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of the Charterhouse Group of Therapeutic Communities, the Association of TherapeuticCommunities, and the Planned Environment Therapy Trust, with Community of Communities
November/Fall 2004
Number 12
Special Section: Charterhouse Group
Association of Therapeutic Communities
Reviews“From Deadlines to Lifelines”, review
by Jeremy Harvey of David Gribble,Lifelines pages 52-53
David Gribble’s review of The FreinetMovements of France, Italy andGermany 1920-2000, page 53
Community of Communities
The Joint
Newsletter
Editorial: “Hello, I must begoing” - Craig Fees pages 2-4
Guest Editorial: “The Special andthe Ordinary” - David Lane pages5-7
Poem: Winter - G of Glebe Housepage 7
Significant link between PhoenixBulgaria and the Ley Community -Paul Goodman page 8
The Activity Centre, Brighton:Clients’ Report - Chris Street page8
Planned Environment Therapy Trust
FRONT SECTION The Norwegian Network forTherapeutic Day Hospitals - GeirPederson page 10
Reflections on 15 minutes wellspent? - Kevin Healy page 11
Introducing: Inishfree Community -Lyn Townsend page 12
Amicus: A New TherapeuticCommunity - Adrian Adams andStewart Thomson page 13
David Kennard: New Chair of ISPS-UK page 14
Query: R.D. Laing quote - Stuart Hillpage 14
KLAC evolves into CoC Service
Standards - Jan Lees page 15Therapeutic Community and
Democratic Education - DerryHannam page 15
European Federation of TherapeuticCommunities - Anthony Slaterpages 16-17
American Prison TherapeuticCommunity, 1974 - David Dix page17
The Junction - Therapeutic andCommunal, but not TC - ChrisNicholson pages 18-19
Milieu Therapy in pre-war America -Elizabeth Eells page 19
The Appeal: “Miss Britton, Ipresume…” page 20
Archive and Study CentreRecent Additions to the
Research Library pages 21-22PETT Prepares for change: £25,000
sought page 23
Endowment Fund Update page 23Brief Facts page 23An apology page 23
From the New Director - One YearOn - Jane Barnard page 25
Kitezh Children’s Community,RussiaThe Community - pages 26-27Extract from Guide for Foster
Families - Dmitry Morozov pages27-30
Poem: Child at the Lakeside -David Dean page 28
Observation - Sergey Khlopenov“Buying a dog for school -
Mulberry Bush” - page 30
“I have been waiting to say that fora long time…” ex-pupil ofMulberry Bush School page 31
Little Acorns, Kent” - Kevin Polleyand Chris Hayman page 31
Jacques Hall Students Writingpages 32-34, 36
Meditation on My FavouritePlace
Responses after studyingSilas Marner to the question:What makes a good father?
“Witches Stew - the night I
fell in love with you”“Drinking the Future”My Favourite Place
Glebe House, by Glebe House ladspages 33-36
Being an Adult - Stuart Harraganpage 35
life book story made in UK inmulberry bush school jigsaw 2004page 35
Tammy at the Mulberry BushSchool - Lindsey Stevenson page35
AGM Draft Minutes - Sarah Tuckerpages 24/37
Profiles: Kingsley Norton, newChair of ATC Research Group /John Diamond, Co-organizer ofWindsor 2005 page 38
Arbours Crisis Centre News - page39
ATC Windsor Conference 2004: AnOutsider’s View - Mark Freestonepages 40-41
First Call for Papers: Windsor 2005page 41
Spotlight: New Journal EditorialTeam part 1: “How to Start aTherapeutic Community and toSurvive a University?” - EricBroekaert pages 42-44
The Cassel Garden Party - Jane andNess page 45
Update - Olivia Hirst pages 46-47First Impressions - Laura Jones
pages 47-48My first impressions of therapeutic
communities - Olivia Hirst pages48-49
Annual Forum - page 49Research into EU funding for
European Expansion - BrunoDavey page 50
The Appeal - Bruno Davey page 50CoC EU table - page 51
MilestonesRaymond Blake
Appreciations pages 54-57 byLynne Blake / Mary Ward / Dick
Blackwell / David Kennard / BobHinshelwood
Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross: A
reminiscence - Dennie Briggs pages57-58
Chronicles - page 58
Back PageValya’s Poem from Kitezh
- Valya Kanukhina, 14 ?
Sent free to members of the Association of Therapeutic Communities and the Charterhouse Group, and to Friendsand Associates of the Planned Environment Therapy Trust. Subscriptions: £12/year (outside Britain add £10
sterling for postage).
To subscribe, contact “Joint Newsletter”, Charterhouse Group, Station House, 150 Waterloo Road, London SE18SB, UK. Email: [email protected].
Material for publication and general editorial enquiries should be addressed to Dr. Kevin Healy, “Newsletter”, atthe address above. Deadline for the next issue is Febraury 25, 2005.
The Joint Newsletter has been published three times a year since 2001, andis available online at http://www.pettarchiv.org.uk/jointnewsletter
The Charterhouse Group ofTherapeutic CommunitiesRegistered Charity No. 1077652
Station House, 150 Waterloo Road, LondonSE1 8SB United Kingdom
TEL: 0207 803 0550 FAX: 0207 261 1307
Email: [email protected]://www.charterhouse group. org.uk
The Association of TherapeuticCommunities
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Cheltenham, Glos. GL54 5DQTEL/FAX: 01242 620077
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Email: [email protected]
http://www.pettrust.org.uk
Editor: Chris NicholsonCharterhouse Group,
Station House,150 Waterloo Road,
London SE1 [email protected]@pettarchiv.org.uk
Editor: Craig FeesPETT Archive and Study Centre
Church LaneToddington, near Cheltenham
Glos. GL54 5DQ
Editor: Kevin HealyThe Cassel Hospital
1 Ham CommonRichmondTW10 7JF
When I was a folklorist(1) it always took me bysurprise: As a field we never applied the lessons ofour own research to the securing and developing ofthe work, and continually paid the price: If you’reBritish, what is the first thing you think of when youhear the word “folklorist”? Probably not student ofgroup and community processes, nor “ethnographer”.And what do people ‘out there’ think when they hearthe term “therapeutic community” or, god forbid,“residential worker”? Or what do you think of yourself, if you are somehow involved in an intentionaltherapeutic environment? Do you wear the latterbecause you have to, and then get down to the realwork of making each day the best possible for thecontainers of endless need and possibility which natureand our way of living continuously throw up for us?Are you content with that?
I certainly was. During my time within a therapeuticcommunity for children all I needed was time to sleep,food, my own room, and the privilege of taking partin the most amazingly beautiful and difficult world Ihad ever come across, secure in the knowledge that‘out there’ it was being taken care of – valued,secured, protected, made possible. It was a surprisewhen it was all stripped away, and I found out notonly that the work I was doing as a short-term loanfrom academia had not been secured ‘out there’, butin fact had been suffering similar disasters andannihilations for the whole of the 20th century. Whathad our forbears in the field been doing all that time?
As it turns out, pretty much what we had been doing:getting on with the work, and trusting in tomorrow;influencing as best they could the legislation, policyand practice of the day, putting the past out of mind,healing the wounds or getting out of the work if thewounds were too deep, and if not blown away,drawing on the bottomless optimism that is availableto people who have engaged with the deepest humandisaster and seen it transfigured through the tenacityand wealth of human being: Children - consignedto a lifetime of failure, incarceration, medication,and the replication of their emptiness and pain inthe world around them - held in their pain andemptiness long enough and well enough for theimmense re-creative power of being human tobegin to replace the emptiness with a foundationin which the pain, and the experience behind it,become incorporated into its strength: who bloom;who become healers; who become parents ofhappy children, or simply strong and devotedpartners in marriages, or businesses, orprofessions, or communities. Or simply more thanthe loss they would have otherwise become. Butnot, by and large, drawing on the lessons of the workand providing comparable holding and healingmechanisms for the field itself.
“But the roof doesn’t leak when it stopsraining”.
For the past four years I have edited the JointNewsletter -- twelve issues. A good Jungian time tostop. While I would like to say that I am giving it upnow primarily through strength of character, orbecause I feel I have achieved what I can, or because
EditorialsHello, I must be goingCraig Fees
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of a rare wisdom to give up something you love toallow it to flourish in new ways in other hands, theprosaic reality is that the production of the Newsletteris getting in the way of the fundraising which hasnow become necessary as part of my job as Archivistand Director of the Archive and Study Centre; which,indeed, now depends on it. Editing – which has meanteverything from OCRing and re-typing, to ticklingmaterial from the roaring river of the field (the waywe used to do to fish in the quieter mountain streamsof Colorado), to laboriously laying out and Desk TopPublishing, and then picking them up from the printerand stuffing and posting – takes too much time. Sigh.
It was never intended to have an Editor. The originalplan was to rotate the Newsletter from organisationto organisation, a bit like the Presidency of theEuropean Union – this issue the Planned EnvironmentTherapy Trust, the next issue the Charterhouse Group,the issue after that the Association of TherapeuticCommunities (hence the three issues a year); and inmany ways that would have been better. But againstthe background of challenges continually facing boththe ATC and Charterhouse Group over the past fouryears, the relative continuity and availability ofresources within the Archive and Study Centre duringmuch of that period, and PETT’s chosen role as asupport organisation for the field as a whole, the defacto role of executive Editor (to use the term adoptedby Kevin Healy) has simply happened. Add to thatthe tremendous fun and the privilege involved inmaking purposeful contact with so many good andexciting people, and the privilege of learning, andVoila: a willing Editor. I hope – there’s no guarantee– but I hope that someone else is given this privilege;or that the three editors are given the support requiredto enable them to do their day jobs while alsocommitting the necessary time to the Newsletters.
The Special SectionAmong the perks of leaving the role is a last wish,and my fellow editors have generously granted methe wish to try to put together a special section devotedto the children and adults of the Charterhouse Group.Freud memorably referred to the kind of work whichgoes on within Charterhouse Group communities, inhis introduction to August Aichhorn’s classicWayward Youth, as an ‘impossible profession’. It isinternally ‘impossible’ for many reasons, whichanyone who has done it knows, but which is hard toconvey if you haven’t. It has been made moreimpossible by the external pressures of a State and asociety which do not want children to be damaged inthe first place, but are unwilling to take theconsequences of actually understanding what it is allabout themselves or trusting others, preferring insteada steel gloved distance and the hand of commonsense. There are currently thirteen UK members of
the Charterhouse Group. Each one I rang in follow-up to the letter I sent asking for material was in themidst of inspections or impending inspections, havingrecently been inspected and looking ahead to aninspection beyond that, from this or that body. Mywish to put together a Special Section sprang fromthe difficulty Charterhouse Communities have had incontributing to the Newsletter over the past fouryears, and their radical under-representationgenerally; and the knowledge, which we all derivefrom our work with and experience of peopleoverworked or under stress (including ourselves), thatwhile communication is essential to mobilising thepotential which exists within the external environmentfor support and understanding, communication itselfbecomes correspondingly more difficult as the workand stress increase. We have all been with childrenor adults whose ability to communicate has beenreduced to destruction of themselves or somethingaround them (or being destroyed), and know fromexperience what it takes to revive their ability to steamahead. Apart from anything else, it requires contact.It requires belief. It requires experience (‘time’, paceRichard Crocket). It requires imagination. If a childcan get a joke, then you are on your way to theintegration of self and environment which allows theperson eventually to flourish. In other words, we allknow what building community is about.
Which is not quite the non-sequitor it may seem.Earlier this year we were sitting around the woodstove discussing the future of the Joint Newsletter,and the observation was made that “I can’t see whothe target audience of the Newsletter is;” to which Iheard myself reply that that was because it didn’thave a target audience, but a target task; which wasbuilding community. A key moment for me was thequestion several years ago in the ATC Steering Group,“Has anyone heard of Jane Pooley?”, when Janewas Director of the Charterhouse Group; and later,“Who is Rich Rollinson?”, who was then the Directorof the Mulberry Bush, one of the oldest and best-known therapeutic communities for children andyoung people. No wonder the field has sufferedrecurrent tragedies over the past century. Those ofus coming into the field, certainly at the lower levelsbut also higher up, have had little or no idea of whoor what else was out there, how rich and deep thefield was - seen historically, geographically, culturally,or simply in accumulated wisdom and experience;and, in the demands of the day-to-day work, therehave not been many readily accessible ways of findingout, or even discovering that there was something tobe found out: Living in the sufficiency of thebottomless present, like a disturbed child, without thesupporting and guiding structures that we call“heritage” and community. All of that is what theArchive and Study Centre is about; and under its
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Presidency, and for better or worse, what the JointNewsletter has been about. The field will be strongestwhen it knows itself best; and it will serve the peoplewho come into the field best – both as staff and clients– when it is strongest.
Belief, heritage, creativityA part of that strength will always reside in the beliefthat what many people - in government, media, orsociety generally - regard as impossible is, in fact,possible. Really impossible things are not madepossible through belief; but disbelief (often throughlack of experience and training), or the active andpositive belief that something is not possible (oftenthrough contrary training or personal experience, orsometimes through personal or organisational need),can scupper even the best project or programme,much less squeeze the small light of possibility out ofa difficult or pioneering enterprise - ensuring its failure,and then using that failure as proof of its impossibility.In the bottomless present there is no answer. Theanswer, insofar as there is an answer, lies in peoplewho know from their own experience what is or maybe possible, or who recognise the limits of their owntraining and experience and are therefore (criticallyand reflectively!) open to the experience andknowledge of others. It lies in communication andshared experience.
Where that experience resides in the past, it is calledour heritage. Where it exists in the present, it is oneof the tasks of the Joint Newsletter to tickle it intoprint, and to foster some degree of mutual recognitioneven across boundaries of language or profession.One of the greatest pools of support for workers intherapeutic communities, which remains largelyuntapped (and vice versa), consists of people whoare or have been involved in ‘democratic’/alternative/progressive education, whose belief is grounded inpersonal experience, if different language. But thepotential is very wide indeed; and if I were to startlisting my regrets in standing down, they would beginin never having done enough, here or in the Archive.It is the curse of the oral historian and archivist tosee horizons of connection for which there is neitherthe time nor the resources to bring to the surface;and one prays for curious practitioners andenthusiastic researchers to come along.
Having said which, we have done pretty well, and by‘we’ I mean all of those who have been involved sofar with the Newsletter: The three Trusts which setit up and keep it going; and of course the editors –Nadia Al-Khudhairy at the inception and Jane Pooley,for ATC and CHG; and currently Kevin Healy andChris Nicholson, along with myself. There is a lot of“I” and me in this particular editorial; but theNewsletter itself exists because of the belief that
people - trustees, authors, readers, editors, secretaries- have put into it; and because of what I think allthree of the current editors would regard as a closeand almost indefinably mingled and productiveworking relationship. One of my reluctances instanding down has to do with losing that (and thefear that I may find out I wasn’t as important to it asI’d like to think). But where else will you find amagazine in which service users, workers,administrators, family members, retired people, exes(ex-clients, ex-staff members...), friends, children,young people, adults, poetry, prose, articulate, lessarticulate, academic, high culture, low culture, comedy,tragedy, polemic, evocative, dry, passionate, reflective,progressive, democratic, drug-free -- What haven’twe had, that it is possible to have -- are joined togetheras if they belonged together, with no big deal beingmade about it? As if we were all part of the samecommunity? ‘An awfully big adventure’ to use JanePooley’s words.
Back to the Special Section:In all my growing up, I never came across realunkindness to children; except the structuralunkindness introduced into a family by war. It wasa very deep shock to come to Britain and stumbleinto a therapeutic community for children: To discoverin one moment how deeply children could bedamaged, and how possible it was to do somethingabout it. It was a gift to me, which I have struggledto repay in the work of the Archive and Study Centre;and hope in delving into the children, adults and placesof the Charterhouse Group as we do here, and sharingit, and perhaps giving an indication of how much moreis there, something of the debt is paid. So much morecould be done and should be done. Perhaps thecommunities featured here, and those which found itimpossible to contribute in the time available, willcome together at next year’s Windsor Conference,which will be devoted to work with children and youngpeople; and then take over an issue of the journalwith their papers. Some gifts grow through sharing.The poetry published in this issue (and, of course,earlier) would be a good place to start. In the contextof the Special Section it seemed very appropriate thatDavid Lane should provide a Guest Editorial. Thanksto everybody. (Slips ring on finger )
Footnotes(1) See, for example, Fees, C “Tourism and the Politics
of Authenticity in a North Cotswold Town”, in TomSelwyn, ed., The Tourist Image: Myths and MythMaking in Tourism (John Wiley and Sons,Chichester), pp. 121-146.
Fees, C (1990) “Reflections of a Folklorist in aResidential Therapeutic Community for EmotionallyDeprived and Disturbed Children”, Maladjustmentand Therapeutic Education 8 (2), pp. 68-73.Reprinted in Folklore in Use 1 (1993), pp. 149-155.
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A special thanks to RapidPrint of Cheltenham, our printers, consistently understanding and helpful from issue 1
A continuing problem for people who work withchildren and young people in social care and socialeducation settings is that their work is not generallyregarded as professional. Its complexity is notrecognised, the significance of good childcare for afulfilled adulthood is not understood, and the need forstaff to train and be registered is not appreciated.
The battle for recognition, to my personal knowledge,has been fought for forty years. Further back, I havemet people who were on the first nationally recognisedqualifying course for houseparents in 1948 and setup the Houseparents’ Association, which has sinceevolved into the Social Care Association. They setup the Association and nurtured it because they feltthat the work was important and needed to be seenas professional. Going back even further, I have nodoubt that workers struggled for recognition in thenineteenth century when the National Children’sHomes and Orphanages and Dr Barnardo’s startedthe first training courses. Perhaps the staff at theRoyal Philanthropic School and at Thomas Coram’sFoundlings Hospital argued the case in the eighteenthcentury as well.
So why is the profession not recognised? I offer fivereasons.
PROFESSIONS AND PARA-PROFESSIONS
The major professions have been established in fieldswhere specialist knowledge and skills, entailingspecialist training and education, are required on thepart of the professionals in their role of assisting theclients requiring help, who are vulnerable anddependent upon them.
Whether a field is deemed professional may relate tothe significance of the task and the implications forfailure on the part of the professional, for example insurgery, where a slip of the knife may kill the patient.It may reflect the complexity of the task, for examplein the detailed legal knowledge required by a barristerwho is well-versed in the obfuscating legal jargonand the niceties of argument that will win the day. Itmay relate to statutory roles, where job titles areprotected.
In short a true profession is seen by some people toentail:
- a specialist body of knowledge, owned only bythat profession
- specialist skills, deemed to have been acquiredonly by that profession
- accredited training and qualifications
- registration so that non-professionals are barredfrom practising.
Childcare falls on virtually every count. There is somespecialist knowledge, but it overlaps so extensivelywith the knowledge required by other professionals,such as social workers, educational psychologists andteachers, that it is hard to see what is not shared.There are some specialist skills, but they are also inthe main the skills of counsellors, psychologists, groupworkers, teachers, social workers, youth andcommunity workers, repackaged to meet social careand social education needs. Staff training is improving,but not yet mandatory or universal, and registration isnot required yet except for childminders.
There is plenty of evidence that childcare workersare generally seen as para-professionals, assisting orworking under people from established professions.
When housemasters were first introduced inapproved schools in the early 1940s, they were anadjunct to teachers. Until the last decade or so, fosterparents were often seen as a sort of volunteer,supporting field social workers. The Government hasdeclined to register childcare workers, other thanchildminders, while putting the registration of socialworkers as the top priority for the General Social CareCouncil.
Training opportunities to improve standards, such asthe Certificate in Social Services, have been built up,only to be re-organised and run down again. It is notsimply a battle that has to be fought and won, but anongoing war, which has to be refought at intervals.
Yet people working with children and young peopleneed to work in accordance with professional values,
Guest Editorial:
THE SPECIAL AND THE ORDINARYby David Lane
David Lane started his career with eight years in residential child care. After three years as a SocialWork Education Adviser at CCETSW, he spent ten years as an Assistant Director of Social Services andeight as Director. Since 1993 he has been an independent Consultant, among other things being anexpert witness on child care cases, Chairman of the Langley House Trust which provides accommodationand support for ex-offenders, editor of the Children Webmag, Trustee of the National Children’s Bureau,and Vice President of Leonard Cheshire, the National Child Minding Association and FICE-International.
