If they will have me, I think I will stay a while: compassion and containment illustrated by the Ingrebourne Therapeutic Community

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 37-46
Author(s):  
Tom Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Psychiatric Care ◽  
Therapeutic Community ◽  
Practical Implication ◽  
Therapeutic Communities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Community Approach ◽  
Phd Thesis ◽  
Structured Approach

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the evolution of discerning compassion and how it was used in the Ingrebourne Therapeutic Community. Design/methodology/approach This paper is derived from a PhD thesis which was researched through interviews and archival research. The fundamental finding was that the therapeutic community approach was almost unique in providing a structured approach to implementing discerning compassion. Practical implication The therapeutic community approach for discerning compassion, in which the response to distress aims to promote flourishing. Social implications This paper offers a model that has implications on how care is delivered in other settings. Originality/value There is little literature that explores the role of compassion in therapeutic communities or in care environments of any form. The approach taken here places compassion in a historical and philosophical setting and contrasts it with the kindness expressed in traditional psychiatric care that promoted “tranquility”.

BIM for client organisations: a continuous improvement approach

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 402-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mubarak Al Ahbabi ◽  
Mustafa Alshawi
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Maturity Level ◽  
Building Information Modelling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Building Information ◽  
Structured Approach ◽  
Over Time

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a continuous improvement approach for clients to improve their performance and to maximise the benefits gained from building information modelling (BIM) over time. The role of client organisations is considered to be very important to accelerate the implementation of BIM. To do this, they need to clearly understand the implementation mechanisms; determine the level of change required within their organisations; and evaluate how best they can achieve this change. The paper’s concept is based on identifying BIM requirements and documenting them in an Employer Information Requirements (EIR) document based on their capability and maturity to deliver and manage BIM. Design/methodology/approach – The continuous improvement approach is based on introducing gradual details to the client’s EIR, depending on the capability and maturity of the client organisation and their supply chain. The approach uses BSI B/555 maturity levels as a baseline for improvement. Findings – A structured approach for client organisations is presented. This helps them to gradually improve their performance towards BIM implementation, taking into consideration their capability and maturity level. Originality/value – The proposed approach is new to industry and could contribute to the efforts of the industry in reaching higher BSI B/555 maturity levels with minimal risks.

Some impressions on taking on the leadership of a therapeutic community

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 219-228
Author(s):  
Martin K. Bhurruth
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Therapeutic Community ◽  
Therapeutic Communities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Face ◽  
Selling Point ◽  
Participant Observer

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how psychoanalytic thinking can help therapeutic communities think about how the defence of psychic retreat can develop and take hold in the face of organisational transition and overwhelming loss. Design/methodology/approach – This paper draws upon the paradigm of psychoanalysis and is a case study orientated by a participant/observer stance. Findings – This paper posits that unless loss is worked through then perverse clinical cultures can develop including bullying and denial of reality. Originality/value – This paper illustrates the unique selling point of therapeutic communities incorporating justice into the treatment frame. It also identifies that unless loss is emotionally worked through then it can become the ground soil in which perverse cultures can develop.

LLE and LfA: two powerful tools for TC workers

2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aldo Lombardo
Keyword(s):  
Staff Member ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Therapeutic Communities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Training Tool ◽  
Good Fortune ◽  
Privileged Position

Purpose – This is an appraisal of two workshop formats for people involved with, or interested in Therapeutic Communities (TCs). The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach – The author had the good fortune of being a staff member of two differently organised workshops, both of which aimed to help staff working in TCs with the role of staff member. The origin and structure of the two workshops are described in “Living-Learning Experience” (LLE) and “Learning from Action” (LfA). Findings – This is followed by some observations and reflections made possible by the privileged position of the author's participation in both, within a fortnight of each other. Originality/value – The two workshops could be considered a valuable complementary training tool.

