But it still goes on: Therapeutic communities today

Abstract

The work of therapeutic communities (TCs) have been said to develop from a certain ‘impulse’ or ‘attitude of mind’. The origin and definitional function of these terms are briefly traced and their meaning explored. Subsequently, eight papers submitted to the Journal are reviewed in order to give a survey picture of the theoretical and practical concerns current within European TCs. This brief survey demonstrates that, while rooted in the TC tradition, a number of projects have made interesting developments in both practice and theory. These innovations and the flare which has gone into them can be taken as evidence that the TC impulse is alive and well. What TCs require now are wider and more effective means of transmission to others because at their best TCs are self-regulating systems which can potentially obviate the harm caused by the deregulating systems of traditional health and social care.