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putting their clients’ needs first and protecting them.They need to train to a professional level if they areto pick up the range of skills and knowledge requiredto be effective. In short, however people have viewedthem, they need to be seen, trained and registered asprofessionals.
FRAGMENTATION
Secondly, the childcare profession is splintered. Wespeak of the teaching profession and medicalprofession as global entities. Ask a teacher or doctorwhat they actually do, and they will go on to say thatthey teach German or infants, or are generalpractitioners or coronary specialists, or whatever, butthey start with their simple professional identity. Aska childcare worker, and they will start by saying thatthey are nannies, residential social workers, play groupleaders, youth and community workers, childminders,or whatever. Their primary identities are specialist.
Yet all these workers work with children and youngpeople who share many characteristics in common.The workers all need a common understanding ofbroad areas of knowledge, such as child development.Those working with little children need to be awareof the later childhood and adulthood for which theyare preparing them. Those working with young peopleneed to understand the earlier phases of developmentand milestones if they are to understand the problemsthey are facing.
The specialisms are important and necessary, but theyneed to be based on a shared foundation of skills andknowledge. In continental Europe people workingwith children and young people often share commonfoundation training as social educators or socialpaedagogues. In Britain there are moves towardscommon training in the children’s sector, but there isstill a long way to go, and there is still no commonprofessional identity shared across the workforce.
In short we need to overcome the fragmentation byintroducing a social education / pedagogy modelshared by all workers with children and young people.
SELF IMAGE
Closely linked with the fragmentation is the questionof the way that childcare workers view themselves.If their primary self-image is that of nanny, youthworker or whatever, they do not see themselves aspart of something bigger, and they risk failing to seethe ground shared with other child care workers.
This risk is translated into membership of professionalorganisations. There is no successful over-archingprofessional association for child care workers. There
are a few hundred in membership of the Social CareAssociation, which recruits across all client groups.All other professional organisations are specialist, andwith one exception fairly small. The single exceptionis the National Child Minding association, with over40,000 members, a high proportion of the totalworkforce in that field.
There are also sizeable numbers of childcare workerswho are members of Unison or the GMB, but as tradesunions, they have interests other than the professionalidentity of their members.
For some reason, other than the NCMA, noprofessional body is successful in attracting childcareworkers into membership in large numbers. Perhapsemployers meet their needs and they consider itunnecessary to organise themselves to bid for bettertraining, support or professional status. Perhaps theydo not see themselves as professional. Perhapsinformal networking meets their needs. Perhaps theyare not so committed to their work as their forebearsand want to enjoy a more balanced lifestyle, givingfamily life and leisure pursuits greater priority thanthe pursuit of high professional standards.
The outcome is that, in terms of social and politicalinfluence, the profession is weak. Even though somehundreds of thousands of people work with children,there is nothing comparable to the influence of aGeneral Medical Council or British MedicalAssociation, or their opposite numbers in otherestablished professions.
When a spokesperson is required or an eminentpersonage to undertake an inquiry, it is rare for thatperson to be a childcare professional. Childcareprofessionals simply do not have the clout.
FAMILIARITY BREEDS CONTEMPT
Perhaps the most fundamental reason for the lowstatus of childcare workers is that their work concernspeople’s behaviour and ways of dealing with it. Thisis an area of activity where every human considershis or her experience of life makes him or her anexpert. Our minds boggle at the complexity of neuro-surgery or nuclear physics, but we all know whatshould be done about bad behaviour. Only two weeksago an intelligent mature person from anotherprofession told me that as a child he was “clippedround the ear by the village bobby’, adding, ‘and itnever did me any harm”.
The implication is that bringing up children is simple,and there are simple remedies for disturbed oroffending behaviour. This attitude is deeplyentrenched, because it is based on people’s own
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childhood experiences reinforced by their roles asparents. It is not usually susceptible to straightforwardrational argument, and is only overcome by closerinvolvement.
The logic of the argument is that child rearing issimple. Anyone can be a parent. The role thereforerequires little skill. So, professional people who workwith children also need little skill and little training.The status of the work remains low, and sadly, thefact that a high proportion of the workforce is madeup of women compounds the problem even today.
This attitude on the part of the populace as a wholehas been demonstrated recently in the views ofparliamentarians in discussing smacking. Havingreceived overwhelming advice from childcareprofessionals that big people should not hit little people,they have rejected the advice, preferring to rely upontheir own judgement. Would they reject the universaladvice of lawyers or doctors? It is most unlikely, andthe reason is that they think that they know about thecare of children.
THE SPECIAL AND THE ORDINARY
Childcare entails dealing with extremely complexproblems, which require sensitivity and insight,knowledge and understanding, firmness at times andcommitment and concern at others. Yet the mediumthrough which childcare workers achieve their aimsis everyday life. On the surface it may be at its mostsuccessful when it looks most ordinary. The dailyround, leisure activities, chatting – none of these maylook at all professional, yet they may be the vehiclesfor major change in the lives of the children and youngpeople involved.
Again, if childcare is effective, it will be the child oryoung person who overcomes his or her problems,who matures and develops into a young adult whocan play a significant role in the community as apartner, parent, friend and worker, and lead a fulfilledlife. The successful childcare worker melts into thebackground, pleased at the child’s success, - quite acontrast with the top-flight barrister making greatspeeches or the leading surgeon making a markthrough widely-reported ground-breaking operations.
Perhaps, therefore, childcare and social education /paedagogy are fated to enjoy low status because ofthe very professionalism of the workers involved. Ofcourse, there are a very small handful of charismaticleaders who make speeches and become well known,but for most childcare workers it is the ordinary thatis special.
CONCLUSION
This article may seem to have a cynical and ratherweary flavour, based on the failure of the childcareprofession to organise itself over recent decades, andthe failure of the powers that be to recognise theprofession, train the workforce properly and registerits members.
This is not intended. In part, it is a matter ofrecognising the nature of the childcare task, becauseany future campaign for recognition has to takeaccount of the special in the ordinary.
Nor should the situation be viewed pessimistically.The article has laid out the case to make its points,but action has been taken in some respects. However,there is still much to be done. Training is improving,but there is scope for improvement. The GeneralSocial Care Council has been set up, but it will bedecades before a significant proportion of childcareworkers are registered. Social education / paedagogyis discussed more widely, but Britain remains out ofstep with the rest of Europe.
It is my view that there is still a major role forchildcare professionals to mould their own future,
not least by coming together to form commonground concerning the ways in which the
wider profession should develop, and it willactually strengthen the influence of the
specialist groups which make up the childcare profession if they are able to unite
under a common banner where theyhave shared interests.
WINTERBy G (at Glebe House)
Winter is drawing in; the night is very dark.Christmas is very close.The weather is becoming colder.Dreams are becoming true.Horses grazing in the field.The sea becoming rougher and rougher.As heaven opens up its doors.The trees hustle together to try and keep warm.The garden becoming white under the snow.Birds in the trees saying what’s happened to the leaves, andsinging gracefully to the world.
David Lane
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The Activity Centre in Bognor Regis is regarded bymany of its clients as an oasis where they can genuinelyrelax, without feeling the anxieties of “living in thecommunity.” The ethos of the Centre is without doubtremarkable, having none of the clinical environmentand overt discipline so often associated with day carecentres for those suffering with mental healthproblems.
While society in general has made considerable stridesforward with understanding and accepting such taboosas aids, drug abuse and alcoholism, mental health
THE ACTIVITY CENTRE, BRIGHTON:Client’s Report 2004
The Activity Centre in Brighton, a part of the occupational therapy service (community day care) provi-sion for WAMHS (Western locality), West Sussex Health & Social Care NHS Trust, has featured in Joint
Newsletters 8 (2003), page 6, and 9 (2003), page 75. This report is reprinted here with thepermission of its author, Chris Street, and of The Activity Centre.
Over the lunch break at theCommunity of CommunitiesDecember meeting in 2002, I metTeodora – a young Bulgarianpsychologist – who was combiningattendance at the Community ofCommunities meeting with anopportunity to touch base with hertutor for her MA at the Universityof London. I learnt that Teodorawas working in a newly establishedDrug Rehabilitation facility thathad been set up in an abandonedschool in a village an hours’ driveout of Sofia. We discussed the LeyCommunity, and Teodora said thatshe would really like to visit. Iremember taking her straight fromthe conference and putting her ona coach to Oxford in the pouringrain. Two hours later, Teodoraarrived at the Ley Community andspent the night ‘as a resident’ in theprogramme.
From this chance encounter, astrong relationship has developedbetween the Ley Community andPhoenix Bulgaria. A number ofPhoenix Bulgaria staff and ex-residents have come to the LeyCommunity on training placementsduring which time they live in theprogramme ‘as residents’ for up totwo weeks. Dr Peter Vassilev, theDirector of Phoenix Bulgaria, came
for a week – and reluctantly handedin his mobile phone when I insistedthat he could not have the real LeyCommunity experience and remain‘on call’ for Phoenix Bulgaria atthe same time!
In October 2003, I visited PhoenixBulgaria and undertook theCommunity of Communities PeerReview. It was a rich and humblingexperience. In comparison to theLey Community - which hasdeveloped excellent facilities overthe years – Phoenix Bulgaria hasvery little. And yet, the residentgroup had such clear similaritiesto the residents at the LeyCommunity. Both sets of residentswere grateful for a safe havenwhere they could work throughtheir issues at the root of theiraddiction problem, and appreciatedthe importance of self-help ascentral in the recovery process.
I was made to work hard on myvisit with staff and residentsconstantly pumping me forinformation and advice. In May2004, Jane Brogan, one of the LeyCommunity’s AssistantProgramme Directors, went for aweek to Phoenix Bulgaria andundertook a series of seminars andtraining sessions with staff and
Significant linkbetween Phoenix Bulgaria and the Ley Community
residents. We have also shared withPhoenix Bulgaria the LeyCommunity Programme Handbookand Staff Handbook with manypolicies being directly adopted forthe Bulgarian programme.
The link between the twocommunities has been furtherstrengthened by a grant from theBritish Council that allowed for aBulgarian Television Crew to visitthe Ley Community in October2004 to make a 17-minute film forprimetime Bulgarian television.The film will also feature PhoenixBulgaria, and we hope will providean impetus to assist PhoenixBulgaria in obtaining Statefunding. At present, fees forresidents at Phoenix Bulgaria arepaid by parents that inevitablymeans excluding a number ofpeople from receiving treatmentowing to lack of available funds.State funding would make a hugedifference in the ongoing survivalof what is a remarkablyimaginative and exciting newproject.
Paul GoodmanChief ExecutiveLey Community11 October 2004
issues remain the pariah, a point that is by no meansmissed by patients, and can go a long way in justifyingtheir perceived ignorance and hostility from thecommunity in general. To emphasise the point,consider the media coverage extolling the virtues ofdrug and alcohol rehabilitation initiatives, and thevirtual non-existence of publicity given to mentalhealth problems and treatment. Is it any wonder thatboth patients and the dedicated staff working withinthe system could easily feel second-rate, compared tothe more ‘accepted and glamorous’ areas of treatment.
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Why was The Activity Centre initially set up? A ratherstupid question one might think, but the answers givenby many, some even senior clinical staff within theTrust, will miss the obvious, purely because it isground-breaking in both foresight and wisdom. To carefor patients living in the community is the obviousand traditional response; but ask for “care” to beexplained and the adjective ‘vague’ would seem polite.This surely is due to a lack of understanding of whatclients, not patients, both require and desire; to havea reasonable quality of life, encompassing personalchoice and dignity, while at the same time being aslittle a burden to society (and the Trust) as possible.Miraculously this has been achieved, the only blemishbeing that it is not more commonly recognised.
Quite naturally, the Trust must take financialconsiderations into account, but compared to otherlocal mental health facilities the Centre must beextraordinary value. The Centre averages well inexcess of one hundred client visits every week, andprovides around fifteen cooked lunches for clients ona daily basis. In essence, the Centre is an irreplaceablesafety - net, providing comfort and a “feeling ofbelonging” to all who are fortunate enough to attend,while at the same time ensuring that personal, mentaland practical problems are usually sorted out beforehospitalisation is necessary.
What do the clients do all day? Another question askedusually by those who have never even visited theCentre, and quite rightly treated with derision by mostclients, as the inference of condescension is madepurely out of ignorance.
There are of course the ‘normal’ activities one wouldexpect, but that is only scratching the surface. Thediversity of interests is astounding, and too many tomention, first hand knowledge being the only way toappreciate it. However, there is one area in which allclients take an active role. The Centre is lucky enoughto have an occupational therapy student on placementduring term time, and making life hell for them is ofprime importance! The student’s presence is greatlyappreciated, and is of benefit to all. This has beentaken further, and clients from the Centre now do a
workshop every year at Southampton University,which requires a great deal of planning and work, yetis done with considerable enthusiasm. This interactionwill hopefully be extended to Portsmouth andWorthing in the near future, as well as workshops atthe Sainsbury Centre in Chichester. Invitations to staffwithin the Trust, and outside, have also been extended,and in most cases accepted, although one must saythat some employees seem ‘disinterested’?
The Activity Centre also operates a unique scheme of“credits for work.” A client at the Centre may ask todo certain jobs and receive a credit in exchange. Thiscredit may then be exchanged for a free lunch, whichis provided every day for only one pound. Creditsmay be earned for washing-up, cleaning, shopping,gardening and numerous other tasks, and is a verypopular scheme as many clients rely on it for theironly cooked meal, a point which is undeniablyimportant but generally unknown.
The perfect time to visit the Centre is on a Tuesdayafternoon, for the weekly client / staff meeting. Thisis usually lively and interesting, not only with regardto the topics discussed, but also in the manner in whichit is achieved. Everyone is equal, and it is not unusualfor the staff, and visitors, to be asked awkwardquestions while at the same time expressing views ina completely candid manner. Victorian principles ofpatients “tugging the forelock” in the presence ofsenior guests do not apply, rather truthful, vigorousand friendly dialogue between clients and staff - arare experience to be savoured by those of wisdomand courage.
Is it possible to improve the Activity Centre? Of course- open seven days a week.
The Activity Centre - the place where “care inthe community” ceases to be a cliché, and
becomes reality.
In closing, the clients would like to extend a warminvitation to anyone with courage enough to visit, andassure you your visit will be memorable.
Chris Street(Secretary of the Planning Group)
The Activity Centre continued
A Dorset Utopia: The Little Commonwealth and Homer Laneby Judith Stinton
Black Dog Books (Norwich) - Publication 2005 - Softback - Price £10.Few people other than child care workers now remember Homer Lane. Those who do, remember his ingloriousend. Lane’s life was full of incident, and central to it were his years at the Little Commonwealth in remotestDorset where he led a unique experiment in self-government with children from the city slums, many withcriminal records. It was an experiment that would seem radical even today. The book attempts to recreate theLittle Commonwealth years - as far as possible from the children’s viewpoint - and to return Lane’s work tothe centre of the debate on the treatment of young offenders.
http://www.blackdogbooks.co.uk
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In 1992 the leaders of a number of units came togetherand decided to establish a formal, contract-basedcooperation. The nucleus of the cooperation shouldbe a system with schemata, tests and procedureswoven together by a software program which had tobe developed for this purpose. They employed GeirPedersen as a system engineer and project assistant.Initially Ullevål Hospital paid his salary, but rathersoon it was granted a three year fund (1993-1996)from the Quality Assurance Committee of theNorwegian Medical Association. The qualityassurance system which was developed was the resultof a long journey with many and changing partnersand many and changing opinions about proceduresand priorities. Most constructive for this cooperationwas an annual one day conference for all staff at allday units. At this conference data from the differentunits were compared and all units presented casematerial or other relevant clinical problems. Betweenthe conferences the project assistant was in tightconnection with the units by phone and mail andperformed multiple site visits. Membership in theNetwork is based on signed contracts that oblige theparticipants to use the same quality assurance system,administer the same questionnaires, tests and clinicalroutines, as well as to send their data in anonymousforms at regular intervals to a common database.
Today, the Network consists of twelve day units, alllocated in the southern part of Norway. Collectinginformation from over 300 patients a year the Networkhas now systematic data from over 2600 patients fromday treatment programmes and over 900 datasets frompatients treated in outpatient group psychotherapy.
THE NORWEGIAN NETWORK FOR THERAPEUTICDAY HOSPITALS
Geir Pedersen has a BA from the University of Oslo,based on studies in psychology, statistics, andinformatics, graduated as a Candidate inAdministrative Data Processing at the NorwegianCollege of Information Technology, and has an MAin psychology from Warnborough University inLondon. He is now in the second year of the Ph.Dprogramme at the Department of Psychology,University of Oslo. The theme of his thesis concernsthe assessment of clinically significant personalityfactors.
by Geir Pedersen
Geir Pedersen (left), and Sigmund Karterud
The Network is organized by a management board,with one board member from each day unit and onechairman, which is Professor Sigmund Karterud. Theboard meets twice a year, and once a year there is aclinical conference for all units. By 2004, the annualfee for membership in the Network is 3270 GBP. Thisgoes mainly to the daily running carried out by GeirPedersen who is employed in a full-tme position asdaily leader and researcher.
New therapeutic community film:“Lifers: Reaching for Life Beyond the Walls”Director: Kaori SakagamiGenre: Documentary 90 min
“Over 130,000 felons are serving life sentences in the U.S., at present — a number that has doubled in thelast decade. Behind the hardened facades of convicts, whose heinous crimes seem to merit no clemency, liea myriad of personal stories. This documentary explores the stories of “Lifers” currently serving time inthe California penal system and sheds light on the counsellors, who facilitate the rehabilitation of theseconvicts, as they reveal their own criminal past. Their story is a profound one with much to say about thehuman condition.”
Award-winning documentary made by Japanese independent film producer Kaori Sakagami at the AmityFoundation’s therapeutic community in the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility near San Diego, inCalifornia, showing as part of the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival in California,New York, and Florida.
More information: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20040920f1.htm),http://www.nyfilmvideo.com/cgi/schedule.cgi
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Addendum: one Week LaterI am reflecting once more on the busy fifteen minutes described above: Was it well spent? The clinicalsituation I was bothered about has resolved itself; however, I do believe the Cassel Hospital Adult OutreachService are now better positioned to meet the ongoing needs of this patient, and of the professional networkdealing with him within our large Mental Health Trust. Difficulties in engaging in treatment the patientwhose mother wrote to me continue within the Adult Service. I am taking forward the request for support intraining to my fellow trustees in the Cassel Hospital Charitable Trust. I am very shortly scheduled to do theannual work appraisal for my colleague on the Families Service. That conversation we had in the coffeeroom partially set the context for this appraisal.
In hindsight, although some of the issues have dissipated, and are clearly less pressing, I believe the conversationsI had, on balance, remain useful. Hence, I ask once more with increased conviction: How do you communicatewith each other within your community? I look forward to receiving some interesting responses.
The Cassel is a complex therapeutic community,comprising three clinical services for families, adultsand young persons respectively, and supportingEducation and Training Services, and Research andDevelopment Services. There are more than 50 wholetime equivalent (WTE) staff to assess and treat up to50 inpatients, to support their families and carers,and to support, consult to, and train their professionalnetworks, so as to enable an optimal fit between theneeds of an individual, and the capacities of their localservices to meet these needs.
How can so many staff work towards the same generalgoal, and share what needs to be shared with eachother as an organisation to achieve this? I suggestthe daily coffee time (from 10.45am to 11am at whichall staff are expected to be present) is a very importantelement in this sharing.