The potential of prison-based democratic therapeutic communities

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie Bennett ◽  
Richard Shuker
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Therapeutic Community ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Therapeutic Communities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Sexually Violent ◽  
Self Harm ◽  
The Uk

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.

Containment: from cruelty to kindness

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Penelope Campling
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Therapeutic Community ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Therapeutic Communities ◽  
Social Forces ◽  
Relational Dynamics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Economic Philosophy

Purpose – This paper is about therapeutic containment. It makes links between what the author understands about containment in therapeutic communities and wider perspectives on containment in the context of organisational and social forces within which the author lives and works in modern society. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The author explores relational dynamics, focusing particularly on the English NHS, using evidence from a cross-section of disciplines including ethology, anthropology and economic philosophy. Findings – The author suggests that the crisis in healthcare culture reflects a wider crisis of containment in the modern world; and that the theoretical legacy from, and lived experience in, therapeutic communities offers a rich perspective on the issues and points to ways forward. Social implications – The paper suggests ways that therapeutic community thinking can be applied more widely to topical problems such as the undermining of healthcare culture. The paper argues that an explicit focus on values is important in order to mitigate the forces that distract from co-operative and therapeutic relationships. To illustrate this, the author describes a simple model for nurturing the conditions for intelligent kindness. Originality/value – The paper draws important parallels between therapeutic community philosophy and practice, and the culture at large.

Evaluating Perry’s structured approach for professional doctorate theses

2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-230
Author(s):  
Michael Charles ◽  
Ben Farr-Wharton ◽  
Tania von der Heidt ◽  
Neroli Sheldon
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Business Administration ◽  
Story Telling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Professional Doctorate ◽  
Phd Thesis ◽  
Professional Doctorates ◽  
Structured Approach

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate examiner reactions to doctorate of business administration (DBA) theses at an Australian university applying Perry’s structured approach to thesis presentation, which had its origin in the marketing discipline, but is now widely applied to other business disciplines. Design/methodology/approach This paper examines 49 DBA examiner reports relating to 19 DBA theses using the structured Perry approach, with emphasis paid to comments relating to thesis structure and presentation. Only those theses that acknowledged Perry or demonstrated Perry-like characteristics were interrogated. Findings The use of Perry’s structured approach can lead to DBA theses that place excessive emphasis on description rather than practical outcomes, as should occur with a professional doctorate, and also fosters excessive repetition and scaffolding that unduly interferes with the candidate’s “story telling”. Many examiners found theses using Perry’s structured approach problematic, particularly with respect to a lack of integration with the literature and reflection on the findings in relation to previous studies. Research limitations/implications The use of Perry’s structured approach potentially acts as a further barrier to DBA theses, and other professional doctorates by extension, sufficiently differentiating themselves from PhDs. This has implications for the examination of such theses, which are sometimes viewed as lower-quality PhDs instead of professional doctorates. Originality/value Applying a traditional PhD thesis structure, such as the model advocated by Perry with its use of five chapters, to DBA theses potentially exacerbates existing professional doctorate “image” issues, thereby leading to ambiguity for examiners and the candidates themselves.

Senior therapeutic community members show greater consistency when affirming peers: evidence of social learning

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-13
Author(s):  
Keith L. Warren
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Social Learning ◽  
Prosocial Behavior ◽  
External Validity ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Therapeutic Community ◽  
Therapeutic Communities ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Content Type

Purpose Therapeutic communities (TCs) use social learning between peers in treating substance abuse. One mechanism for fostering social learning is peer affirmations for prosocial behavior. The purpose of this study is to use consistency of affirmations as a test of whether social learning does occur. Design/methodology/approach Using the results of a social network survey of 50 women in a corrections-based TC, the authors compared affirmations and nonprogrammatic compliments exchanged between residents as two directed social networks. The authors evaluated consistency of judgment using the hubs and authorities algorithm, and tested to see whether more senior residents are more likely to be hubs, thereby showing more consistent judgment. Findings More senior residents show greater consistency with peers in program affirmations but not in nonprogrammatic compliments. Hub status in the network of affirmations increases most rapidly in the first 200 days of residence, with slower increases thereafter. Research limitations/implications This study is limited to one survey of the women in one TC. The external validity of the findings is therefore unclear. The results suggest that social learning of TC principles and prosocial behavior does occur and that it is not simply a function of popularity among peers. This seems to happen most rapidly in the first 200 days, suggesting that programs much shorter than six months may limit this process. Originality/value This is the first use of the hubs and authorities algorithm with a social network drawn from a therapeutic community and the first attempt to verify social learning through a social network analysis.

