other's mental health treatment and that responsibility for the daily running of the community is shared among the clients and the staff. 'TC's have sometimes eschewed or limited medication in favor of group-based therapies.
In the late 1960s within the US correctional system, the Asklepion Foundation initiated therapeutic communities in the Marion Federal Penitentiary and other institutions that included clinical intervention based upon Transactional Analysis, the Synanon Game, internal twelve-step programs and other therapeutic modalities. Some of these programs lasted into the mid 1980s, such as the House of Thought in the Virginia Correctional system, and were able to demonstrate a reduction of 17% in recidivism in a matched-pair study of drug-abusing felons and sex offenders who participated in the program for one year or more.
Modified therapeutic communities are currently used for substance abuse treatment in correctional facilities of several U.S. states including Texas,[1] Delaware,[2] and New York.[3] In New York City, a program for men is located in the Arthur Kill Correctional Facility on Staten Island and the women’s program is part of the Bayview Correctional Facility in Manhattan.[2][/list]
Ursus:
From Daytop's home page, color emphasis THEIRS, being a link, actually (see post following this one):
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Daytop provides services for those who seek help with life's problems compounded by substance abuse. Over 100,000 individuals have reclaimed their lives with assistance of the program.
Daytop is based on the therapeutic community (TC) concept: a highly structured, family environment where positive peer interaction is emphasized. Separate and individualized programs are available for adolescents, adults, and all family members.
Substance abuse, at whatever level, disrupts people's lives, and the lives of those who care about them. Daytop seeks to heal the whole individual, and also his or her family and social network. Issues such as physical health, education, and work preparedness are all part of restoring our clients and their families to health.
The staff consists of professionals in the fields of psychology, social work, medicine and education, as well as Daytop graduates who have gone through intensive training and certification in counseling.
Daytop has been providing drug-free counseling services since 1963, making it the oldest and largest drug-free, self help program in the United States.
For specific information regarding our facilities in New Jersey visit http://www.DaytopNJ.org.
Ursus:
The aforementioned link expanded out (it doesn't have its own URL, being of javascript origin):
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What is a Therapeutic Community?
The therapeutic community is a drug-free self help program whose primary goals are the cessation of substance abuse behaviors and the fostering of personal growth. The TC model incorporates nine essential elements. These elements are based on the social learning theory that utilizes the community to foster behavioral and attitudinal change. The elements are: active participation, membership feedback, role modeling, collective formats for guiding individual change, shared norms and values, structure and systems, open communication, individual and group relationships and a unique terminology.
The TC includes both professional and para-professional staff. Graduates of the TC program who have completed classroom and internship training in counseling are an essential part of the program's effectiveness, as is the inclusion of professionals from the fields of medicine, mental health, education, and law.
Community activities help members explore and learn about themselves in the following four distinct yet overlapping areas of personal development: behavior management, emotional/psychological, intellectual and spiritual and vocation/education and survival skills. The TC believes that people can change and that learning occurs through challenge and action, understanding and sharing common human experiences.
Treatment in the TC begins with entry into the community. Here the member learns the values and norms of the community, which are a reflection of those held by society. In the middle phase of treatment, members explore individual histories and experiences, practice new behaviors and begin to gain increased self-esteem and knowledge of themselves. As new attitudes and behaviors are developed so too are individual goals and possibilities for the future, including vocational and educational training. The next phase of treatment involves the important task of re-entry into the larger community. New ways of relating to others are practiced and members gain valuable experience in working or going to school outside the TC while receiving support from the community. Ultimately, the member will be ready to live independently and continue to gain support from an aftercare program.
The TC model is adaptable to different client populations and settings. Adolescent programs include a full educational curriculum and greater family involvement. The model can be adapted to an outpatient setting, long or shorter-term treatment and include specialized groups such as those involving medical regimes or other lifestyle changes. The TC engages the whole person in the recovery process and challenges the individual to have a full, positive life with healthy supportive relationships and satisfying work.
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