Last Monday morning I went to the coffee break witha view to discussing a particular clinical problem withthe Clinical Nurse Specialist and PsychosocialOutreach Nurse from the Young Persons’ Service. Ipoured myself a strong black coffee, and checked whowas present in the smoking room adjacent to the roomin which we have our morning coffee. I first met withthe Clinical Nurse Specialist from the Adult Service,and liaised with her about my clinical problem, andhow best to deal with it. I then had a brief conversationwith the Consultant Psychiatrist in Psychotherapy for
the Adult Service about a letter I had received fromthe mother of a patient on his service. I was nextapproached by a nurse who is seeking support towardsa training she is undertaking, and needed to talk tome in my role as Chair of the Cassel HospitalCharitable Trust. I then had a brief conversation withthe Clinical Nurse Specialist from the Adult Serviceto say that her colleague in the Outreach PsychosocialNursing Department would be happy to be involvedwith the first clinical situation that preoccupied me.
I turned round and talked with a consultant colleaguefrom the Families Service about making a bid for $1million from a North American organisation. We alsodiscussed his work placement this term within WestLondon Mental Health Trust Child and AdolescentMental Health Services. Finally, I checked with theAdult Psychosocial Outreach Nurse about heravailability for a meeting that afternoon. It was timeto disperse. All went off to various meetings andactivities. I was left with a number of things to followup, but overall had a feeling that it was a good use ofmy time on that particular Monday morning.
Is a regular coffee time part of the life of otherinstitutions? I hope readers can feel stimulated torespond to this question. Oh, by the way, I did alsoget to drink my coffee !!.
Kevin HealyCassel HospitalSeptember. 2004
REFLECTIONS ON 15 MINUTES WELL SPENT?...
Kevin Healy, Clinical Director, Cassel Hospital / Joint Editor, Newsletter /[email protected]
Builders of Camphill: Lives and Destinies of the Founders, edited byFriedwart Bock, published by Floris Books (2004) £14.99 paperback, ISBN 0863154425
“In 1939, a small group of young Austrian refugees, together with Dr Karl Konig, formed a community to helpchildren with special needs. From this small beginning developed the Camphill Movement. This is the story ofCamphill’s eleven intrepid founders. Alix Roth had worked as a photographer in Vienna; Anke Weihs was adancer; Thomas Weihs had studied medicine in Vienna and Basel; Carlo Pietzner was an artist in Vienna; andPeter Roth began medical studies and later became a priest. This book documents how these and other diversetalents came together to form a network which now numbers over 100 homes, schools and villages.”
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A Holistic Approach to Heal and Overcome AddictionRediscovering one’s own potential through living,training and working together in a therapeuticcommunity
Who we areInishfree was founded four years ago by a group ofpeople who have worked with addiction, self harm,homelessness, education, counselling, artistictherapies, residential care, special needs and buildingnew communities.
We have set up our first house in Stroudaccommodating 6 trainees in our 1-year programme.
We are looking for a farm to expand the programmeas soon as possible.
We address recovery on 3 levels:
· The physical level by offering nutritious healthyfood and active manual work which re-establishes the rhythms of sleeping and waking,eating and breathing
· The emotional level by providing opportunitiesfor experiencing a sense of home and belongingby living in a small family-like community andbenefiting from artistic and craft work
. The spiritual level by helping the individual tofind his/her unique journey through life by beingaccompanied through the cycle of the year
Key Elements of Our 1 -Year Programme
· Community Life and group work to developtrusting relationships and social skills
· Artistic and Craft Activities to discover one’spotential
· Vocational and Life Skills Training which lead toemployment
· Educational, Cultural Programme: from basicliteracy skills to parenting skills and
“the History of Art”
· One to One Counselling, Artistic therapy,massage, movement therapy and regular
individual reviews
Who we can help?
We can help you:· If you are committed to your own personal
development without the use of drugs or alcoholand have shown some commitment to your ownrecovery having undergone a first stage ofrehabilitation and detoxification in anothersetting
· If you have an interest in physical work and enjoythe outdoors
· If you have an interest in farm life and workingwith animals
· If you want to learn new skills and crafts and bepart of a pioneering venture
· If you want to prepare to return to work andemployment and need some
accompanying on the way· If you are willing to give it a try in a small/
intimate setting where you can develop initiative/enterprise
What we will offer you?We will offer 6 people accommodation in sharedrooms in a quiet location.
You will take part in a number of structured activitiesduring the day and in the evening.
The main focus will be on gardening work along withDIY and building work according to the weather andthe needs of the house.
You will learn to cook, bake and cater for thecommunity.
In the evening you will take part in craft activities,story telling, study and open discussions on currentevents and topics of your choice.
The weekends will provide time for individualprojects, reflection, reviewing and previewing of theweek, cultural activities and walks.
How you can contact us?
Ring us if you are interested in this programme.
We will invite you to come for half a day and takepart in our life, which will give you and us a chanceto see if this is the right place for you
No need for Funding or Community Care Assessment
Contact
Lyn Townsend,Inishfree
Stroud
Glos.
GL5 IRE
Tel: 0845-458 9904
Email: [email protected]
In partnership with the Drug and Alcohol Action Team(DAAT) Gloucestershire
Reg. Company no 4112002 Reg. Charity no 1094160
Introducing:INISHFREE COMMUNITY
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We are writing as the directors of a new therapeuticcommunity based in Arundel, West Sussex. Ourproject, The Amicus Community, is a member of theAssociation of Therapeutic Communities and will alsoshortly undergo the requirements necessary to becomea member of The Charterhouse Group.
We have spent the last three and a half years thinkingabout our particular model of care and finally achievedregistration with CSCI for our first home, a couple ofweeks ago. During that time Jane Pooley, in the roleof Organisational Consultant, has played a major partin helping us fulfil our dream. However we are notthere yet! The purpose of this letter is to introduceourselves and to offer the opportunity to share think-ing and support in all aspects of therapeutic work withchildren and young people. In view of this I hope youcan spare the time in allowing us to tell you a little bitabout us.
The specific purpose of Amicus is to provide fifty twoweek-a-year residential therapeutic care and full timeeducation for emotionally troubled children betweenthe ages of seven and twelve. Its structures and prac-tices are designed to meet the needs of boys and girlswho are unable to manage or be managed within ordi-nary families, whether birth, adoptive or foster.
Amicus will ultimately consist of two affiliated fam-ily sized homes based in the community, each accom-modating up to three children. The homes will bridgethe gap between the children’s need for a specialist,well planned, professionally staffed and supervisedenvironment with the need for a small, nurturing, fam-ily sized living experience.
Another aspect of our work is to establish a working
partnership with our children’s parents/carers. Wherea new family placement is required, we will workcollaboratively with a local fostering and adoptionagency in order to find a suitable alternative.
Amicus provide an education programme that is inte-grated with the child’s placement plan and therapeu-tic care plan. An important part of this is to providesupport and education that is appropriate to the child’sdevelopmental stage. We have a full time PrimaryTeacher offering a complete in-house educationprogramme, identifying external provision where ap-propriate or supporting existing educational provid-ers. On-site education is guided by the National Cur-riculum and carried out in a separate, fully equippedschoolroom.
As you may be aware, the time before the first childarriving in a new project is particularly anxiety pro-voking for all those involved. We very much welcomeany support you may be able to give including think-ing around information sharing such as training, sitevisits and passing on potential child referrals whereappropriate.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. We lookforward to hearing from you.
If you would like further information, please do nothesitate to phone on 01903 885135 or visit our website:www.theamicuscommunity.com
Kind regards,
Adrian Adams and StewartThomson
AMICUS: A New Therapeutic Community
The Amicus CommunityTherapeutic Care Workers £20,000 p.a. incl. sleep-ins
Trainee Therapeutic Care Workers £15,000 p.a.Full time 39 hours per week plus sleep-ins.
West Sussex, Littlehampton outskirts (Brighton 15 miles)The Amicus Community is a new and innovative therapeutic residential project for severely emotionallytroubled children between the ages of five to ten. Through two affiliated family sized homes, based in
the community, it aims to care and work with children who are unable to manage or be managed withinnormal families whether birth, adoptive or foster. At the same time their young age and emotional
vulnerability will make large traditional children’s homes unsuitable and inappropriate.We are dedicated to staff development through an extensive programme of supervision and training
both in-house and externally, as well as taking seriously the work-life balance, which is seen as vital ifwe are to maximise both staff efficiency and longevity.
We are looking for experienced workers who would be excited by the challenge of joining the project.
For further information and application forms please contact Adrian Adams or Stewart Thomson at:PO Box 79, Arundel, West Sussex BN18 9XA Tel: 01903 885135
Email: [email protected]
13
We are very pleased to be able toannounce to you that DAVIDKENNARD has been elected bythe committee as the new chair ofISPS UK.
He will be taking over from BrianMartindale who announced at theManchester AGM that he wasstanding down. There will now bea short transition period with Davidtaking over during the meeting ofthe committee on November 16th.
Annabel Thomas as ISPS UKOrganiser coordinated the processaccording to the ISPS UKconstitution, and David’sappointment carries the fullsupport of the elected committee inan uncontested election.
Brian Martindale writes that he is‘delighted that David has beenelected’. Brian had been feeling forsome time that the organization wasvery ripe to move into a new phaseof development and consolidation,and that this would be bestachieved with a fresh face at thehelm.
He is sure that the committee havemade a very wise choice and thatthe wider membership will soonfeel aware of the benefits ofDavid’s wide experience. His
David Kennard: NEW CHAIR OF ISPS UKinvolvement in therapeuticcommunities, where there is voicefor all, will be very important intaking into account the manydifferent voices within ISPS UK,but all needing to harmonise attimes under the single flag ofdeveloping psychological therapiesfor psychosis.
Following the election of the chair,there are other key roles to beagreed within the committee. Assoon as this process is completeDavid will be in touch with the fullmembership either through theISPS UK Newsletter or a separatecircular letter.
For those of you who do not knowDavid here is a little about hisbackground:
David is a clinical psychologist andgroup analyst based in York. Hetrained as a psychologist in thesixties - his formative experiencesincluded visiting a friend who wasstaying at Kingsley Hall, spendingtwo weeks at the Hendersontherapeutic community, and beingchallenged by a patient he wastrying to desensitize with aversiontherapy that he ‘didn’t like her’,which alerted him to the importanceof the relationship in therapy.
David quickly caught thetherapeutic community bug andwas involved in developing theAssociation of TherapeuticCommunities in the 70’s and 80’s,at different times acting assecretary, training group co-ordinator, conference-co-ordinator,and becoming editor of the journalTherapeutic Communities from1992-8.
David worked as a psychologist inthe NHS for 25 years, in roles thattook in an acute admission ward,drug rehabilitation community,psychotherapy and counselingcentre, high security hospital, andregional tutor. In 1992 he joinedThe Retreat, an independentcharity, where he developed a newpsychotherapy and counselingservice, and then took on thepsychology role in its PsychosisRehabilitation Service. It was thismove that led him to his first ISPSconference in 1999 and to join thecommittee two years later. Davidhas been joint editor of the ISPSUK Newsletter for the past year.
Warmest congratulations to Davidand best wishes.
Annabel ThomasBrian Martindale
International Society for the Psychological Treatments of the Schizophrenias and Other Psychoses http://www.isps.org/
“in our development, it is as if each of us were hypnotized twice: firstly into accepting pseudoreality as reality, and secondly, into believing that we were not hypnotized”
I’m trying to track down the quote above from R.D.Laing. I thought I had seen it in The Politics of the Family, butcannot find it again. I wondered if any of you had a correct source and page number.
Many thanks, StuartProfessor Stuart B. Hill, Foundation Chair of Social EcologyHead of Program, Social EcologySchool of Social Ecology and Lifelong LearningUniversity of Western Sydney (Hawkesbury Campus), Locked Bag 1797PENRITH SOUTH DC NSW 1797, AUSTRALIAemail: [email protected]
School of Social Ecology and Lifelong Learning website: http://www.uws.edu.au/about/acadorg/caess/ssellSocial Ecology Research Group website: http://sites.uws.edu.au/research/SERG/
QUERY:
Publication News: Working with Dangerous People: The Psychotherapy of Violence, edited by DavidJones, published by Ratcliffe Medical Press ISBN 1 85775 824 2 £24.95. “Most of the authors work, or haveworked at HMP Grendon which has operated as a therapeutic community for over 40 years. Jones puts forwardthe case for a prison regime based upon openness and decency where prisoners can be treated humanely...
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In 1999, the Prison Servicecommissioned the Association ofTherapeutic Communities todevelop an instrument to audit theprison-based democratictherapeutic communities, whichwas to be part of the process ofaccreditation of their treatmentprogrammes. David Kennard andI were asked to take on this task,with help from others in the PrisonService, such as Mark Morris andRoland Woodward. As a result ofthis process, we developed theKLAC – the Kennard-Lees AuditChecklist. The KLAC was pilotedinitially on A Wing at HMPGrendon, and then A Wingundertook the whole accreditationprocess, including using theKLAC, and gained accreditation.This year, a team from ATCundertook a full audit of all thewings at HMP Grendon, againusing the Prison Serviceaccreditation process and includingthe KLAC, and all the wings wereaccredited.
KLAC EVOLVES INTO CoC SERVICE STANDARDS
Alongside this, the Association ofTherapeutic Communities, and ledby its Chair, Rex Haigh,approached the Royal College ofPsychiatrists Research Unit, to bidfor funding from the thenCommunity Fund, to develop apeer review-based quality networkof therapeutic communities. Thiswas successful, and Community ofCommunities was born in 2002.The Community of CommunitiesProject Team, together with itsAdvisory Group, and StandardsWorking Group, devised a new setof Service Standards, for whichKLAC, along with other relevantdocuments, formed a baseline. TheCommunity of CommunitiesService Standards are revised everyyear, and many of the KLAC itemsincluded have been changed,although around 15 of the original60 items remain in their originalform.
Meanwhile, this year, the PrisonService, through Gina Pearce,decided to work towards
amalgamating the Prison Serviceand Community of Communitiesquality review process as much aspossible. To this end, Gina, AdrianWorrall from the College ResearchUnit, Rex Haigh and I have workedon rationalising both processes.This rationalisation is nowvirtually complete, and at our lastmeeting in May 2004, we finallydeclared KLAC defunct, and nowsuperseded, for the Prison Service,by the Community of CommunitiesService Standards. This seems inkeeping with therapeuticcommunity principles – KLACevolved in response to a need, wasuseful for a while, but has beendeveloped and now superseded, inline with changes in thinking andas a result of testing the standardsout in practice. I guess it wouldbe more worrying if we hadcontinued to use KLAC unchangedfor years to come, as this wouldhave confirmed people’s fears of anossified audit system!! So, KLACis dead, long live CoC!
by Jan Lees
I was involved in some research that compared read-mission rates of people from both environments. Theywere exactly the same - only difference being thatthose from the therapeutic community had not hadtheir memories blown away by ECT and were notdependant on high rates of medication or subject tothe side effects. They were people who had learned tomake their own decisions that they needed to comeback to the community for a bit of support - rarelywere they ‘sectioned’ and brought back against theirwill - unlike readmissions to the traditional part of thehospital..
Derry
Derry Hannam,University of Sussex Student Voice Team,7 Newtown Road,Warsash,Southampton,SO31 9FY, UK
From: “Derry Hannam”<[email protected]>To: <[email protected]>Subject: Re: <aerolist> Research & SupportDate: Thu, 7 Oct 2004 11:53:24 +0100
Looking back 40 years I realise that I got into demo-cratic practices in mainstream schools after a yearspent working in a Therapeutic Community atLittlemore Hospital, Oxford. This was a traditionalUK lunatic asylum in the late 60’s three quarters ofwhich practiced lock ‘em up, medicate ‘em, shock ‘emand manipulate ‘em as ‘objects with diagnoses’‘therapy.’ The other quarter of the hospital was run asa therapeutic community called the ‘Phoenix Unit’where the same kinds of people were treated as equalpartners in a democratic community built around twicedaily meetings with no staff uniforms and evreyone onfirst name terms from chief psychiatrist to janitor’sassistant - with minimal or nil medication and no elec-tric shocks.
THERAPEUTIC COMMUNITY AND DEMOCRATIC EDUCATION:letter from Aero: the Education Revolution email discussion list
15
Founded in 1978 and formalisedin 1981, the EuropeanFederation of TherapeuticCommunities (E.F.T.C)promotes “European cooperationin the field of drug treatment,prevention, training andresearch”. The E.F.T.Cmembership exists in 26different countries and enjoysclose links in additionalcountries.
In general terms the memberprogrammes can bedescribed as providing orsupporting the psycho-pedagogical approach tohelping addicts and problemdrug takers to return to a drugfree lifestyle and becomecontributing members of thewider community.
The mission of the E.F.T.C.members is to maximise theinvolvement and participation ofeach person in their recovery fromsubstance abuse. This self-help“Community as Method”approach enhances the self-respectand dignity of all member clients.
All E.F.T.C members provide equalopportunity treatment services thatare Non-Violent, Non-Racist, Non-Exploitive and Non-Political. Theintegrity of each programme and itscommunity members is valuedwithin this extended Europeancommunity. Each member mustagree to abide by the E.F.T.CConstitution, Standards and Goalsfor Therapeutic Communities, theStaff Code of Ethics, and the Billof Residents’ Rights for membersand clients. Additional informationregarding these standards can befound and viewed in detail via ourweb site at http:// www.eftc-europe.com. The web site alsocontains details regardingmembership within Europe and linksto other non-European Countries.Since the formalisation of thefederation, the E.F.T.C. is aregistered not-for-profit, non-
governmental organisation. Theregistered office and that of theSecretariat is located at thetherapeutic community De Kiemin Belgium. Mr. Dirk Vandeveldehas held the elected post ofSecretary / Treasurer since 1995in addition to his responsibilities asDirector of De Kiem. Dirk’scontribution and clear guidancehas been and remains invaluableto the members and of course theboard of the E.F.T.C.
Additional responsibilities as VicePresidents are held throughout thecontinent by Peter Martin inEngland, Katriina Pajupuro inFinland, Rowdy Yates in Scotland,Georges Van der Straaten inBelgium and CharalamposPoulopoulos in Greece. As formyself, I was elected as Presidentof the federation during 1995. TheE.F.T.C is a European regionalfederation of the World Federationof Therapeutic Communities.
The name European Federation ofTherapeutic Communities may attimes be a little misleading to someA.T.C members, as the broadscope of the E.F.T.C membership
EFTC:
THE EUROPEAN FEDERATION OF THERAPEUTICCOMMUNITIES
and the special nature andneeds of the various clientgroups are no longer simplyconfined to the traditionaldrug user image. In generalterms the E.F.T.C membership
provides treatment and/or isinvolved in the wholespectrum of treatmentapproaches and specialtarget groups. We havestrong links with researchbodies and an ongoingstrategy to enhanceprofessional training,thereby improving quality oftreatment and enhancingresults.
Members often organiselocal regional events forcooperation and sharing ofideas; however, the E.F.T.Chas two important forums
which provide members andparticipants from the Europeanfield and beyond opportunities tojoin together and share experienceand knowledge. These are the bi-annual international conferencesand symposiums. The E.F.T.C iscurrently cooperating with theUniversity of Åarhus in Denmarkto hold the 7th InternationalSymposium on Substance AbuseTreatment during November 2004,the theme being “Drug FreeTreatment in the 21st Century –between evidence and belief,“which will provide a valuable forumfor the interchange of recentresearch evidence and theexperiences of practitioners. Thesymposiums are usually limited to100 participants. In May 2005 wewill, in cooperation with Kethea inGreece, be holding the 10th E.F.T.CEuropean Conference onRehabilitation and Drug Policy –“Drug Addiction, Treatment andPrevention in a United Europe:Diversity and Equality”. Theconference will be located atHeraklion in Crete, and informationregarding registration, presentationof papers, travel and hotels can be
by Anthony SlaterDirector, Phoenix Haga, Norway
President: European Federation ofTherapeutic Communities
Anthony Slater(taken during an acupuncture training
session at Phoenix Haga)
http:// www.eftc-europe.com http:// www.eftc-europe.com http:// www.eftc-europe.com
16
obtained either directly fromKethea at www.kethea.gr orthrough the E.F.T.C’s web site.The conference already hasspeakers of note from the globalfields of addiction services, andpromises to reach high standards,in addition to being an exciting andnourishing gathering.
