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Basic Assumptions of the Therapeutic Community

by Naya Arbiter and Fernando Mendez

Overview

This is the first in a series of three curricula which focus on the foundational or basic assumptions of a Therapeutic Community. In essence, the TC is an intentional community formed with for the purpose of helping individuals dramatically transform the negative anti-social behaviors they exhibit towards society and themselves. This curriculum directs participants and staff in establishing norms for new participants that are pro-social. These norms serve as “basics” to establishing relationships with self and others that develop into good citizenship. The exercises in this curriculum are designed to promote the formation of healthy peer groups, which are essential for successful movement through the TC. Another objective of the curriculum is to lay the foundational norms that focus on “whole person” education rather than just a symptom-oriented (drug program) approach.

Within the context of a Therapeutic Community, there have historically been workshops, intensives, long groups, retreats, or “dissipations.” Each of these activities provide as much uninterrupted time as possible for participants to focus on a particular issue. Spending this kind of time together gives people an opportunity to really “meet” one another on a more authentic level, reduces defenses, strengthens peer groups and fosters continuity of information delivery. Workshops improve the sanctuary of your circle and allow people to process the information they are receiving more effectively. This, in turn, enhances student retention rates. It is recommended that you do at least one two-day workshop every month, incorporating relevant ceremonies, walks, and games (if possible in your setting). For best outcomes, it is recommended that you structure a two- or three-day workshop as indicated at specific tasks in the demonstrator guide.

Each participant receives a workbook, and staff receive the accompanying teaching guide which includes lesson plans, group exercises, seminars for presentation and documentary DVD’s that relate to the curriculum. After the completion of this curriculum, the participating individual will be interviewed by staff and peers regarding their performance in the East Lodge. If their performance is satisfactory he/she will graduate to the next lodge. If not, they may be asked to repeat whatever portions of the curriculum were not successfully completed.

 

Basic Assumptions of the Therapeutic Community Documentary Movies

• Basic Assumptions of a Therapeutic Community Produced by Zev Putterman (winner of 13 Emmy awards), this film was developed specifically for this curriculum. Mr. Putterman was one of the first heroin addicts to graduate from a TC in the United States (l962). A TC Practitioner presents the theory of each assumption and then participants in the community are interviewed and relate how the assumptions apply to their lives.

• Elie Wiesel: In the Shadow of the Flames This 1986 Nobel Peace Prize Winner tells how he made the decision, after ten years of silence, to begin to write about and tell his story of incarceration in concentration camps to help others. He speaks eloquently regarding the plague of apathy and indifference he feels that society is afflicted with. This documentary is used to demonstrate that all experience has value, is worth examination, and addresses the importance of disclosure to others.

• Hasten Slowly, The Life of Sir Laurens Van Der Post Author and biographer to Carl Gustav Jung, Sir Van Der Post is interviewed at the end of his life and recounts the experience of forming a school within a Japanese Prison Camp with over 1,000 prisoners of war. He shares his philosophy regarding the importance of living a meaningful life, survivors of the camp are interviewed, and describe how they moved from “just surviving” to forming a social contract of teaching and learning as much as they could regardless of their circumstances. This documentary exemplifies the assumptions relating to the importance of role development, personal authority and inclusion.

• Life’s First Feelings This NOVA documentary illustrates the immediate effect on infants due to their emotional climate. This DVD is utilized to demonstrate the development of the “emotional life” in childhood.

• Memories of the Camps This documentary film was made by the American, Russian and British Allies at the end of the Second World War and depicts what was found in the concentration camps and in neighboring towns around the camps. This relates to the importance of developing personal authority and raises the questions of “doing one’s duty” rather than following one’s conscience. This film generalizes to issues for those with previous gang affiliation as well as those from families trapped in cycles of all manner of abuse.

• Mother Teresa This documentary is a biography of this remarkable woman and focuses on the community of sisters that she established in India whose mission was to “give dignity” to the dying. It is utilized to exemplify standards of personal dedication and discipline and illustrate the importance of inclusion and overcoming prejudgment.

• Nelson Mandela This documentary is the most complete of Nelson Mandela, detailing his life from his tribal experience through his education and twenty-seven years of incarceration. Importantly, it details his struggle to find non-violent solutions to the problems of South Africa upon his release from prison. This film is utilized to demonstrate “role development” i.e. Mandela did not have a “job” for many years but maintained his role and his commitments to fighting against either white or black domination of his country.

• Weapons of the Spirit This film was lauded by the American Psychological Association as one of the best documentaries depicting psychological health. Documentary filmmaker Pierre Sauvage, interviews elderly people in the town of Le Chambon, France. During the Second World War this town sheltered 5000 Jewish children from concentration camps. This is the town in which Albert Camus wrote his famous book, The Plague. Sauvage, himself was “saved” and lived in this town as an infant, a fact which he did not discover until it was disclosed to him as an adult by his parents, who waited until his majority to disclose to him that they were holocaust survivors. The interviews relate why the townspeople decided to do something larger than themselves for the “greater good.” This film specifically relates to the importance of including rather than excluding, and the importance of overcoming prejudice