Training for democratic therapeutic community practitioners, and workers in therapeutic and enabling environments

Author(s):  
Steve Pearce ◽  
Oliver Dale

Purpose Training in therapeutic community and related approaches has not been widely available, and there is debate about the form this should take. This has had a negative impact on the field. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach The authors consider the history of training in democratic therapeutic community methods in the UK in particular, and trace some of the reasons for its lack of development. Findings With the expansion of TC methodology into new areas, such as therapeutic and enabling environments, the ability to provide training in DTC approaches and techniques is increasingly important. The developing evidence base, and the increasing detail in which the method has been described, make dedicated TC training increasingly important. Originality/value Training in therapeutic community methods, and enabling and therapeutic environment approaches, provides a grounding in technique and theory that would otherwise be impossible to acquire for most workers, and can lead to a general increase in the level of competence and confidence in the way these environments operate.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Blaine Stothard

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the history of relevant legislation before and after the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA). Design/methodology/approach A chronological narrative of laws and reports with concluding discussion. Findings That UK legislators have not made use of the evidence base available to them and have favoured enforcement rather than treatment approaches. That current UK practice has exacerbated not contain the use of and harms caused by illegal drugs. Research limitations/implications The paper does not cover all relevant documents, especially those from non-governmental sources. Practical implications The practical implications centre on the failure of consecutive governments to reflect on and review the impact of current legislation, especially on people who use drugs. Social implications That the situations of people who use drugs are currently ignored by the government and those proven responses which save lives and reduce harm are rejected. Originality/value The paper attempts to show the historical contexts of control and dangerousness of which the MDA is one instrument.


Author(s):  
Andrew John Howe

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the theoretical potential of applying Jungian/analytical psychology concepts to a contemporary therapeutic community (TC) within the national health service. Design/methodology/approach A literature review concerning a Jungian understanding of group psychotherapy and TCs was undertaken. A summary and discussion of a detailed written account of a previous Jungian TC was then conducted. A comparison between a modern-day TC and Jungian approaches was then conducted with an ending discussion on the feasibility of incorporating Jungian ideas into modern work. Findings While Jung is thought to have a wholly negative view of groups and group psychotherapy, this was not found in the case. Furthermore, post-Jungian authors have attempted to use ideas from analytical psychology in their group work. While there are some aspects that could be implemented with relative ease in the modern TC, a complete shift into this different way of working would be a challenge and its current evidence base would not support this. Originality/value To the best of author’s knowledge, there are no other academic papers that have considered this subject.


2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Craig ◽  
Stephen Clay

Purpose The 2015 Modern Slavery Act focusses attention forms of modern slavery (human trafficking and forced labour), within the UK. The contemporaneous 2014 Care Act, identifies modern slavery as a new form of risk within adult social care, listing forms of abuse and vulnerability. However, it does not consider whether those providing care may themselves be vulnerable to forms of modern slavery. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach The authors describe the history of the development of modern slavery legislation in the UK, outline key provisions of the Care Act, illustrated with real-life cases. The analysis suggests that adult social care – characterised by informality, fragmentation and vulnerability – is one where instances of modern slavery may be more common than considered to date. Findings The data collected, though relatively modest, suggests that a thorough investigation should be undertaken into the possibility of modern slavery taking place within the realm of adult social care. Research limitations/implications Data have been collected through a snowball process, rolling out a survey to relevant groups of individual and organisations. A more rigorous investigation is required to examine the extent of modern slavery within adult social care. Practical implications The training of those responsible for the regulation/management of adult social care needs to ensure that they are fully equipped to understand the nature of modern slavery and how to identify its symptoms and victims. Social implications There is also a need for heightened awareness of those close to people being cared for that they may also identify the symptoms of modern slavery. Originality/value This area has not been explored to date.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 72-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Bullock ◽  
Roy Parker

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to chart the history of personal social services for children and families in the UK and examine the factors that have influenced it. Special attention is given to changing perceptions of rights, the impact of scandals and the contribution of child development research. Design/methodology/approach Analysis of historical documents and research reports using four methods: a timeline of milestones, demarcation of distinct developmental periods, trends in policy and practice and comparisons of children’s needs and experiences at different times. Findings The evolution of services has not been linear. In policy, there have been reform and retrenchment, amalgamation and differentiation. Practice has been shaped by the emergence of new problems and the disappearance of old ones as well as by legislation, extreme events, research and finance, all occurring in specific political, moral and economic contexts. Originality/value An analysis of developments in children’s services in their political, economic, moral and research contexts.