As for myself, I have workedwithin the field of substance abusetreatment since 1975, although myoriginal involvement began in 1970.My work has been closelyconnected with therapeuticcommunities in the U.K andthroughout Europe. Formally theDirector of Phoenix House –Featherstone Lodge in London, Ihave also been involved withopening 3 residential therapeuticcommunities and 1 modifiedtherapeutic community dayprogramme here in Norway,where I have lived and workedsince 1988. My main work duringthe last 15 years has been as theDirector of Phoenix Haga, aresidential therapeutic communitylocated some 68 kilometres southeast from Oslo. Within our field Iam interested in the application ofresearch conclusions to improve
treatment outcome and stafftraining in therapeutic communitymethodology. These remain centralto me.
Phoenix Haga is a relatively small30+ bed community for men andwomen who may stay for up to 12months. The re-entry or aftercarephase of recovery may last as longas 5 years. Our experience showsthat many persons value and profitfrom the extended support whichis provided. We consider thisperiod to be crucial with regard toeach person’s eventual successfulre-integration into the widercommunity and recovery; thereforewe encourage people to stay incontact for as long as is desirable.The dynamic being more similar tothat of an extended and supportingfamily, rather than dependency.
Phoenix Haga itself has close linksto many therapeutic communitiesand affiliated treatment centres inScandinavia and world-wide. Weprovide training in therapeuticcommunity theory, model andpractice. Most recently, withprofessionals from the formerCentral and Eastern Europeancountries - our commitment to
these regions remains vibrant.Through this type of interchangeof ideas and the close relationshipwith the European Federation ofTherapeutic Communities, oursmall treatment programmemaintains the essence of being partof something which is greater thanitself.
I look forward to the developmentof this new and refreshing contactbetween the European Federationof Therapeutic Communities & theAssociation of TherapeuticCommunities. I’m optimistic wemay continue to find many areaswhere we can cooperate. It wasvaluable for me to meet some ofyou during the conference inSeptember in Windsor; I lookforward to seeing you again.
Anthony SlaterContact address:
Phoenix Haga, Folkenborgvn,1850 Mysen, Norway.
Telephone: + 47 69 89 82 50.www.phoenixhouse.no
www.eftc-europe.com
From Spring through the summer of 1974, I workedas an intern with the therapeutic community at MarionFederal Penitentiary at Marion, Illinois and did somevolunteer work with Ananda Marga Yoga Society atMenard Illinois State Correctional Facility in Menard,IL.
Dr. Martin Groder developed a program for trainingpeer counselors who would work throughout theFederal system. The program consisted of a veryrigid schedule of group and individual therapy workutilizing several different techniques from group workbased on the theories of Bion and Rioch to “PrimalTherapy”, Transactional analysis and Cognitivetherapy techniques of various kinds. Also, central to
Groder’s approach was the Synanon “attack” game.
When we walked in the door of the Communitysection, all badges came off, all titles were droppedand everyone became equals within that setting.
The results of Dr. Groder’s work were astonishing.He chose only those people who were in prison forlife - almost exclusively in prison for murder. He gavethem a comprehensive set of tools and gave them tofreedom to define, with the confines of prison culture,their roles.
Hopelessness turned into hope and despair intocontentment as these men (and a few women prisonpersonnel) rebuilt their lives and learned how to givedeep meaning to their experiences. In their ownminds, they became free and their work within thewalls became their life projects.
Googling the Net: email groups - AMERICAN PRISON THERAPEUTIC COMMUNITY, 1974
On Thursday, August 28, 2003 David Dix wrote(to a restorative justice-based email group):
[This is adapted, with his permission and corrections, from an original email by David Dix, who was doing a doublegraduate major at Southern Illinois University in Community Development and Sociology at the time he worked as anintern at Marion. In our subsequent correspondence he has drawn attention to the contemporary Aeskelepion therapeuticcommunty in Carbondale, Illinois, with which Dr. Groder was also involved, and suggested further lines of enquiry -illustrating the value of the Internet in researching the history and development of the field, and of seeking permissionbefore publishing! . CF]
17
The Junction (implicitly meaningful) is a relatively newservice for young people in North East Essex. It isthe first such project run by Colchester Mind. Weprovide assessment, therapy and support to those whomay not be able to access statutory service. Someare not acute enough to be seen by mental healthservices - partly due to waiting lists. But others cannotuse those services because they feel so alien to them.PC gurus strike me down, but perhaps we see thosewho are usually ‘older children’ rather than ‘youngadults’.
The young people can refer themselves. Others arereferred by parents, school nurses, CAMHS, CFCS,Social Services, Connexions, local Leaving and AfterCare and a local Outreach Team of an AdolescentPsychiatric Unit. Thus they are a diverse group.Many have experienced very disruptive familyhistories and adverse life-events. This can mean thatthese young people have had to struggle withemotional difficulties brought on by a range ofpressures without support. They generally feelunheard and unlistened-to by adults. Often they don’thave the normal sense of belonging to their family,and they may have been ostracized and bullied withintheir peer-group or school.
One way to approach this is by providing a ‘correctiveemotional experience’ to set against that past. Wedo this at The Junction by first, giving the youngperson the respect they deserve. They do not haveto join The Junction - even though some adults willpressure them to do so. Given the choice, most youngpeople do join, but it matters a great deal to them thatwe allow them to take control of their own life.
Another way to provide a ‘corrective emotionalexperience’ is to provide an open, warm and containingenvironment so that troubled young people can feelsafe and cared for enough to begin opening up andtelling us about their worries and distress. They can’ttalk through a closed door.
We have opened the door by allowing young peopleto decide how The Junction looks. They have chosenall the furnishing, the décor, and even the names ofthe rooms (the social room, the activity room, andthe ‘chill-out room & art room’). Thus the room weassess young people in, the social room, is a light,homely room with sofas and games and a musiccentre. The feel of the place is so safe, relaxing, butalive that we have increasing numbers of localagencies beginning to use the building to hold meetingsor see their own young people. A sense ofcommunity is building.
We also have (thanks to a kind volunteer) awonderfully painted tree just inside the entrance. When young people join The Junction, after theirassessment, they place a hand print on the tree in acolour of their choosing - thus The Junction tree isslowly coming into leaf. Young people feel theybelong - they have left an imprint.
They then engage either individual work or a rangeof out-of-hours groups. The ‘Monday Nites’ group,for example, involves coming together as a wholegroup first and then attending a boys or girls supportgroup where the opportunity arises to talk about theirweek and offer or gain support to each other. Thegirls group calls itself ‘a girls night in’, the boys ‘aboys night out’. This helps attendance. After thisthere is the chance to play games, use computers orthe art room, and come together to eat and drink - butall this, importantly, is done with adults who join inand talk with young people about their problemsthroughout. They can also use aromatherapy, whichI see as a very helpful and potentially correctiveexperience for both those who may have sufferedphysical abuse, and for adolescents whose relationswith touch and their own bodies can be unstable.
There is a Life-skills group for older young peoplethat is geared towards leaning about communicationskills. Many of these young people are very fragileand struggle with social interaction. These are theyoung adults (even older children) whose experiencesof peer groups has debarred their capacity for equal,mutual engagement. Some have suffered from bullyingor being ostracized and have become so isolated thatthey do not venture out, or only talk to others throughthe Internet. In a group, together, they are able, just,to be together and perhaps talk about these issueswhile slowly developing a greater sense of self-worthas they experience affirmation from the other groupmembers and the group leaders.
We also run two art therapy groups, on a Friday afterschool and on a Saturday morning. The first is anopen group so that young people can join and leaveas they wish - this works well for young people whosepunctuality is not so good and has led to fear aboutarrival because of the social response lateness canincur - in this group they can’t be late. The second isa closed group to which young people commit to aneight week group with clear time boundaries.
Both groups enable young people to explore theirproblems and experiences through image making usingart material they chose. These groups are particularlyuseful for young people who struggle to work verbally,
THE JUNCTION - Therapeutic and Communal but not TCChris Nicholson
Senior Project Worker, The Junction
18
through talking. Often they can become more awareof their feelings and difficulties as they see thesereflected in the images they produce. This caneventually help them to begin to verbalize their issues,get a hold of them more consciously and so begin toresolve or accept them. Issues like bullying, lowesteem and self-harm have been very evident withinthese groups.
Whether young people join groups or request to seetheir key-worker one-to-one (good to remember thesymbolic relevance of the term ‘key worker’) wehope they can experience a sense of growth withinThe Junction that will slowly enable them to makebetter life choices and become more fully involved inopportunities of day to day life.
We ask the young people to think about their progress
and our service to them. Apart from reviewing andtalking together they also fill out evaluation forms,which are designed to be young person-friendly, aftereach eight weeks. This feedback is always surprisingand in itself enables young people, through a formalstructure, to find a voice and say things they mayhave wished to say but were unable to in moreintimate circumstances. The young people’s feedbackto us is that they see The Junction as a safe haven, aplace to come, feel relaxed, talk about their problems,think about them and learn more about themselves. They also say they enjoy coming, which, when Iconsider the challenge we pose for them, is all themore surprising.
Chris NicholsonEmail: [email protected]
Tel no. 01206 541841
The Association House Girls’ Campwas started in western Lake Countysoon after the House was foundedand it, too, held fond memories forthe girls who went there. Later ithad included periods for boys andslowly developed into aneighbourhood-based service,including some weekend use. In1928 the camp was separatelyincorporated with its own board,and I became the director.
Early in the Great Depression thecamp adapted to includeservices for children withemotional and behavioralproblems - most of them referredby social agencies. A psychiatricsocial worker, Dr. Irene Josselyn,joined the staff about 1932. Shegave a day a week to staff training,consultation, and seeing childrenwhen necessary. This enabled us toattract mature staff, withprofessional interest in group workapplication. For a period we offeredfield-work opportunity for graduatestudents from several professionalschools but discontinued that planwhen it threatened to place too
Milieu therapy in pre-war America
from:Eleanor EellsHistory of OrganizedCamping: The First 100 YearsAmerican Camping AssociationMartinsville, Indiana (1986)ISBN 0-87603-085-1
much attention on the student,rather than on the children. Apsychiatric consultant was alsoadded in 1934. The consultantadvised on intake, recording andreporting, and was in charge ofstaff training, and gave help onindividual problems. This wasagain a fascinating and difficult
experience with mutual learnings;it has been written up in somedetail. A major effort was directedtoward grouping and a study ofhow the proportion of children withmore than the usual number ofdifficulties could be helped byinclusion in carefully plannedgroups, with staff help, withoutdisturbance to the rest of thecampers. Fritz Redl was thenworking on the “rotten apple”
theory and was a tremendous helpand incentive. Jacob Kepecs andJulius Richman of the JewishChildren’s Bureau, and VirginiaFrank of the Jewish Family Service,and Dorothy Spiker of the I.J.R.were superb cooperators andteachers.
We believed in “milieu therapy” asbeing an environment. (Too oftenagencies depend on theory andtalk, in my opinion, and fail tocultivate the skills andrecreational repertoire theyneed). Supervision was anessential ingredient if notobtrusive. There was anexcitement, a challenge and an`esprit de corps’ that I havenever been able to equal
elsewhere. The staff had variedbackgrounds and goals-but seemedable to use it all in working with theirgroups and with the children withspecial needs. We cared!
Congratulations to Dr. Maddy Loat, who has been awarded her Doctorate in Clinical Psychologyfrom University College, London for her Cassel-based research thesis, “Therapeutic CommunityMembers’ Experiences of Mutual Support Processes: A Phenomenological Analysis”
ABSTRACT: This descriptive, qualitative study explored individuals’ experiences of mutual support whilst beingresident in a therapeutic community for people experiencing severe emotional and social difficulties. Mutual support - thejoining together of similar individuals to assist one another emotionally, socially or materially - plays a major role withintherapeutic communities, where individuals are given the opportunity to share responsibility for understanding the situationthey are in and to engage with peers in processing and working through difficulties..... Overall, participants’ experiences ofmutual support were positive and the findings are discussed in relation to general psychological frameworks. The researchhas theoretical and clinical implications with regard to informing an understanding of how mutual support processesoperate within therapeutic communities and the potential therapeutic impact of mutual support in mental health settings.
19
Eleanor Eells was the author of “Fromthe Sunset Camp Service League: campas a therapeutic community” publishedin the American journal Nervous Child 6(pages 225-231) in 1947: The earliestappearance, as far as I am aware, of theterm “therapeutic community” in thetitle of an article. - CF
“MISS BRITTON, I PRESUME…Understanding and Communicating Clare and Donald Winnicott in a new generation”
On Tuesday, October 19, the Trustees of the Planned Environment Therapy Trust and the Patrons of its2004 Appeal cordially invited friends and colleagues to a very special occasion exploring and celebrating thelife and work of Clare Britton Winnicott, and of her husband, the celebrated psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott.
John Cross, Executive Chairmanof PETT and Director of theAppeal, welcoming friends
Joel Kanter, a patron of the Appeal and editor of the major new book by andabout Clare Winnicott, Face to Face with Children, flew over from theUnited States to take part. He had never met Clare Winnicott, but OliveStevenson CBE, Emeritus Professor of Social Work at the University ofNottingham, was a student of Clare Winnicott’s at the London School ofEconomics, and she was able to break travel in a busy schedule to share herdeep knowledge and exerience of developments and practice in childcare.The presentations and discussions were chaired by retired ChildPsychotherapist Dr. Christopher Reeves, a PETT Trustee and former Principalof the Mulberry Bush School who had known and been influenced by theWinnicotts. Together with some thirty friends and colleagues - a number ofwhom had known and worked with the Winnicotts - the presentations anddiscussion explored the practical and effective ways in which the insightsand understandings that the Winnicotts represent can be brought into policyand practice with children and young people, and adults, today. The BarnsCentre team had prepared their traditionally excellent food and hand-madepuddings for lunch, and the Archive and Study Centre team had prepared adisplay which included a number of letters and other items by and about theWinnicotts held in the archive collections, including a Christmas card preparedjust before his death by Donald Winnicott, and sent by Clare after Christmas;selections from the oral history collections related to Clare and DonaldWinnicott and their influence; and books, periodicals and unpublished papersby and about the Winncotts drawn from the Research Library collections.
Covenants, for donations made over a number ofyears, are increased in value by the government, whichadds a little over 28% to the gift you make.
Tax refunds on single donations , with youragreement, can also be collected by the Trust throughthe Gift Aid scheme, which also adds a little over 28%
to the value of your gift. Ten pounds is thereforeworth almost thirteen; a thousand almost thirteenhundred.
For information on Legacies or other benefactions,please contact John Cross at the address below. Helpin any form will be very welcome.
Can you help either with the Endowment Fund or the Appeal?
Forms and further information are available from John Cross, PETT, Barns Centre, Church Lane, Toddington nearCheltenham, Glos. GL54 5DQ, United Kingdom. Email: [email protected]. Tel: +44 (0)1242 621200.
THE APPEAL
Below: Joel Kanter,author/editor of Faceto Face with Children:The Life and Work ofClare Winnicott,Karnac Books 2004
“This isbeginning to
feel like home…”(from theVisitor’sBook)
Prof. Olive Stevenson, whotook her social work qualifica-tion in 1954: “For those to whomthis will mean something, I spent three LongVacations as a student at the Mulberry Bush whilst I was an undergraduate...”
Dr. Christopher Reeves, biographer ofBarbara Dockar-Drysdale
currently collaborating with Judith Issroff(participating in the day, but not pictured)
on a book about Winnicott and Bowlby.“Judith was closely associated with
Winnicott when we were both trainees atthe Tavi, she as a child psychiatrist, I as achild psychotherapist, in the late 60s,”
explains Dr. Reeves.
Planned Environment Therapy TrustPlanned Environment Therapy Trust20
Academic Therapy 15:2 (1979)Gift of Paul and Nancy Fees
Avrich, Paul (1995) Anarchist Voices: An oral historyof anarchism in America (abridged edition),Princeton University Press (Princeton, NewJersey)
Bock, Friedwart (ed.) (2004) The Builders ofCamphill: Lives and Destinies of the FoundersFloris Books, Edinburgh
The Counseling Psychologist 1:4 (1969)Gift of Paul and Nancy Fees
Diggers and Dreamers Intentional Communities:How to do it: The Beginner’s Guide to Joining andSetting up a Commune, Edge of Time, London
Durand-Dassier, Jacques (1969) Structure etPsychologie de la Relation, Editions de l’Epi (Paris)
Durand-Dassier, Jacques (1970) Psychotherapies sanpsychotherapeute: communautes de drogues et depsychotiques, Editions do l’Epi (Paris)
Durand-Dassier, Jacques (1973) Groupes derencontroe - marathon, Editions de l’Epi (Paris)
Eells, Eleanor (1986) History of Organized Camping:The First 100 Years, American CampingAssociation (Martinsville, Indiana)
Field, Martin (2004) Thinking about CoHousing: Thecreation of intentional neighbourhoods, Diggers andDreamers, London
Gribble, David (2004) Lifelines, Libertarian Education(London)
Joyce, C.A. (ed.) (1968) My Call to the Ministry,Marshal, Morgan & Scott (London)
Joyce, C.A. (1971) Thoughts of a Lifetime, Lakeland,London.
Joyce, C.A. (1974) A Thought for the Week: OmnibusEdition. The broadcast talks of C.A. JoyceLakeland Publishing (London)
Katzenbach, Nicholas (Chair) (1967) Task ForceReport: Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Crime,Task Force on Juvenile Delinquency, ThePresident’s Commission on Law Enforcement andAdministration of Justice (USGPO, Washington,D.C.)
Gift of Paul and Nancy Fees
Marino, Vincent C. (1983) Victory Over Drugs, Deathand Degradation, ed. Jay Stewart, VVM, Inc.(Kaneohe, Hawaii)
Marino, Vinny (1996) Journey from Hell, Habilitat(Kaneohe, Hawaii)
“Motivated by a desire to salvage otherdamaged lives, Vinny founded a therapeuticcommunity in Hawaii in 1971 - called Habilitat- developing rehabilitation techniques that havebeen described as the most creative andeffective in the world. A Federal survey hasestablished Habilitat’s success rate at three timesthe national average…This is a tough, candidstory full of outrage and outrageous stunts…theextraordinary chronicle of a journey to the verydepths of hell and back. It is a fascinatingpilgrimage and an inspirational one, which tellshow one man turned his life around andrejoined the human race.”
“Habilitat, Inc. is a private, non-profit “survivalschool” that is home to over 250 individuals.There are now thousands of graduates leadingproductive lives, using skills learned inHabilitat’s many business-like vocationaltraining programs and fund-raising activities.”
Powell, Robert (2001) The Danish Free SchoolTradition - a lesson in democracy, CurlewProductions, Kelso, ISBN 1 900259 98 2. A gift ofthe author.
Tomlinson, Patrick (2004), Therapeutic Approachesin Work with Traumatized Children and YoungPeople, Jessica Kingsley (London)
“This book is based upon the work of a staffgroup at the Cotswold Community from 1994-2000.”
Theses and dissertations
Amtzis, Alan David (2003) “Smart, Angry and Out ofControl: A Study of How Teens with Drug andAlcohol Problems Re-learn School”, PhD.,Department of Teacher Education, SpecialEducation and Curriculum & Instruction, LynchGraduate School of Education, Boston College
“…few studies within educational or therapeuticcommunity research have addressed the role ofeducation within drug and alcohol treatmentprograms for teens. Consequently, little
RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE ARCHIVE AND STUDYCENTRE RESEARCH LIBRARY
Archive and Study CentreArchive and Study Centre 21
information is known about how therapeuticschools meet the task of educating drug-involved students or what sense and meaningthe students find in such schools, which aredesigned to “cure” them.”
Balduzzi, Elena (2002) “A Transition Program forPost-Release Sex Offenders: A Design Proposal”,PhD, Department of Clinical Psychology, AntiochNew England Graduate School
“This dissertation offers a model for aresidential transition program for post-releasesexual offenders…It combines clinicalapproaches shown to be effective with sexualoffenders (e.g., relapse prevention, behavioraltreatment) in the context of a therapeuticcommunity and work program.”