Leading from below? Decisions, responsibility and creativity as a group dynamic

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-55
Author(s):  
Robert Douglas Hinshelwood
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Therapeutic Community ◽  
Therapeutic Communities ◽  
Community Practice ◽  
Group Dynamic ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Past ◽  
Disadvantaged People

Purpose This paper aims to bring back into view some of the original ideas from which the Therapeutic Community (TC) developed today. If we forget the origins of therapeutic communities way back in the past, we cannot be in the best position to make decisions for the present. The underlying principles of the TC are a combination of social science ideas, psychotherapeutic practices and a political urgency to do something for disadvantaged people. There is a need to try to keep all branches of the past roots in play together. Design/methodology/approach Learning from the past. Findings The past has a relevance that must not be forgotten in present reflection. Originality/value This is a reflective exercise at the heart of the therapeutic community practice.

The Good Lives Model and therapeutic environments in forensic settings

2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 95-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clare-Ann Fortune ◽  
Tony Ward ◽  
Devon L.L. Polaschek
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Personal Responsibility ◽  
Offender Rehabilitation ◽  
Therapeutic Communities ◽  
Good Lives Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Therapeutic Environment ◽  
Strength Based ◽  
Good Lives

Purpose – There is increasing interest in applying strength-based approaches to offender rehabilitation. The purpose of this paper is to use the Good Lives Model (GLM) as an example to illustrate the fit that exists between strength-based approaches to offender rehabilitation and therapeutic communities. Design/methodology/approach – The authors briefly describe the GLM before discussing the key themes that link the two perspectives; the authors argue they naturally fit together in a number of areas. Findings – Both perspectives emphasise the importance of creating a safe and trusting therapeutic environment in which capacities (e.g. skills) can be developed that assist individuals to go on to live lives which are personally meaningful, and in which all their needs are met, enabling them to live offence free. Both also place importance on the role of personal responsibility. Originality/value – The authors conclude the GLM could usefully contribute to improving outcomes for those transitioning into the community after leaving a Therapeutic Community, through developing clear life goals that are personally meaningful, and identifying practical steps for achieving these goals.

The complexity of the therapeutic experience within the therapeutic community based on an ex-patient’s account

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Ivanova ◽  
Andrew John Howe ◽  
Patricia Burns ◽  
Merryn Jones
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Therapeutic Community ◽  
Support Network ◽  
Therapeutic Communities ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Therapeutic Experience ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
The Impact ◽  
E Mail

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/methodology/approach A thematic analysis was conducted on an e-mail sent by an ex-patient of the TC. The text was reviewed multiple times and codes were generated. Based on the data found, three themes were identified. The e-mail was sent to the patient’s primary therapist, who was asked to provide an account of the e-mail. The therapist was sent six questions created by the authors of the paper; the responses were used to compare the two perspectives. Findings The main findings entailed the changes the patient went through after her treatment at the TC. The patient’s account described her inability to process the adversities she had been through at the time and therefore her inability to communicate them. However, the impact the service had on the patient, according to the e-mail was evident years later. The lack of a support network during treatment at the TC and evidence of one following treatment seemed to be the key factor in the patient’s improvement. Originality/value The authors confirm that the research presented in this paper is their original work. The authors hereby acknowledge that all material included in this piece of work, that has been published or written by another person has been referenced accordingly.

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