2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Philip O'Connor

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to examine how the “colleen” archetype was used in the creation of a successful brand personality for a range of soap manufactured in Ireland during the early twentieth century. It reveals the commercial and political agendas behind this move and the colleen's later application to Ulster unionist graphic propaganda against Home Rule between 1914 and 1916. Design/methodology/approach – This case study is based on an analysis of primary and secondary sources; the former encompassing both graphic advertising material and ephemera. Findings – This paper demonstrates how contemporary pictorial advertising for colleen soap was suffused with text and imagery propounding Ulster's preservation within the UK. It also suggests that the popularity of this brand personality may have been a factor in the colleen's appropriation for propaganda purposes by certain strands within Ulster unionism. Originality/value – This paper is based on original research that expands the historical corpus of Irish visual representation, while also adding notably to discourses within the History of Marketing and Women's History.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie Bennett ◽  
Richard Shuker

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe the work of HMP Grendon, the only prison in the UK to operate entirely as a series of democratic therapeutic communities and to summarise the research of its effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach The paper is both descriptive, providing an overview of the work of a prison-based therapeutic community, and offers a literature review regarding evidence of effectiveness. Findings The work of HMP Grendon has a wide range of positive benefits including reduced levels of disruption in prison, reduced self-harm, improved well-being, an environment that is experienced as more humane and reduced levels of reoffending. Originality/value The work of HMP Grendon offers a well established and evidenced approach to managing men who have committed serious violent and sexually violent offences. It also promotes and embodies a progressive approach to managing prisons rooted in the welfare tradition.


2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 276-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Rowe ◽  
Elizabeth Turner ◽  
Geoff Pearson

Purpose The authors consider current policy debates in the UK about the professionalisation of the police to respond to changing patterns of crime and, specifically, the suggestion that officers be educated to degree level. Drawing on the ethnographic evidence, the purpose of this paper is to focus attention on how officers learn, and continue to develop the applied, that is the craft aspects of the work of uniformed constables. Design/methodology/approach The authors draw on a long-term ethnographic project observing officers during the course of their duties. The focus is on the use of discretion and of particular powers. But in the course of the research, the authors also observe the way officers behave and the way they talk about their job. Findings The authors suggest that, while there may be a role for degree qualifications, attention needs to be paid to the practices the authors observe, practices that have long been the core craft skills of uniformed officers. Originality/value The authors suggest that, despite the emergence of cybercrime and other new forms of crime/threat, the evidence suggests that much has not. Not least, crime is not the only focus of police work.


2016 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernestine Ndzi

Purpose This paper aims to examine the two different approaches adopted in the UK to regulate directors’ remuneration. The paper also aims to explore the two approaches to understand which one better regulates directors’ pay and why. It provides an account of the two approaches’ evolution, effectiveness and challenges towards the regulation of directors’ remuneration. The paper will also make some recommendations on both approaches and the way forward to better regulate directors’ remuneration. Design/methodology/approach The paper reviews various corporate governance codes, its recommendations on directors’ remuneration, its effectiveness and the challenges it face in regulating directors’ remuneration. The paper also reviews provisions of the Companies Act 2006 on directors’ remuneration, its effectiveness and challenges faced. Findings The paper finds that corporate governance adopts a better approach to regulating directors’ pay than the Companies Act 2006 because it targets the pay setting process. However, the existence of grey areas and lack of enforcement procedure poses a challenge on its effectiveness. The Companies Act 2006 is unable to regulate directors’ pay adequately because it adopts a corrective approach and it considers directors’ remuneration as a management responsibility. Originality/value The paper offers an up-to-date assessment of the two approaches to regulating directors’ pay in the UK. It highlights the challenges faced by both approaches and which approach could regulate directors pay better and its challenges. The paper further makes recommendations on how the regulation of directors’ remuneration can be effective in the UK.


2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-17
Author(s):  
Chuck Huff

Purpose – This paper aims to evaluate the contribution of Christiansen attempting to reintegrate ethics into the process of design. Design/methodology/approach – It situates her attempt in the context of the history of the participatory design movement, and the way ethical concern has been jettisoned leaving only a pragmatic toolbox of techniques. Findings – Christiansen is successful in finding ethical encounter residing of necessity at the heart of design. Design imposes a vision or narrative on the world and participatory design makes that narrative negotiable. Practical implications – All design is of necessity ethical endeavor, and Christiansen helps us to understand why. Originality/value – This response situates Christiansen's approach within the Heideggerian understanding of the “ready to hand” assumptions that lie in the ways we approach objects in our world. This language may help provide a structured way to talk about the encounter.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 737-756 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Blenkinsopp ◽  
Nick Snowden ◽  
Russell Mannion ◽  
Martin Powell ◽  
Huw Davies ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review existing research on whistleblowing in healthcare in order to develop an evidence base for policy and research. Design/methodology/approach A narrative review, based on systematic literature protocols developed within the management field. Findings The authors identify valuable insights on the factors that influence healthcare whistleblowing, and how organizations respond, but also substantial gaps in the coverage of the literature, which is overly focused on nursing, has been largely carried out in the UK and Australia, and concentrates on the earlier stages of the whistleblowing process. Research limitations/implications The review identifies gaps in the literature on whistleblowing in healthcare, but also draws attention to an unhelpful lack of connection with the much larger mainstream literature on whistleblowing. Practical implications Despite the limitations to the existing literature important implications for practice can be identified, including enhancing employees’ sense of security and providing ethics training. Originality/value This paper provides a platform for future research on whistleblowing in healthcare, at a time when policymakers are increasingly aware of its role in ensuring patient safety and care quality.


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