Bush, Bernard J., S.J. (1985) “A Systems Inquiryfor Self-Renewal of a Therapeutic Community:The House of Affirmation”, PhD, SaybrookInstitute
Cardone, Tera E. (2002) “The Effectiveness of aModified Therapeutic Community Model inTreating Dual-Diagnosed Patients in an OutpatientDay Treatment Setting: A Clinical Dissertation”,DPsych, The California School of ProfessionalPsychology, San Francisco Bay Campus, AlliantInternational University
Chu, Jacqueline (1998) “Social and EnvironmentalRestoration Through Therapeutic CommunityGardens”, M.Sc., Department of EnvironmentalStudies, San Jose State University
Clark, Judith Hazlett (1988) “State mental hospitals’therapeutic processes and how they correlate witha therapeutic community: A case study of oneward”, Ed.D., School of Education, BostonUniversity
Loat, Maddy (2004) “An exploration of TC members’experience of mutual support in the Cassel Hospital“, PhD., Clinical Psychology, University CollegeLondon
Maas-DeSpain, J. (2004) “Utopianism, Resilience &
Democratic Education in the Netherlands:Emerging trends in education after over a centuryof constructivist thought and some ramificationsfor children and society” Opleiding PedagogischeWetenschappen, ISHSS/ De Amsterdamse Schoolvoor Pedagogiek en Onderwijskunde, Universiteitvan Amsterdam
McGovern, John J. (2003) “The RelationshipBetween Spirituality, Perception of God and Self-Esteem in Substance Abusing Individuals withAIDS”, PhD, New York University School ofSocial Work
“This study followed 64 residents (36 males and28 females) admitted into a modifiedtherapeutic community (TC) nursing home forsubstance abusing clients with AIDS…”
Morgen, Keith J. (2003) “Comparison of a SpeciallyTrained Therapeutic Community Drug AbuseCounseling Staff with Treatment as Usual:Evaluating Longitudinal Treatment Process inResidential and Outpatient Facilities”, PhD.,Counseling Psychology, Lehigh University
Reda, Sawsan M. (1985) “Patients’ Perception ofTheir Roles in Therapeutic Communities”, MPhil.,Manchester Polytechnic/CNAA
Gift of Dr. David Millard.
“In order to test the hypothesis thatTherapeutic Communities have no standardorganisation or principle of practice, threeresearch methods were used: non-participantobservation, semi-structured interview andexamination of the units’ records. A total samplesize of thirty-one subjects were interviewed andeight units were observed....It would seem thatTC may achieve its objectives regardless of whatprogramme is designed, as the basic principlesunderlying these programmes are similar.”
Schmidt, D.R. (2002) “An Ethnographic ProcessEvaluation of a Faith Based TherapeuticCommunity for Chemically Addicted Men”, PhD.,Trinity International University
“Many thanks, once again, we have all had a wonderful time.”
“Lovely service and food - very friendly atmosphere - thankyou! Thankyou also for being so
efficient regarding my gluten-free diet!”
“Many thanks for the good food and facilities”
Recent Visitors’ Remarks in the Visitors Book
For enquiries or to book accommodation and/or meeting facilities, contact Joanna Jansen,Conference Administrator, PETT, Barns House, Church Lane, Toddington, near Cheltenham,
Glos GL54 5DQ 01242 621200 email: [email protected]
Archive and Study CentreArchive and Study Centre22
Archive and Study CentreArchive and Study Centre
ENDOWMENT FUND UPDATE:♦ Target £500,000 ♦ In place: £64, 574.90 ♦ Still to go: £435, 425.10
The Archive and Study Centre Endowment Fund is a permanently ring-fenced fund, the capital of whichcan not be touched, and the income from which can only be used to increase the Endowment or further
the work of the Archive and Study Centre.
It is now possible to make donations to the Endowment Fund online, by credit card, either bygoing to the Archive and Study Centre web-site at http://www.pettarchiv.org.uk, or directly, to
https://www.workwithus.org/give/donate/donate.aspx?SCVOID=142803
Anyone who has ever built up anything more or lessfrom scratch knows how much work is involved; andwhere the need and the possibilities are as great asthey are in this field, it will be no surprise that therehas always been more to do in the Archive and StudyCentre than can be done. Past issues of the News-letter contain innumerable apologies from me, andthe over-workload has formed a regular part of myreports to the Trust for some time. But with the re-duction in resources which have been discussed inrecent issues, and the need to attempt to turn to ac-tive fundraising in order to be able to continue to dothe work at current levels, I think even I have been
surprised by the impact; and I am more acutely awarethan before of things not done or not being done (forwhich I can’t blame a secretary!) and people not beingseen and recorded, in particular; leaving aside all theopportunities not being taken, and the possibilities notbeing explored. This is a situation in which volun-teers have traditionally been very useful, and there ismuch that can be done, from sorting out our Surveyfiles to making back-up copies of audio and videomaterial, to simply taking a tape-recorder out thereand meeting someone who will, I guarantee, make adifference to your life. There’s also the hoovering,which I would be happy to hand over. But the mainaim of this is the apology.
An Apology from the Director/ Archivist :
23
PETT Executive Chairman John Cross hasannounced, with regret, the decision to stand downthe role of Director of the Archive and Study Centrefrom April 2005 unless outside funding can be found,explaining: “The Trust supports and is permanentlycommitted to supporting the storage, maintenance andaccessibility of the Archive and Library collectionsand will continue to fund a part-time archivist orpotentially a full-time archive position on the salaryscale of a newly qualified archivist. This will keepthe collections safe and open for use. Unfortunately,having reviewed very carefully indeed the financesand options, Trustees have reluctantly come to theconclusion that unless a substantial sum of moneycan be found from outside the Trust - we put thefigure at £25,000 per annum - the additional role ofDirector developed and currently held by Dr. CraigFees will be lost to a large extent from March 31st.Because of the enormous contribution the Director’srole has made and could continue to make both to
PETT PREPARES FOR CHANGEthe Trust and to the field, we have been urgentlyseeking help, and would welcome support in whateverform it may come. An Archive Endowment has beencreated which, if it were to reach £500,000, couldsafely generate the required income and enable otherdevelopments as well, and we are immensely cheeredby the generous contributions to the Endowment forexample from Dr. Malcolm Pines and Harry Karnac,and to the Arbours for its generous pledge. We wouldalso welcome direct contributions to the sum needed.The Director, Craig Fees, is of course seeking todevelop and secure the work of the Archive andStudy Centre through project-funding applications, butour experience to date is that grant-making bodiesprefer to support direct work with clients and training,rather than the background networking, support-for-the-workers, foundation-laying and informationservices provided by an Archive and Study Centre inthis complex and difficult field.”
During the 2003-2004 financialyear, the Archive and StudyCentre took in 71 archivalaccessions (we have taken in over70 since April 1st of this year!),made 60 oral/video historyrecordings and took in a further 20oral history recordings made byothers, and had four sets ofrecording equipment out on
continuous loan (now fewer, withthe return of Maddy Loat’s - seeelsewhere in this issue). During2003-2004 we hosted in excess of150 visitors and researchers,mounted two sets of exhibitionswith attendant CDs as part ofevents at the Conference Centrewhich we helped to organise,responded to over 150 queries by
BRIEF FACTSpost, email and phone, and, ofcourse, edited and produced threeissues of the Joint Newsletter. Wemanaged three specialised emaildiscussion groups on behalf of theCharterhouse Group, and anotherthree for the Association ofTherapeutic Communities, and therewere 48,470 visits to the web-site,for 130,078 discrete hits.
CF
1. Record of attendance and apologies forabsence
PresentRex Haigh (Out-going Chair, items 1 to 3), KevinHealy (In-coming Chair, items 4 to 9) Sarah Tucker(Secretary/minutes), Sheila Gatiss (Steering Group),Sarah Paget (Steering Group) Chris Newrith (SteeringGroup), Sandra Kelly (Steering Group), Rachel Jukes(Steering Group), Neil Palmer (Steering Group),Janine Lees (Steering Group), Anthony Slater, BrittOtt-Nillson, Ruth Schneider, Chris Holmes, KeithHyde, John Diamond, Anita Bracey, Bill Wylie, DarrenBlack, Ioulia Diakoupoulou, Inma Vidana, BeatrizSanchez, Stephanie du Fresue, John Gale, Vicky Gavin,Barbara Rawlings, Maria-Daphne Chryssicopoulous,Christine Terlidou, Tony Hornby, Linda Fenwick,Maddie Podichetty, Daniela Messerani.
ApologiesAdrian Ward (Journal Editor), Nick Manning, GaryWinship (Treasurer)
2. Minutes of 2003 AGM:Sarah Paget noted that she had been present at the2003 AGM and requested for the minutes to beamended to reflect this. No further corrections oramendments were received. It was agreed that theamended version of the minutes would be signed asa correct record.
3. Matters arising from the minutesItem 5 ‘Special Item Journal’With regards to this item Rex Haigh proposed andKevin Healy seconded a formal vote of thanks toAdrian Ward who had continued as journal editor,carefully looking after the journal for a further yearfollowing the 2003 AGM. This proposal was warmlyand fully supported.
Anthony Slater (European Federation of TherapeuticCommunities (EFTC)) noted that important and co-operative work between ATC and EFTC with respectto the journal had started during 2004 WindsorConference. He added that he looked forward tofurther co-operative work between EFTC and theCommunity of Communities.
4. Reports
Chair: This report had been circulated to themembers.
Secretary: Sarah Tucker spoke to this report whichhad been circulated to members. Kevin Healyproposed, and Jan Lees seconded, a formal vote ofthanks to Sarah Tucker, who was standing down asSecretary at this meeting after six years in this post.This proposal was warmly and fully supported.
Treasurer: Kevin Healy spoke to Gary Winship’sreport in his absence. (This report is attached asAppendix 1). The ATC’s income and expenditureaccount summary and balance sheet for 2003 werecirculated, together with an independent examiner’sreport to the Trustees of the ATC concerning theAssociation’s financial accounts for 2003 by BarryElliott. These too are attached as Appendices 2 and3.
Journal Editor: This report had not been receivedin time for this meeting. It is attached as Appendix 4.
Research Group: Kevin Healy spoke to this reportwhich had been circulated to the members.
Newsletter Editors: Kevin Healy spoke to thisreport, which had been circulated to the members.He noted how much energy Craig Fees has continuedto put in to the production of the newsletter. CraigFees had noted that he wished to stand down fromthe role of editor. Kevin Healy proposed and ChrisNewrith seconded a formal vote of thanks to CraigFees. This was warmly and fully supported. KevinHealy thanked Chris Nicholson for his continuedinterest in the newsletter despite moving on from CHG.
Training Group: No report had been prepared. SarahPaget noted that Alan Worthington had stood downas convenor of this working group and that the grouphad since not met. She noted the importance for theSteering Group to find a new convenor for this group.The possibility of joint projects between ATC and EFTCas well as the Community of Communities werediscussed.
User’s Group: Kevin Healy spoke to this reportwhich had been circulated. It was noted that YolandeHadden and John Broad (ex-service users) were sadlystanding down from the Steering Group and adiscussion followed concerning ways in which to
ASSOCIATION OF THERAPEUTIC COMMUNITIESANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
8 September 2004at Cumberland Lodge, Windsor Great Park, 2.00 p.m.
Sarah Tucker, Hon. Secretary
Minutes (to be confirmed at AGM 2005)Association of Therapeutic CommunitiesAssociation of Therapeutic Communities24
It has been an interesting year, and a particularlyenjoyable one, and time has flown by. TheCharterhouse Group has experienced difficulties overrecent years with changes in personnel, including theretirement of the Chair of Trustees. 2003 thereforesaw both a new Director and a new Chair of Trustees,D’Arcy Myers. It has certainly allowed theorganisation to take a long hard look at itself, andtogether we have now drawn up a new business plan,with activity to take Charterhouse, and its members,forward over the next three years.
The year has provided me with the opportunity tomeet and visit the membership and see for myselfthe tremendous work that goes on in each of thecommunities with children whose early life experiencesare full of neglect and emotional pain. The energyand warmth within these communities is tangible.
The focus groups - Care & Treatment, Education andTraining - continue providing a forum for discussionand peer support. The Standards Group continues,and Charterhouse has now almost completed its trialappraisal process using workbooks to our own ValueAdded Standards, with support from the Communityof Communities. This piece of work will continueinto 2005 with all members having the opportunity totake part in the appraisal process, and I look forwardto the continuing relationship with the Community ofCommunities team, as we take this very valuableaspect of the work forward.
The Research Project has, thanks to sterling work onthe part of Keith Coulston, been drawn together, anda proposal put to the Community Fund. With greatanticipation we await their decision, due in early 2005.This is an immensely important piece of work, thepotential beneficiaries of which are many, not leastthe children and young people, staff, the CharterhouseGroup member organisations, commissioners andpolicy makers. The PROM III database has beencompleted and is now available to all members via aCD ROM. This will not only provide the informationto support the research but also provides a usefulmarketing tool for members.
Joint working with ATC and PETT within the TaskForce to look at commissioning protocols andhighlighting the work of TCs has begun. The threeorganisations each have pressures of their own, notleast the production of this newsletter, but
opportunities for joint working and mutual support willbe explored at a meeting to be held in November.
As part of a wider piece of work within theDepartment of Health on the mental health needs ofLooked After Children, Charterhouse has been askedto undertake a piece of work for quality assuranceand guidelines for CAMHS (Child and AdolescentMental Health Service) commissioners of children’sresidential care, another important piece of workwhich sits well with the Task Force initiative. Wehope to be able to work in partnership with the RoyalCollege of Psychiatrists Research Unit and will beseeking funding streams to support this work.
Charterhouse continues to work in partnership andliaise with several organisations - NCVCCO, NCB,Young Minds, APSA - both to the benefit of ourmembers and also the residential sector. Given thepressure on the residential sector as a whole, theserelationships and opportunities for joint working areessential.
The year has also seen what has been described bygovernment as ‘the biggest shake up of children’sservices’. We have seen ‘Every Child Matters’, ‘EveryChild Matters: Next Steps’, The Children Bill,‘Removing Barriers to Achievement’, ‘A bettereducation for children in Care’ etc., etc., together withnew frameworks for inspection by Ofsted and thecontinuing pressures of other regulatory bodies, mostnotably CSCI and Health & Safety Executive.Therapeutic communities operate within an ever-increasing regulatory framework, with policies thatseem to marginalise residential care as a placementof choice. The Charterhouse Group continues to lobbyon behalf of our members in support of qualityresidential care and education. All too often, in themidst of all of these pressures, it can seem that thechildren, and their own very special needs, areforgotten by those same policy makers who professto want to ‘make things better’. It is all of ourresponsibilities to continually highlight the needs ofthese, so often forgotten and poorly understood, groupof children and young people.
A busy year, and an even busier time ahead asCharterhouse seeks to finance this level of activityand fulfil its aims as set out in the new business plan.I look forward to the challenge that this presents; andalso reading this newsletter, which has a habit offocusing the mind when bureaucratic processesimpinge on your workload. I am particularly remindedof the article from the Mulberry Bush School, ‘Takethree boys, lots of puddles and a plentiful supply ofhot chocolate and hob-nobs’ (Joint Newsletter 6,2002). I wonder if policy makers can puddle jump!
From the New Director –“ONE YEAR ON”
Jane Barnard
SpecialSection: The Charterhouse Group of
Therapeutic Communities
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Why is it that the communal way of life is in a verystrong position to offer the best conditions for thecreation of a developing, holistic, educative and healingenvironment? Why has it been impossible successfullyto create such an environment in the vast majority ofour childrens’ homes?
As our civilisation develops, popular perceptions shift,and there is a change in the generally accepted viewabout how best to bring up children. The new era,mercifully, does not require us to churn out bland, law-abiding citizens, who are simply component parts ofa society based on the once necessary disciplinesrequired for a mass production society and a stiflingideological construct. When we, in our community,Kitezh, are engaged in providing a child with aneducation, a family upbringing and therapeutictreatment, our ultimate aim is to allow them to discovertheir true calling, to facilitate the process of self-realisation within a rapidly developing civilisation. Amicro social system such as we have here based ona communal way of life requires a young personconsciously to make decisions about what is rightand what is wrong.
Notwithstanding our status as a residential communitywe have a duty to our children to relate realisticallywith the wider community for even in the Russia oftoday our children still have to learn to survive!
Having outlived their traditional function, children’shomes have now fallen out of favour in many countries.It is only in our country, Russia, that, with amisdirected persistence, we continue to place allchildren who have been left without parental care instate institutions. Moreover, it is illegal to separatesiblings, and therefore everyone is treated in exactlythe same way: no distinction is made between thosewho have talent and those who are simply incapableof development or between those who have alreadyturned to crime and substance abuse and those wholove to read. The system does not treat people asindividuals!
KITEZH CHILDREN’S COMMUNITY, RUSSIA
But if the care system for homeless children in Russiawere to be based entirely on fostering and adoption,could the foster or adoptive family take the place ofthe children’s home, and would it be equipped to copewith all the challenges involved? Our experience ofworking with foster families in the KaluzhskayaRegion shows that this form of care has its ownshortcomings. Functioning in isolation, without thesupport of a developed social structure, the fosterfamily cannot cope with all the problems that arise.Too much depends on ‘external factors’, such as theenvironment in which the family live, the school whichthe children attend, the friends which the childrenmake locally, and indeed the extent to which the fosterparents understand basic psychology.
If a child is to start to come to terms with having beenabandoned, there is a need not only for anappropriately skilled psychologist (of which there arenot nearly enough in Russia) but also for foster parentswho can demonstrate a capacity for the task and havethemselves received special training in aspects ofpsychology. It is already well known that thedevelopment of a well-rounded individual is a complex,multifaceted process. Whether we like it or not, thechild will in a free and largely unpredictable mannerdraw information and indeed his whole life experiencefrom his environment. When a child is growing up heis influenced by a million unpredictable environmentalfactors that often defy rational analysis.
For there to be a happy outcome an abandoned childor ‘orphan’ in our terminology, must be provided witha positive holistic world that can stimulate hisunimpeded development in accordance with hisinstincts, provide for his effective rehabilitation andadaptation, and ultimately accelerate the pace ofdevelopment so that the child can ‘catch up’. It is thisholistic world that can provide the starting point fortherapeutic treatment and the foundation on whichthe more positive and constructive components ofpersonality can form allowing the development of a
The Kitezh Children’s Communitywas founded ten years ago byDr Dmitry Morozov. It is avillage community of supportedfoster families providingeducation to university entry orvocational training courses.Plans are now advanced for theconstruction of a secondcommunity closer to Moscowand much of the pioneering spiritfor this development comes from
the older students of Kitezh whoare now involved with DmitryMorozov in the [email protected]
Much support for Kitezh is nowcoming from both Russians andex patriots in Moscow and fromthe Ecologia Trust in Scotlandwhich over several years hassought funding for professionaltraining and development [email protected]
The consultant assisting Kitezhin its move towards becoming atherapeutic community is DavidDean OBE, founder of RadderySchool in Scotland and itsPrincipal from 1978 to 1995.David served for a period as vicechairman of Charterhouse andnow works to promote effectivetherapeutic environments inRussia, Romania and [email protected]
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child’s ability to reason, to question, to appreciate, towork and to love.
It goes without saying that the work required goesbeyond that which can be accomplished by a familyalone. As children draw the information that eitherconfirms or refutes their new experience from allpossible sources, it is imperative to coordinateprofessionally the efforts of the family, teachers,medics and in fact everyone who has contact withthe orphan child. This is why we believe that atherapeutic community offers by far the best solutionto the problem of housing, educating and nurturingorphan children.
Selection process for children who join fosterfamilies in Kitezh:
The orphanages provide children with the basics offood, clothing and shelter but they do nothing tomotivate them to study or develop themselves. Themost disadvantaged children in an ordinary orphanageare those who are bright and intelligent but who haveno opportunity to realise their potential through thissystem. They are not encouraged in their schoolworkand are often stigmatised at school because they comefrom an orphanage. Once a child turns 18, theorphanage is no longer responsible for nor interestedin the children, and they are cast out into the worldwith no real possibility for further education or skillstraining.
Kitezh aims to select children who can most benefitfrom living in Kitezh. The criteria for selectingchildren for Kitezh are: 1) do they want to come andb) are they eager to study.
Kitezh staff liaise with local social workers aboutwhich orphanages to visit and find out from the staffwhich children would benefit most from coming toKitezh. Over the years Kitezh has developed goodrelationships with the administrators of localorphanages although some are reluctant to releasechildren from their institutions into foster family carefor financial reasons.
A member of staff trained in Art and Play Therapygoes to the orphanages to meet the children in apreliminary assessment. She asks them to drawpictures that reveal information about their innerworld, their ability to relate and the level of attachmentthey had to their parents when they were very young.
Then arrangements are made for selected childrento visit Kitezh for a few weeks to give them theopportunity to find out what it means to live in thecommunity. When a child asks to stay in Kitezh, the
As International Associate members of theCharterhouse Group of Therapeutic Communities weat Kitezh appreciate the value of this community ofcommunities by which we have been embraced. Wewill, of course, develop our programmes within thecontext of our own culture and, at the same time,welcome constructive thinking from otherpractitioners and forums.
The main objective of Kitezh is to helpchildren establish a new view of the worldthat is based on goodness and reason.
Extract from Guide for Foster Families by Kitezh founder Dmitry Morozov,published in Russia in October 2004:
choice of family depends on which adults the childforms an attachment to, which families have spaceand the ages of the other children in the family. It isnot a good idea to have children of the same agewith the same needs in one family. If their legaldocumentation allows them to be released into fostercare, they may do so. To acquire permission fromliving relatives and even a birth certificate can take along time. Kitezh also runs annual summer campsfor groups of children from local orphanages and someof these children ask to stay.
Integration and Therapeutic Developmentprocess:
The daily schedule is structured and very full whichhelps the children integrate into community life. Theyhave no time to be bored or to revert to their previousbad habits. The children have lessons in school untillunchtime, at two o’clock. Then there is an hour ofwork in the community (chopping wood, helping inthe kitchen etc), followed by homework, playrehearsals, children’s meetings and other activities.Half an hour before bedtime there is family time fortea and sharing. Some evenings the children watchfilms or cartoons that demonstrate positive values.Every Saturday night there is a disco that goes onlong after most adults can stay awake!
Much time is spent in rehearsals for plays. There aremany celebrations that provide great opportunities toput on theatrical performances. But these are notjust entertainments as they have a therapeuticpurpose. The children learn to express themselvescreatively in a cooperative situation and the applauseand approval they receive builds confidence and self-esteem. We have observed significant changes inchildren as a result of playing major roles inproductions such as Jesus Christ Superstar, My FairLady, and Romeo and Juliet.
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Mama, Papa, stay awhile at the lakeside,Look together in the still water,Overhung with the trees of Spring,And answer me.
See, here, at this spot by the landing stage.There is none of the angry green weed,To cloud our understanding.
First me: I have to be first,If not, in my impatience and fragility,My broken ego and constant worry,I will not last the day.
Hold my hand tight,Are you really there for me,To help me distinguish fact from fiction,In my sad, tortured baggage of a life,Before finding you ?
Can I trust even you ?What if you drowned ?What if I died ?Do you love Natasha’s children more thanme,Or perhaps the cat ?
Will you go away again,And not take me,To far off Volga, Caucasus or Tomsk,Not to return when I need you ?
Would you know even of my fears ?Irrational you say ?You could be in the Kitezh fields,And never know, of course.Across the table from me,And yet so far away.
It happened only last week,When I wept and howled by the pond,In the wood where I prayed no-one,Would hear or see.
Irina heard and comforted me then,But it was not you,It was not you,It has to be you.
I am safe from the wild womenOf Kaluga who whipped my feet,For daring to speak in the Quiet Hour.That terror and humiliation is gone.
Though I dream still and sweat,And think what might have been.
Our neighbour’s garden is beautiful Papa,Lilac and pretty flowers guard his door,And his mind.Is there no way in Mama ?
Or should I pass him by,And look for greeting, warmth,Laughter and neighbourlinessFrom the next house ?
Tell me Mama,You all confuse me with your quarrelsYou are distanced from each other,As if on different planets,
You cling to your space ships,Of what you call, ‘your experience’,Fondly imagining it answers,What I fear, feel, need or hope for.
Sometimes I despair for you,As well as me.Yet in that despair, remember‘Mother is the School’ the Prophet said,And, ‘Heaven lies at the Mother’s feet.’
Blessings be upon his name,And may my God go with me.You and ‘Mama Kitezh’ are my school,My life, my hope,
I challenge you to the core of your being,I know it,Though your love is as a human echo,Of God’s presence in me.
Nothing else matters, Mama, Papa,When the cool breeze of pure love,Overcomes all your burdens,And you reach out to me.
Can I ask these of you,Mama, Papa, Kitezh ?
“ Come child, let us return,We will answer you not in written papers,Or in words, but in our deeds.
CHILD AT THE LAKESIDEDavid Dean May 2001
A poem by consultant David Dean, written forKitezh while he was in residence there in 2001.
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Community Structures that support thetherapeutic process:
The Pedagogic Council: made up of teachers,psychologists and mentors who meet daily to discusseducation issues. It may have the same function asone part of the weekly Community Meeting or theAwareness Meetings by bringing in a child who hasmisbehaved in some way to discuss the problem withhim or her and to devise a form of compensation forthe misdemeanour. Punishment is a concept that wetry to avoid. A foster parent may also attend to discussa problem with a particular child and together solutionsare devised.
The Small Council: Three older children are electedby the other children to form the ‘Small Council’.They are responsible for organising practical activitiesfor all the children including managing homework time,community work and social activities.
The Community Meeting: every Sunday night allchildren and adults meet for one hour. The pattern ofthe meeting is based on the original work of the familytherapist, Virginia Satir which was developed atRaddery School in Scotland over 17 years and underthe direction of David Dean to provide an appropriateformat for their weekly Community Meetings. Here,as at Raddery, following ordinary community notices,the children and adults together set the agenda andraise issues that concern them. Everyone is free tocomment and a resolution is reached with commonagreement. This is followed by a round of hopes andexpectations and closes with a round of appreciations.
The Game: “I create my own world”
An interesting and demanding therapeutic ‘Game’ hasbeen developed at Kitezh that involves all children.The Game provides a structure for the integration ofnew children and at the same time a motivating forcefor all children for self-evaluation to improve theirbehaviour and levels of achievement. Although nochild is compelled to join the Game, they all want tobecause it is important for them to be a part ofeverything and to belong.
The Game is guided by the older teenagers and youngadult teachers who are known as Custodians. Thechildren divide into different levels according to theirlevel of responsibility within the group. They weardifferent coloured badges to indicate their level. Eachlevel has specific themes to work on and the childrenset their own goals within each level. All newcomersstart out as ‘babies’ or ‘Pupsiky’. Once they haveachieved some simple aims such as being wellbehaved in their family or studying well, they arepromoted to ‘Pupil’. Here the aims are more stringent:truthfulness and sincerity, to create beauty andharmony, be willing to listen to criticism and change
their behaviour for the better, to develop gratitudeand patience. The next stage is ‘Mentor’ where theytake this role to a younger child. The final stage is‘Custodian’ where they become caretakers of thespirit and values of Kitezh. If a child seriously errshe or she may revert to ‘Pupsik’ and start all overagain.
Small groups of foster parents and their children meetwith their Custodian weekly. There each child makesspecific goals for him or herself that can be achievedin 1-2 weeks, and discusses their progress with theircurrent goal. The parents may comment and togetherthey decide whether the child is ready to progress toa new goal and a new level. On the wall in eachfamily home are charts where the children mark uptheir own progress every day. Some parents also setgoals and mark up their progress. Goals may rangefrom a commitment to listen to mother, to interactmore with others or not to smoke cigarettes.
When the Small Group agrees that a child hasachieved his or her goals for the first level, thePedagogical Council is consulted. If all teachersagree, then it is announced at the weekly CommunityMeeting and the child receives a round of applausefrom everyone and a new badge. It is a specialachievement.
The Awareness Meeting: The children also meettogether for an Awareness Meeting twice a week.These meetings complement the weekly CommunityMeeting. One of the three elected members of theSmall Council leads the meeting and Mentors andCustodians attend. Each child is invited to share whathas happened that day or that week, what wasinteresting and successful. It is also a time to discussdifficulties in the open. Then they give appreciationsto those who have done well. This group is beneficialfor the children because it gives them a structureand a place where they can support each other.
What happens when someone behaves badly? Thechildren manage it themselves in the group. A problemfor one member becomes a problem for the group.For example, one day the blackboard had beenslashed. Masha Pichugina, 17 yrs and the head ofthe Small Council, announced this at the nextAwareness Meeting. She said, “Somebody destroyedthe blackboard. This is a pity because it cost a lot ofmoney. It is also a pity because it is our blackboardand we use it all the time. If someone is responsiblewill they say?”
Two boys admitted to it.
“Why did you do that?” asked Masha
“I was so angry.” One of them explained. “I wantedto go to town and I wasn’t allowed. I wanted todestroy something.”
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“How do you feel about it now?”
“I understand it was stupid.”
“Next time you are angry, what will you do? Theymight need help with this everyone. Make somesuggestions.”
Instead of shaming and blaming, the children try tothink of constructive ways to channel this kind ofenergy. Nevertheless, it is understood that the boysdid destroy something valuable and they must makecompensation. For example, instead of the usual onehour of work on the farm which we all do, they shouldwork four hours for a couple of days. Better still, thechild in question may offer to undertake an appropriatecompensation for his misdemeanour. In this way theyare encouraged to take responsibility for their actions.
Mentors’ meetings each week discuss withMentors, Custodians and teachers how best torespond to the behaviour of the children: who needsappreciation, and who needs more effectivemanagement. Appreciation is most important:recognition for all successes, however small, mustbe acknowledged. This encourages the children tocontinue to succeed.
This complex, time-consuming yet valuable structureprovides support for the children to learn how tostrengthen their will and develop positive behaviourpatterns; it provides support for the foster parents inthat they are not alone in their work to rehabilitatetheir children; and it reinforces the day by dayconcentration on therapeutic education for all children.It also demands of the adults that they, too, areengaged in the process of inner development as they
“Many of the changes in ourtherapeutic work with childrencame about as a result of ourcontact with The CharterhouseGroup of therapeutic communitiesand especially the Mulberry BushSchool and Cotswold Community.While, given the differences in our
support their children to grow and change. Without acommunity structure for the foster families it isdifficult to imagine how this could be achieved.
David Dean and Valya Kanukhina
Valya visited Scotland this year to engage infirst stage community leadership training at theFindhorn Foundation, but took time off to visitDavid and Valery Dean at their home in theCairngorms.
Valya came to live in Kitezh when she was 11 yearsold. She had lived in an orphanage in Kaluga, andused all her determination to persuade the authoritiesand her grandmother to allow her to join theLukyanov’s family in Kitezh. Valya is a bright shininglight, and by far the best English student in Kitezh.In spite of this, she struggles with self confidence.Her poem (Backpage - eds.) expresses somethingof her yearning to regain the self that she lost as asmall abandoned child, with the help of her peersand the loving care of the adults around her.
cultural and historicalbackgrounds, it is not possible totransfer directly the experienceof those schools to Kitezh, themodel we saw practiced in eachserved as an example andinspiration for the setting up of thevarious programmes of
Following his visit to Britain last year Sergey Khlopenov, now the leader atKitezh, writes :-
therapeutic care in our community.
We are grateful to TheCharterhouse Group and inparticular to John Diamond of TheBush and David Dean, ourconsultant, for their support andinspiration.”
“Rosie Johnston, a Mulberry staff member, firstbrought her golden retriever, Muskoka, into schoolwhen he was just nine weeks old. That was threeyears ago. Muskoka is both a reward for goodbehaviour and fine work - children are selected towalk him - and a calming influence.
Muskoka even plays his part in literacy lessons.Children at the Mulberry Bush can be too shy to readto adults. So they read to Muskoka. “They are less
From: “Buying a dog for a school isn’t a barking mad idea” Mary Braid, Sunday Times, February1, 2004 [ with photo: “Children enjoy reading to Muskoka the golden retriever at Mulberry Bush school.”]
worried about making mistakes when they read tohim,” says Johnston.
Psychologist Dr Deborah Wells from Queen’sUniversity, Belfast specialises in animal-humaninteraction and is not at all surprised about the claimsmade for Muskoka. She believes the key is that dogsoffer humans unconditional love. And that cheers upadults and children...”
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I attended the Mulberry Bush. I am sure none of thestaff I knew are still in attendance (after 20 somethingyears) and the School has undoubtedly changeddramatically. When John Armstrong was headmasterthere he had the practice of reading letters to thechildren from people who had left. Here’s mycontribution.
I will never forget the life there and the profoundimpact it had on my life. The love of one teacher inparticular who would read me the Lord of the Ringsin our “special time”. I was one of the moreproblematic of 36 children as I remember it, who outof a possible seven big nights (being allowed to stayup later) managed to garner one.
That was an achievement unto itself.
At three and a half I witnessed my mother beat mysister to death. I was sexually abused by my aunt,though I never told anyone. Later I would enduresome of the worst physical abuse describable.
I think about the other children of the school and thelives that bring them there. Kids whose only crime
“I have been wanting to say that for a long time...”email from an ex-pupil to the Mulberry Bush School, 17 February 2003
was to be born to parents or situations that were atthe very least toxic. But life has a way of turning toroses.
Today I am happily married, living in the USA withtwo beautiful children. I am a published author and asuccessful programmer. As you can imagine, this isa dream come true that I am sure people at the Bushwould appreciate.
Those of us who survived the brutality of the pastwill never forget it, but we can rise above it. If Icould give the children of my old school a piece ofadvice it would simply be to have a little hope. Lifehas so many surprises and no matter how bad it seemsthings have a way of making things work out for thebetter.
Sitting under the big tree in front of the School withpeople whose names are lost to time, they could neverhave realized the difference they made.
Anyway, I have been wanting to say that for a longtime.
Little Acorns is set in spacioussurroundings in Tenterden in theheart of rural Kent.Interestingly, from a historicalpoint of view, Tenterden is themarket town where GeorgeLyward set up one of the firstchildren’s therapeuticcommunities, Finchden Manor,now sadly closed. As is wellknown, Lyward was committed tothe ethos and philosophy ofnurturing care and what hecalled ‘firm love’. In many waysLittle Acorns continues in thistradition. We attempt to providea safe, nurturing, playful,boundaried and stimulatingenvironment for children whoreside here. Many of the childrenhave suffered severe neglect,deprivation and trauma in theirlives. We are not so utopian asto believe we can put all thesechildren’s inner wrongs right, yetby the adults providing the egostrength to support the fragile
and often damaged inner coreself of the child, we feel it maybe possible to revitalise thehealthy strivings andfunctioning parts of the childthat have been waylaid or lostsight of. In time, this can allowthe forward movement necessaryto help the child become moreresilient and robust and cope alittle better with previous failedattachment difficulties.
At Little Acorns the wholeorganisation works as one toemotionally hold together theattachment disorganisation ofthe child. In this work we sharetogether the lonely andunbearable feelings that thechildren prior to coming to LittleAcorns have often had to endureon their own, and it is by carefulpreoccupation and an holisticapproach to all aspects of thechild’s quality of life and wellbeing, and by encouraging full
and appropriate positiveparticipation in our residentialhousehold and school, that webelieve that the children areoffered a strong sense ofattachment and belonging, inmany cases for the first time intheir lives.
Support in this work is essential.We have many forums to supportthe individual worker ,and thestaff team as a whole, in thetherapeutic task. Our ownsupport and sense of belongingand purpose is widened by ourparticipation in theCharterhouse Group ofTherapeutic Communities. Eachcommunity is of course distinctand unique in itself, but all havethe core beliefs, value system andstandards which we feel are vitaland necessary if a child is to gaina playful existence and authenticattachment in the world.
LITTLE ACORNS, KentKevin Polley and Chris Hayman
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My favourite place
I open my eyes, its 9:30 am I feel like I am in a heavenlydream, I turn to my left and I’ve got a mini bar laden withalcoholic beverages, all the little bottles are in their own neat
and tidy little slots.Turning to my right I can see for miles along the beach, the
dazzling water is a peculiar mix between blue andturquoise, it’s making a nice relaxing gushing sound
against the sparkling white sand.Close by I hear the dulcet tones of mumbling people and
singing birds.Eventually I manage to drag my self-free from the evil
clutches of my king size luxury fluffy bed.I step out of bed on to my floor, its warm because the sun
has been shining through my patio windows and door.I slip on my robe it feels lovely and soft like a new towel and
smells of a tropical washing powder.I walk over to my patio, slide open my doors and the breezehits me. It is really refreshing I step out on to my balconyI can see the palm trees swishing and waving in the breeze.I go and have a bath, when I have finished I feel recharged
and ready for my adventures to begin. So off I go to take insome of the scenery. The hotel I’m staying at has brilliantservice, the staff that work here are so friendly smiling atyou, asking if you are enjoying your stay, it’s so lovely
here.I’m outside now it’s really hot. I still can’t believe I’mactually here there is so many shops here I don’t know
where to start.I’ll just go to the beach. I’ve got my sun cream, towel,sunglasses what else could I ask for? I know a gorgeous
hunk and a pina colada!I’m sitting at the beach and a hammock catches my eye.
I slowly climb into my hammock swaying in the breeze. I’mlaying here whilst the swaying movement rocks me to sleep I
feel like a baby in a cradle again.Deep in my sleep I was having a really present dream when
I was disgusted bybeing rudely awoken by the annoying sound of chop, chop,
chopping of coconuts loudly seaming close by every time acoconut drops on the ground the sound goes straight
through me I’ve gone from being so relaxed to so tenseperhaps paradise isn’t perfect after all!!!
To calm myself down I go for a walk along the beach, thesand slowly seeps through my toes it feels like an
exfoliating wash on my feet. My feet feel all tingly it’slovely.
I’m feeling a bot peckish. I decide to go for something toeat, I can see a little restaurant in the distance I’ll stop for
a bit to eat.As I sit down I look around,
Jacques Hall student’smeditation on...
FriendshipYou are being a friend if you…
:) Compliment someone or say somethingkind
:) Include someone in your game orconversation
:) Think about someone’s feelings:) Give someone a hug:) Tell others nice things about someone:) Apologise when you upset or hurt someone:) Make someone smile:) Help someone:) Share:) Make someone feel good:) Encourage someone who is struggling
Everyone deserves friends. Treat others likeyou would like to be treated yourself.
If you see someone being a friend, encouragethem and tell others.
From The [Mulberry] Bush Telegraph 13:Autumn 2004
Jacques Hall:Student’s responses after
studying Silas Marner to thequestion what makes a good
father?In my opinion a good father is someone whospends time with you doing things that you enjoy.He might help you when you’re in trouble, talkingand giving advice. I also think a good father issomeone who punishes you when you dosomething wrong, but not physically beat you. Agood father treats you with respect....
By Daniel
I think a good father loves you; a good fathershould show how he feels about you and not justpretend that he cares. A good father should providethings like clothes, food and somewhere to livebut not spoil you....
By Becky
My dream dad would be respectful to me, kind tome, give me discipline when I needed it and carefor me!
By Craig
My opinion of a good father is someone whoshould care about their child all the time and not
just when it suited them.... He should try hisbest to make you feel special all the time...
Anyone can be a biological sperm donor but ittakes someone special to be called a father.
By Steph
32
I can see people swimming and scuba diving I might give ita go my self tomorrow! There’s not much noise and it smells
of really strong spices and fruit all mixed together.The menu is really peculiar the names of the meals are all inforeign writing I try to pretend I’m smart but just as I wasgetting the hang of it a really good looking waiter comes over
to me and says “Are you ready to order?” My mind wentblank, he said “I couldn’t read the menu7 when I first got
here either I’ll help you if you want?” My heart isthudding I’m so embarrassed. Big deep breath I was
thinking to my self and said, “What would yourecommend?” He replied, “Actually, I finish in five
minutes, I know a really good pizza place f you wouldlike?” I answered rudely and quite shocked, “I’m ever so
sorry, but I’m not hungry anymore.”I decided to go for a wander around the shops to see what
souvenirs I can get my friends. The tourist shops aredifferent compared to the local shops that people who
live on the island use. I don’t buy anything in the shops.Because I feel so restless I start to wander back to my
hotel, I see an ice-cream man selling really huge ice-creamscovered in whatever toppings you want. For example nuts,strawberry syrup and lots more. My mouth was watering
I was spoilt for choice. Eventually I bought one coveredwith nuts, sticky chocolate syrup and a flake, yum yum!
I carry on my walk to my hotel it’s so hot, the sun is reallybeaming. I applied some more sun cream it smells of mintand it feels like a blanket of protective bliss shading my
delicate fair skin.As I walk back into the hotel the cold air blasts into myface, it sends a shiver down my spine I see a notice board
saying what there is to do. There’s so many things to do likescuba diving, water ski-ing, conoeing, white water rafting.
Well that’s the active thing to do!I think I will settle for something a bit more relaxing like afacial massage or maybe push the boat out, and hve a facial
and a manicure and a pedicure! I’ll feel like a ravishingtransformed sophisticated young lady and then maybe I
will even go to the ball in the main hall. Lose my shoe andmy prince charming might return it. That’s never going to
happen but we can all hope can’t we? Any way nevermind my fantasies! I’ve got to book my appointment, thepolite receptionist said. “I’ve had a cancellation, so I canfit you in now, if you would like?” Of course I would like
to, wouldn’t you?As I walk through to the massage parlour the lady asks me
to put on a robe, as I lay down on the bed when the ladystarts applying oils on to my face they smell really strongand tasty (best not eat it I’ll have a sore stomach) she then
starts rubbing the old in to my face with small circularmovements, it makes me feel really sleepy. They’re playingsome relaxing music. I’m really tired now, the lady startspampering my nails she soaks them in some bubbly warmwater whilst soaking my feel in a foot spa. As she pattedmy finger tips dry she then asked me, “What colour nail
Jacques hall -
WITCHES’ STEW - THE NIGHT
I FELL IN LOVE WITH YOU.
Eye of newt
You’re so cute
Lizards leg
For your loving I would beg
Tooth of wolf
Come fly north
Poisonous sweat
I will remember this night we met, we ate………
Tongue of dog
Walking through patches of fog
Adders fork
I wrote your name in chalk on my walls,
And also blind worms sting
I wrote you had dat ding a ling ling.
Toe of frog
I liked the snog
Root of hemlock
I heard the clock go tick tock
Witches mummy
My mouths gone runny
Fillet of a fenny snake
We walked down a lake
Young owls wing
I love the way you do dat ting
Scale of dragon
Lets go cruising in my wagon
Poisoned entrails
I hear our wedding bells
Wool of bat
DIS IS MY RAP
Grace
We get lots of opportunities to play chess. Sometimes
we get to play against the staff and we also play
against each other. It is very close between the lads.
We have this paved area marked on the patio, which the
lads and the staff play on.
For some weekend activities we go out to Cambridge to
go shopping for clothes and food and to go to the
cinema. We also go to Haverhill. Some evenings we go
to the theatre, snooker, bowling or banger racing.
Some of the other games we play are darts, backgammon,
cricket, boulle, rugby and lots of different board
games.- Glebe House
33
varnish would you like Maam?” I opted for the clear oneand then have little silver gems put on like a flower. Shestarted coating my nails it’s a really weird sensation, it
feels cold and wet but silky and soft. She then does more orless the same to my feet but she files my toe nails, this isprobably the worst bit it feels like walking on sandpaper.am all done now! I somehow manage to find the strengthclimb off the bed, to walk to my room. It seems absolutely
miles away, but it’s only five minutes in reality.I’m now in my room and I notice that the sun has just
started to set. I pour myself out a glass of orange juice andsit out on my patio, watching the sunset take place as the
sky lights up like a big ball of fire, at last the day isdrawing to a close. I feel relaxed! The sky is beautiful, itlooks like somebody has gone mad with a paint brush and
blended the brightest shades of orange pink and yellowthat you will ever see! I love the way that it reflects ontothe water, the way that the colours all submerge into one tomake a whole sun. As the sun set starts to fade away I can
slowly feel my eyes drooping as I mooch off to bed Iwonder where I will go in my dream?
Nowhere as special as here!!!
Drinking the FutureBy Jade of Jacques
Scale of dragonAdders forkPut them together and you’ll make someone talkToe of frogWool of batHelp the witches they’re making a rapRoot of hemlockFillet of fenny snakeDon’t put them together you’ll make a cakePoisoned entrailsPoisonous sweatI hope you won’t start to fret!!Eye of newtNewt of eyeDon’t kiss the girls you’ll make them cryWitches mummyYoung owls wingMake the poisoned potion and give it a spinTongue of dogTooth of wolfBoil them together you’ll make a dwarfLizard’s legBlindworms stingHappy endings will soon begin.
We have got two bird feeders and one bird table. We have
lots of fin the pond. Sometimes there are frogs and
toads. We clear weeds and sometimes we have to fill the
pond. We enjoy working with wildlife in their habitats.
Once a year we have an adventure week. I went pot-holing
through three caves, built a dam in a river and abseiled
down a cliff.
Car driving is to help lads know how to drive a car and
what it is like learning to drive on the road. We have
our own car track to drive on and if it gets too wet we
learn to drive sitting in a parked car. Sometimes staff
give us their old cars.
The workshop is a place where the lads can build things
like shelves and computer desks and we can also learn
plumbing. We use tools like mitre saws, drills, hammers
and electric screwdrivers. Safety when using tools is
important.
Adult education happens once a week on a Friday.
Residents get help with English, Maths and I.C.T. We
find the help really beneficial and the workload is
not too heavy as you can work for half the day. There are
test to get qualifications which help with getting a job
and higher pay.
We have Disco equipment that sits in the theatre nearly
all the time. The only time it comes out of the theatre is
when we have a pantomime, and the Disco equipment will
go over to the main lounge and after the pantomime we
have a Disco.
Glebe lads:
Glebe House
Every year the Film Group works to make a film to show
during the Christmas celebrations. During the making
of the film we go out to different places such as the
seaside and London. Sometimes we need to wear make-up
and costumes. We all think that the Film Group is
brilliant and everyone loves watching the finished
film.
It’s fun working with our gardener because he makes us
laugh. We call him ‘Shorts’ because he always wears
shorts. We do digging, planting bulbs and seeds,
watering flowers and cutting the grass. Sometimes I
drive the tractor.
On a Wednesday we have a trainer who comes in and
teaches us all the different skills in football. And
at the end of most sessions we play a match, apart from
that we play a game of football most evenings with the
members of staff working that night. We also sometimes
play against a youth team and we all really enjoy it.
On 7th of December the staff and lads at Glebe House
performed the story of Aladdin. It was my job to do the
lights and sound for the show. At 7.00 pm the lights
went down (except on the stage) for Dave Fox to tell
everyone about the show. When Dave had finished I
continued to do the lights for the whole panto. It
went very well and some was funny and some was sad but I
really enjoyed myself.
34
Being an adult in a children’s therapeuticcommunity can sometimes be a lonely existence,and it perhaps becomes more lonely as you becomemore senior in the organisation. This has certainlybeen my experience of working at the CotswoldCommunity over the last nine years, which hasresulted in my becoming Head of Group Living.When Craig asked for contributions fromCharterhouse Group members I thought long andhard about what we might offer. There have beennumerous significant changes here over the last12 months and more; there have been significantpositive events involving the boys; there is the farmto talk about. However, I felt it would be a goodspace to talk briefly about the Charterhouse Groupand the support it offers.
I have been attending meetings at the CharterhouseGroup for a couple of years now and have alwaysenjoyed my visits to London. Recently, the Care& Treatment group decided to hold the meetingsat the various Communities, rather than StationHouse. This was designed to give attendees theopportunity to visit different Communities, developan understanding of them and to allow those whodon’t live so close to London an even chance ofbeing able to attend. The first two objectives havebeen met in my opinion. Interestingly, though, thesame people seem to turn-up. The first meetingaway from Station House was at CumberlowCommunity so it was perhaps no surprise as it’s inSouth London. The next, however, was held atThornbrae in Northumberland. Those of us whotravelled all flew from Stansted and so had a fullday. The opportunity to spend 13-14 hours in thecompany of others in a similar job to yourself maysound daunting but I found it a thoroughlystimulating and something that provided me withso many ideas for work at the CotswoldCommunity. The formal discussions we had werehugely beneficial, as were the informal ones in thecars and on the plane. I have also recently spentthe day at The Mulberry Bush School as part ofthe Peer Audit and similarly found the experienceinvaluable.
Why then, don’t more Communities join in? Weare all busy people and can barely afford the timeto attend but the benefits outweigh this. Also, wedon’t have to wait for this sort of occasion, weshould visit each other more regularly and sharegood practice and new ideas. I plan to attend asmany as possible and look forward to hosting atthe Cotswold Community in the near future.
BEING AN ADULT...Stuart Harragan
Head of Group LivingCotswold Community
To Jigsaw and School
Welcome to my life book. I am 12 years old and Iam in a school for kids with problems, it’s called theMulberry Bush School. I am in Jigsaw and it haslovely kids and adults.
I have been in Jigsaw 3 years and the school hashelped me and I’m sorry for what I did in school.But I wish I would behave and get a good job. I’vebeen in trouble from the police before.I want to be a pop star. About the school: I like theschool a lot but when I’m sad I hate it and I bet thatall of the kids say that but they don’t mean it becausethe school is trying its hardest to help kids withproblems, but kids think they work here to hurt usbut it’s not right, but I know of my heart they arenot here to be liked, they are doing what’s right forus.
We have good food, and the whole school does notlike bullying so if you are scared or getting hurt, tellan adult in the school. We have some rules from theadults.
Bullying is when you call someone names andsomeone is racist about your religion or gender orsize. When you feel left out or are feeling bulliedyou feel safe.
School is a happy place for kids and adults too, somake the best of it so you can see mum or dad orcarers and go to a main stream school and you willfeel much better for yourself and the adults.
They have 5 classes, when you are going to Thamesyou will go to Dunmore.
Thank youReader
life bookstory
made in ukin mulberry bush
school jigsaw2004
On 7th of December the staff and lads at Glebe House
performed the story of Aladdin. It was my job to do the
lights and sound for the show. At 7.00 pm the lights
went down (except on the stage) for Dave Fox to tell
everyone about the show. When Dave had f inished I
continued to do the lights for the whole panto. It
went very well and some was funny and some was sad but I
really enjoyed myself.
By about 5 o’clock we have the rest of the evening to do
what we want, and most of us play computer games at some
time.
Glebe House Lads:
35
‘Tammy’ was 7 years old when she was referred toThe Mulberry Bush School because of her disruptivebehaviour at school, and her unbearable impact onfoster families. She was in a private children’s homewhen she arrived at the School, with a label of“unfosterable”.
Tammy, at the age of four, had been rejected by hermother, and emotionally abused by her father andstepmother. She was taken into care by socialservices.
Tammy was a very loud, defiant girl who demandeda lot of affection. Her last foster carer, ‘Suzie’, feltsuffocated by her because she followed hereverywhere, including waiting outside the toilet forSuzie to come out.
The Mulberry Bush is a residential therapeutic schoolfor children with severe social, emotional andbehavioural difficulties. We are a forty-weekprovision, so children need to go home for holidaysand one weekend per half term. If they cannot livewith their natural parent, the children need to go to afoster family. Children are placed with us for aboutthree years.
Tammy’s social worker, using private fosteringagencies, found a potential single parent foster carerwho seemed very keen to have Tammy, but whenthey met at the School for the first time it seemedclear it wasn’t a good match. Tammy’s needs weretoo great, and the carer didn’t feel ready for thechallenge.
However, a year or so into her placement at TheMulberry Bush, another couple, ‘Pete’ and ‘Mary’,were put forward and this time it was a good match.Tammy started to go home to Pete and Mary andtheir other foster child. They were well supported bythe foster agency’s link worker, and by the MulberryBush’s family team worker. They were also in weeklycontact with Tammy’s keyworker.
It wasn’t plain sailing all the time. Tammy started togrieve for the relationship she had never had withher mother. The fact that her mother was able tocare satisfactorily for Tammy’s siblings rubbed saltinto the wound. The grieving process for her involvedtears, tantrums, defiance and more loudness.
However, with a family of her own (her foster family),gradually Tammy became warmer, and moreappropriately affectionate.
Tammy was in Sunset House at The Mulberry Bushwith 8 other children of primary age. She livedalongside these other children with the help of the 9care staff in Sunset. The day-to-day routines of meals,playtimes, and bedtimes, punctuated by the inevitablebehaviour breakdowns around rivalries, jealousies,slights, and defiant moments, gave care staffopportunities to help Tammy to think about herfeelings and responses, to find alternative ways ofinteracting and to start to come to terms with theinjustices in her life.
When Tammy joined the School she was in theFoundation class for a year. The main aim of thisclass is to help children (whose educationalexperience has been one of failure and distress) toenjoy learning again. Alongside the national curriculumthe children are encouraged to play, often with pre-school equipment, listen to stories, sing, dress-up, andso on. The emphasis is on ‘learning can be enjoyable’.
After a year Tammy moved to the second tier classwhere expectations of behaviour, application andlearning are higher. She was still a noisy child, readilydistracted and easily led into other children’smisbehaviour. Nevertheless, she made good progressand was able to move into the top class a year beforeshe left the School.
Pete and Mary noticed that Tammy’s behaviour inthe family was improving and began to look forwardto the time that she could come and live with themfull time. They were determined if at all possible thatTammy would be able to attend a local primary school(with teaching assistance).
Three months after she returned full time to her fosterfamily and her local primary school, Tammy is doingwell. She is still bouncy and noisy, and can still bequite demanding, but is no longer unfosterable orunacceptably disruptive in class.
LINDSEY STEVENSONPrincipal Social WorkerThe Mulberry Bush School
TAMMY AT THE MULBERRY BUSH SCHOOL
G l e b e :
In art we do things like painting,
cutting, colouring, drawing and
craft stuff. We also learn about
different artists like Picasso, Van
Gogh and Michelangelo. We also sort
out the scenery for the Christmas
play. This year we were doing spiders,
bats and spiders’ webs.
Jacques Hall meditation: My Favourite placeI wake up with the sun’s dazzling rays shining through my window and myears were filled with the heavenly chirruping of the bird’s dawn chorus. I findit hard to open my eyes but I manage it and at once I remember, today is avery special day, today I am going to the Maldives. I am going with Claire,my girlfriend, Harry, my friend and Jenny, his girlfriend and my friend. Theexcitement bubbles up inside me like a well-shaken champagne bottle and I,the cork, am fired out of bed propelled by my anticipation of the wonders thatawait me in the tropical islands of the Maldives
36
continue to involve users in the business of theAssociation.
Community of Communities: No report had beenprepared. Sarah Paget reported that the project nowhad an increased membership of 57. Further, shenoted that while the Community Fund grant runs outin January 2005 other sources of funding are beingidentified including collaborative work with the PrisonService and CHG.. Daniela Messanari noted theimportance for the project, as it expandsitsinternational membership, to build into the budgetfees for interpreters.
Conferences and Workshops: Neil Palmer spoketo this report which had been circulated to themembers. He noted his intention to stand down asWindsor Conference Organiser and agreed to workwith the new organisers as part of a hand-over fornext year’s conference.
5. ATC Constitution
Sarah Tucker circulated the draft amendments to theATC constitution, recently received back from theCharity Commission as part of the process ofamending the constitution. She noted that thedocument referred to the 1992 constitution asamended in 1998, and that current amendmentsconcerned payment of trustees under certainconditions, and the appointment of sub-committees.
She explained that the next step in the process ofamending the constitution is to make the draftrevisions publicly available for comment. She agreedto oversee this process after she had stood down asSecretary, with the administrative support of the ATCadministration team. She explained that if noobjections were received the Charity Commissionwould then amend the constitution accordingly. Shenoted that once the new constitution was in place,the Steering Group had agreed to put in place aGovernance Guidance Group with the function ofoverseeing the implementation of the constitution. Noobjections were raised to these issues.
6. Incoming Journal Editor
Kevin Healy noted that following the discussionsduring the 2003 AGM concerning the JournalEditorship, the Steering Group had had time to reviewthe direction of the journal and the ATC. He notedthat there had been agreed and implemented a clearprocess of appointment of a new journal editor whichconsisted in advertising the post and the formation ofan appointment committee. Two excellentapplications had been received and both wereinterviewed. The appointment committee hadrecommended one application to the Steering Group,namely the editorial collective consisting of Nick
Manning, George DeLeon, Steffan Davies, EricBroekaert, Jan Lees and Rex Haigh. The SteeringGroup had since asked the collective to produce abusiness plan. Kevin Healy proposed and JohnDiamond seconded, that the AGM formally ratify theselection of this editorial collective to oversee thework of the journal. The proposal met no objectionsand was fully supported.
7. Elections to the Steering Group
Sarah Tucker noted that this year elections had takenplace via a postal ballot prior to the meeting. Membershad been invited to nominate a Secretary, Treasurerand Officers of the Steering Group. For thosenominated, brief details of reasons for standing andinterest in the role had been circulated with the postalvoting forms. The votes had been counted by anindependent person under the instruction of theAdministration Team.
The following people were elected:
Beatriz Sanchez – Secretary
Gary Winship – Treasurer
John Gale – Officer
Rachel Jukes – Officer
Sandra Kelly – Officer
Simon McArdle – Officer
Sarah Paget – Officer
Sarah Tucker – Officer
It was noted that Alan Worthington, Yolande Haddenand Jon Broad were standing down from the SteeringGroup. Sarah Tucker proposed and Kevin Healyseconded a formal vote of thanks to all of them fortheir committed work to the Steering Group. This wasfully supported.
Sarah Tucker further noted that while the postal votingsystem was more open and democratic than thepreviously used system of voting during the AGM,the drawback this year had been that only 26 votingforms had been received back from the membership.It was recommended that the Governance GuidanceGroup put thought into how to further improve thevoting system for the 2005 AGM.
8. Members’ proposals and motions
None were submitted.
9. A.O.B
No other business was raised.
Association of Therapeutic CommunitiesAssociation of Therapeutic Communities 37
PROFILES:Kingsley Norton, New Chair of ATC Research GroupKingsley Norton takes over from Kevin Healy asChair of Research Group as the latter assumesoverall Chair of theATC.
Kingsley is a psychiatrist and individual analyst(Jungian) and has been Director of Henderson Hospitalsince 1989. He is also Reader in Psychotherapy at StGeorge’s Hospital Medical School in Tooting in SouthLondon.
Kingsley’s research interests include evaluating theoutcome of treatments, and he has contributed to thisarea via participation in randomised controlled trialsin the fields of depression and anorexia nervosa priorto moving to Henderson. His Doctorate was inpsychosomatics. Subsequently his work has includedtreatment outcome studies of Henderson and theclinical and health economic evaluation of two newTCs (set up on this model) based in West Midlands
and Crewe (Main House and Webb Houserespectively). These innovations were led byHenderson in the first instance, and Kingsley chairedthe Steering Group overseeing the replication projectfrom 1997-2002. The success of the bid to obtainfunding for these new enterprises was partlyrecognition of the evidence-base for the Hendersontreatment model.
Kingsley has published widely on the topic ofpersonality disorder as well as TC, and is co-authorof three books that relate to the needs of staff inresponding to challenging clients.
As well as bringing his experience of research derivingfrom the above activities, Kingsley is committed toincreasing the service user contribution to the planningand execution of research. His first task therefore willbe to persuade the research group that this is thedirection of travel that they would also wish to follow!
John Diamond: Co-Organizer, Windsor 2005
I started working in this field in 1982 at the Cotswold Community, a residentialTherapeutic Community for severely emotionally troubled adolescent boys. RichardBalbernie (who had led the conversion from the approved school regime to theTherapeutic Community model) was still the Principal, until his death when JohnWhitwell took over in 1983-4?. We had Barbara Dockar-Drysdale and Eric Millerrespectively as our clinical and organisational consultants. I became a care andtreatment Team Leader, responsible for the management of a staff team and up to 10young people. The work was very difficult ! but I managed to stay until 1991, whenI became Deputy Director/ Head of Residential Therapy, alongside Richard Rollinson
as ( newly appointed) Director of the Mulberry Bush School. The ‘Bush’ is a residential therapeutic schoolfor unintegrated children aged 5-12 years. I was on the first cohort of students for Adrian Ward’s M.A. inresidential childcare from 1990 –93.
In 2001, following Richard’s resignation after 10 very successful years, I was appointed as Director. I havebeen teaching a Year 2 module ‘management in therapeutic childcare’ under Linnet McMahon on the ReadingMA course. Since 2002 until its recent closure, I have been visiting a secure unit in Oxfordshire as a VCCadvocate. I am currently studying for an MA in organisational consultancy at the Tavistock/Portman NHSTrust. I am interested in the process by which Charterhouse members and the ATC can come togetherproviding a ‘lifecycle’ of therapeutic environments and underpinning theory, from child and adolescent toadulthood.
The Therapeutic Community in the 21st Centurypp. 229-231Sandra L. Bloom, Kingsley Norton
The Evolution of the Therapeutic Communitypp. 233-248Stuart Whiteley
The Art and Challenges of Long-Term and Short-TermDemocratic Therapeutic Communitiespp. 249-261Kingsley Norton, Sandra L. Bloom
Democratic Development of Standards: The Community
of Communities-A Quality Network of TherapeuticCommunitiespp. 263-277Rex Haigh, Sarah Tucker
A Culture of Enquiry: Research Evidence and theTherapeutic Communitypp. 279-294Jan Lees, Nick Manning, Barbara Rawlings
The Therapeutic Community as an AdaptableTreatment Modality Across Different Settingspp. 295-307David Kennard
Psychiatric Quarterly 75:3 (Fall 2004): Special Sectionedited by Sandra Bloom and Kingsley Norton
Publication News
Association of Therapeutic CommunitiesAssociation of Therapeutic Communities38
¨ Six weeks in hospital for a secondary infectionin the leg, picked up in hospital, and lucky to be alive:That’s the bad and good news around Arbours CrisisCentre founder and Director Dr. Joseph Berke. Othergood news: having recovered, his co-authored paperwith Kannan Navaratnem and Tamara Schonfieldon “The Creative Use of the Countertransference inWorking with a Silent Guest at the Arbours CrisisCentre” is going into the British Journal ofPsychotherapy.
¨ Evonne Cameron-Phillips, who helped organisethe Crisis Centre’s very successful 30th anniversarycelebrations at the Node in Hertfordshire lastFebruary has retired as a Resident Therapist, but it ishoped that her considerable skills, energy, creativityand insight will continue to be available to the Arbourscommunity. Cate Potter has joined Daniel Regan andRaquel Tome Lopez on the Resident Therapists team.
ARBOURS CRISIS CENTRE(overheard by a friend)
¨ BBC 1’s “One Life” series production teambegan working with the Crisis Centre in May, andfilming has begun for a programme to be broadcast inthe Spring of 2005. Producer Katie Sexton, describedby Dr. Berke as “magnificent”, explains that the “OneLife” series is “essentially about relationships - aboutpeople on a journey, executing a change in their lives- hopeful stories” and described something of thedetailed and careful process involved in learning aboutArbours, and working closely with thepsychotherapists and residents “to help us do our jobwell”. The first programme in the One Life series -“Lager, Mum and Me”, re-shown in October - tracedthe relationship of a daughter and her alcoholic mother,and gave the daughter her own video camera in asensitive, but determined and trenchant explorationof love and consequences. Filming at Arbours willcontinue into the Spring.
It’s not easy finding the right job inpsychiatry. One where the environmentsupports good medical practice with timeto assess and treat patients in depth. Wherethere is an opportunity to exercise the fullrange of psychiatric skil ls includingpsychotherapy. Where the comfortablephysical facilities are complemented bybeautiful, peaceful grounds and theexpert staff group are excellent to workwith.
Perhaps you feel that you are not involvedin decision making in your current positionor you don’t have the say to treat patientsin the way you think best. Maybe you feelthat the in-patient milieu you work in is toopressured and without a coherenttherapeutic programme. You might like tohave a variety of clinical practice fromresidential, through day-patient to out-
All enquiries welcome:
Dr Stephanie du Fresne, Medical DirectorThe Ashburn Clinic, Private Bag 1916, Dunedin, New Zealand
Tel 03 476 2092, Fax 03 476 4255Email [email protected]
www.ashburn.co.nz
The Ashburn ClinicDunedin, New Zealand
PSYCHIATRISTpatient settings with interesting andchallenging clinical problems.
Our work is hard but enjoyable. We are anexpert team functioning in a unique andenabling atmosphere, with wide teaching,supervising and consulting opportunities.The Ashburn Clinic has been providingsomething special for patients for well overa century and has a deserved nationalreputation for excellent treatment.
Dunedin is arguably New Zealand’s mostliveable city. It is an ideal location foroutdoor pursuits and also has excellentcultural and educational facilities for thosewho choose to stay either short or longterm. Dunedin is also the gateway to thelimitless recreational opportunities ofCentral Otago. A house can be providedwith this position.
POSITIONS VACANT:
39Association of Therapeutic CommunitiesAssociation of Therapeutic Communities
ATC Windsor Conference, September 6-9, 2004AN OUTSIDER’S VIEW
Mark Freestone
I felt very privileged to be invited to the Association’sannual conference in the gorgeous environs ofCumberland Lodge. Nick Manning and Jan Lees hadasked me to help them present the more statisticalaspects of our paper on the National Lotteries-fundedTC data and had talked up the conference as “anexperience”, quickly glossing over some of the more,shall we say, challenging aspects of the whole Windsorexperience. To be honest, I arrived in the Lodge withvery little idea of what to expect, especially as anoutsider unused to TC environments of any kind.
I’m sure I don’t need to preach to the already convertedabout how perfect Cumberland Lodge is as a venuefor any conference; but in particular one which seeksto foster a certain emotional intimacy between itsparticipants. However, shortly after settling into mywonderfully cosy room looking out into the groundsof the Lodge, it took me until the Welcoming Groupto discover that this intimacy isn’t always acomfortable experience, as Neil Palmer warmlywelcomed us all to the conference before handingthings over ‘to the floor’. There ensued ten minutesof literally suffocating silence, which no amount ofbriefing by my colleagues could have prepared mefor. I could only speculate sociologically that the oldhands in the group didn’t want to hog the limelight orappear over-ebullient with their contributions, whereasthe newcomers dreaded breaching some kind of hiddenrule about what kind of discourse was or wasn’tallowed in these groups. Falling decisively into thelatter group, I couldn’t quite manage the bravado totrump the forces of social normativity and insteadmade a few last-minute tweaks to my presentation.Does this make me a bad group member?
The first formal presentation following the group wasours, “21 Recipes: Guaranteed Indigestion?”, whichsketched the change data from our NLRB-fundedresearch project. The talk went pretty well, consideringthe thoroughly esoteric nature of some of thedescriptive statistics we had to use to get our resultsacross in a manageable way. I noticed a few ratherdazed faces in the audience as I launched into adiscussion of the import of confidence intervalsstraying outside inter-quartile ranges. Maybe it will
comfort some people to know that I myself had beentotally unfamiliar with most of the descriptivediagrams mere days before!
Following our presentation, George De Leon gave anengrossing retrospective and prospective talk abouthis work in the United States. His delivery style ishighly emotionally charged – something very muchbelied by his generally mild manner in discussion –and towards the end of the talk you could almost feelthe force of his impatience with certain tendencieswithin the psychiatric community, and his enthusiasmfor a brighter future. Intense stuff indeed, some ofwhich may have gone right over my head (a certainkarmic irony?) but George’s skill as a public speakermeant that he could probably have carried off a talkabout preparing potatoes in an equally absorbingfashion.
I’d rather hoped that my public contribution to theday’s proceedings had ended with my presentation,but Roland Woodward and Marya Hemming’sambitious participatory session involved me rathermore directly in assuming the dramatic role of a‘director of therapy’. I wasn’t aware that directors oftherapy generally wore old Star Trek outfits and stoodon ladders for the better part of an hour, while beingencircled by progressively more complex layers oftherapists tied together with a web of string, but clearlythis was my TC ignorance showing again. Still, thiswas a terrific – if gruelling – demonstration, to me, atleast, that therapy and learning are not always basedaround discussion, and sometimes the most effectivesessions are those that involve members physicallyas well as intellectually.
Following a sumptuous dinner and a superb historicaltour of the Lodge given by one of the housekeepers Iwas ready to drop, and slept very well despite myanxieties that there were a further three large groupsessions of potentially more oppressive silence to copewith. I must admit that at this stage I was strugglingto see the value of the sessions, and although futuregroups allayed my fears somewhat, I found that thescheduling of some of the parallel sessions was a tadfrustrating.
“Peanut” writes to the ATC email discussion list:“I Windsored in 2002, and as a newcomer to the field (though not so much to the principles); and the echoes,tho’ sometimes faint, are still with me. I felt pricked by the papers (not all, but enough), amused and invigoratedby the table talk, warmed by the bar talk, felt by turns inspired and frustrated... And I won’t forget dancing inthe car park :)in the moonlight :))
It was a wonderful introduction to the extraordinary, frustrating, inspiring, badly-paid, over-worked TCworld, which I find increasingly is a necessary counter-balance to the real one. So there.”
40 Association of Therapeutic CommunitiesAssociation of Therapeutic Communities
On Tuesday morning, I caught Goran Karlstrom’spresentation on the development of a Day TC inKarlskrona, Sweden. I particularly liked this sessionas, despite language difficulties Goran was able toconvey a great sense of the mistakes and re-assessments made during the course of thedevelopment of the Karlskrona TC. Sociology hasrecently taken a great interest in what is lost “in themargins” of history: what social processes, errors andbad judgments, that are glossed over by most accounts,go towards making an institution evolve into what itis, and this paper was a terrific demonstration of thevalue of such information. It is a truism, but oneapparently oft forgotten, that if we don’t learn fromthe mistakes of others, we risk repeating those verysame errors ourselves.
Sadly, attending Goran’s paper had meant that I hadto miss presentations by both Alfredo Felices and BillWylie that I had very much wanted to catch, despitethe weighty psychoanalytical content of Alfredo’swork on Lacan. Still, I came away armed with a copyof that paper and maybe after a few years’psychoanalytical training I’ll be able to turn aroundthe considered response to it I may rather rashly havepromised…
After lunch came Tony Slater’s talk to the group atlarge about the European Federation of TCs of which,paradoxically if symptomatically, the UK is not amember. Still, it was in keeping with the spirit of theconference that Tony’s presence was there to buildbridges between the EFTC and the ATC and he gavea dryly-humorous talk which hopefully encouragedmore optimism for future co-operations. Thisoptimism apparently rubbed off on the subsequentlarge group that was considerably more upbeat,constructive and devoid of lengthy silences than thefirst day’s. However, I still found myself severelydisadvantaged as an attendee with no experience ofTCs and such groups and took my chance tosurreptitiously glance through Alfredo’s paper; atleast, up to the point where little ‘o’ and big ‘O’ beganto rather baffle me. Towards the end of the group therewas also some interesting discussion on the ethicaland political implications of bringing clients along to
the conference, with no clear consensus arising, butclearly an emotive issue for the future.
I’d thoroughly recommend the walk around the CowPond to future Windsor attendees during theirafternoon off: the walk is almost unfeasibly tranquilfor anyone used to city living and a great, relaxingway to pass a couple of hours. Apparently there’salso a croquet set in existence, so that guests can whiletime away on the front lawn bashing each other’s ballsaround: maybe at a future conference this will see thelight of day!
Sadly, Wednesday was the final day for me at theconference due to the pressures of an impending finaldeadline for my PhD thesis, but I did catch Liz Tovey,Amanda MacKenzie and Paula Jones’ movingdiscussion, aided by contributions from some of theirclients, on working with individuals with eatingdisorders, as well as the Greek Kypseli TC’s amendedpresentation. I also stuck around just long enough tobe overwhelmed with jealousy at Geir Pederson ofUlleval University Hospital’s presentation about hisdata collection project on Norwegian TCs: it seemsthat the Norwegians are not only more advanced interms of data collection techniques, but that TCs arealso far more accommodating in supplying them withdata. Geir has built up an impressive network forongoing analysis of treatment and demographic dataand his model is an inspiration for those of us whowould seek to measure statistically the effectivenessof the TC model.
I would like to thank sincerely the ATC, and inparticular Rex Haigh, for offering me a bursary andenabling me to attend this conference despite abjectfinal-year research student penury. I would also liketo thank Jan Lees and Nick Manning for allowing meto present some of the data findings, and Chris Evansfor making the data look so good, and all thoseinvolved with the organisation and running of theconference for an immensely enjoyable, friendly andstimulating event, even for a complete stranger to theTC environment. Hopefully I’ll be able to meet someof you again next year.
First Call: WINDSOR 2005Neil Palmer, John Diamond and Penny Campling are organising the Windsor 2005conference next year. If anyone has an idea for the overall theme, we would be verypleased to hear from you.
We are particularly keen to include people working with children andadolescents.
Our contact details are:[email protected] [email protected] and
41Association of Therapeutic CommunitiesAssociation of Therapeutic Communities
HOW TO START A THERAPEUTIC COMMUNITY ANDTO SURVIVE A UNIVERSITY?
By Eric BroekaertProfessor in Orthopedagogy (Special Education) at the University of Ghent, Belgium
SPOTLIGHT: The new journal editorial team, Part 1:
BEGINNINGS
It was Maria Wens, Professor in Orthopedagogy atthe University of Ghent – and long time assistant ofthe psychoanalyst and psychiatrist Professor JaquesDe Busschere (and of whom I was a Masters studentin Orthopedagogy) - who told me about the work ofJaques Durand-Dassier: Psychotherapie sansPsychotherapeutes (Editions de l’Epi, Paris, 1970).Durand-Dassier had successfully defended hisdoctorate at the Sorbonne on ‘Communautés deDrogues et de Psychotiques’. Dr Durand-Dassierhad a practice in the United States, and was aprivileged witness of the development and workingof Daytop, one of the first drug-free, hierarchic TCs.In his work I found a basic description of TCprinciples, concepts and functioning. He referred tothe direct confrontation in so called “encountergroups”. In Sensitivity Training by Dan Sorkin achapter was also dedicated to “aggressive forms” oftherapy (Lemniscaat, Rotterdam, 1971).
On the other hand, we were aware at the Departmentof the work of Maxwell Jones. Maxwell Jones wasconsidered to be the pioneer of milieu therapy, thedemocratic therapeutic community, and the principlesof ‘social learning’ (The Therapeutic Community,New York, Basic Books, 1952). We had someknowledge of Bion, but less knowledge of Winnicott,Bridger, and the ‘transitional space of experience’.It was also the time when the anti-psychiatrists -David Cooper (Psychiatry and Anti-Psychiatry,Tavistock Publications, London, 1967), Ronald Laing(The Politics of Experience, Penguin, London,1967), Thomas Szasz (The Myth of Mental Illness,Harper and Row, New York 1961), Jan Foudraine(Wie is van Hout?, Ambo Boeken, Bilthoven, 1971)- created a furore at European Universities. Theirphenomenological/existential attitude, together withthe bloom of critical Marxist thinking, laid thefoundations of the Release and Youth Advisory Centrein Flanders.
Like all Masters students in Orthopedagogy, the authorof this text needed to do a practical placement.Professor Wens decided that his choice was theJellinek Clinic in Amsterdam. Dr. Henry Boulogne,who led the clinical department for drug addicts,accepted the work placement on 23rd June 1972.During this practice at the Linneus Parkweg – adepartment of the Jellinek – the nurses and traineeswere introduced by Henri Boulogne to the ‘ScreamingTherapy’ of Dan Casriel, who was familiar with
Daytop, and the ‘Synanon Games’ or ‘Reality Attack’or ‘Confrontation Groups’, as they were called in theTherapeutic Communities (A Scream Away fromHappiness, Grosset and Dunlap, New York, 1972).Psychologist Boulogne, who attended a workshop byCasriel on these types of groups (together withpsychiatrist Martien Kooyman, the founder ofEmiliehoeve in the Netherlands), was so impressedand enthusiastic that without any delay he introducedhis students and nurses to this method. This led tofrequently turbulent scenes, which nowadays no doubtwould be sacrificed on the altar of professionalknowledge. Students and nurses were asked to sit ina circle and scream as hard as rock, to expressfeelings, to talk about them, and to receive releasefrom the group. Assistant Professor Laurent Burssens,who supervised my work placement, was so surprisedthat he preferred not to evaluate my training in theCentre, but in a local pub. The placement led, for me,to a Masters dissertation under the supervision ofpsychiatrist Prof. Alexander Evrard: Study of thecircumstances which lead young drug users totheir addiction [my translation – E.B.]’ (GhentUniversity, FPPW, 1973). Although this work wasn’tinvolved very much with therapy and treatment, myinterest was born.
Meanwhile, on February 25th, 1972, the non-profitorganisation ‘Institutes for the Care of Alcoholics andOther Drug Addicts’ had been established in the Eastof Flanders (Belgium), and the clinic ‘De Pelgrim’recognized as a neuro-psychiatric service, with 60beds, specializing in addiction treatment. The clinicfunctioned under the therapeutic responsibility of Dr.Filip Delmeire (who was also the director of the walk-in “Centre for Alcoholism and Addiction” located inGhent, also in the East of Flanders), and was led bydirector Freddy Declerck.
On 1st September 1973, the ‘Jellinek student’ - nowwith a Masters degree in Psychology and Education(specialisation Orthopedagogy) - was recruited part-time by ‘De Pelgrim’, and became responsible forthe treatment and education of the group of youngdrug users. Space was set free in the former chapelof the clinic building, and during 1973 the teamapproached the group through “Client CentredTherapy”, and in 1974 through behaviour modificationon the basis of a ‘Token Economy System’.Unfortunately, the young substance abusers continuedtheir bad habits in the clinic, and left the staffdesperate. However, these sad experiences did harkback to the earlier experiences at “The Jellinek”.
42 Association of Therapeutic CommunitiesAssociation of Therapeutic Communities
At the clinic the Synanon treatment model wasdiscussed on the basis of the bestseller The TunnelBack by Lewis Yablonsky (Macmillan, New York,1963), and a new interest in the TherapeuticCommunity grew. This is certainly the reason why Iwas sent, from May till October 1975, on a studytour to the United States, where I stayed two monthsas a resident of the therapeutic community ‘LastRenaissance’ in Washington, D.C. (Dr. E.Ordonnez), two months in the ‘Odyssey houses’ (Dr.J.D. Gerber - We Mainline Dreams, Doubleday andCompany, New York, 1973) and two months in the‘Delancey Street Family’(J. Maher). I visited‘Synanon’ – the cradle ofthe drug free TC (C.Dederich – The Circle andthe Triangle, SynanonPress, Marshal, California)- and met George De Leonin Phoenix House NewYork, who woke myinterest in research(Phoenix House - Studiesin a TherapeuticCommunity, 1968-1973).This experience, and the fact that I was given a half-time appointment as assistant to Professor Wens, leddirectly to the foundation of TC “The Kiem”, and thestarting of my PhD. dissertation.
Immediately after my return to Belgium in November1975 a new staff member was recruited. The newstaff member had some experience with social workat the Mutuality [“a sophisticated expression forour highly appreciated (socialist) system of‘health assurance’: Fully paid by everyone (the‘mutual group’) who has a job, and paid insolidarity for all the ‘other’ people, who don’t havea job. For ‘mutuality’ you could perhapssubstitute a word such as ‘health insurance’” -EB], a lot of enthusiasm and perseverance, but hadno experience in the care and treatment of drugaddicts. Rudy Bracke became the first staff memberof ‘De Kiem’, and its long-lasting TherapeuticDirector. At the end of 1975, by means of workshopsand therapy weekends, we taught the staff andpersonnel of ‘De Pelgrim’ about the functioning of adrug free therapeutic community; and carried on withthis approach until February 1976, at which point anapplication for the foundation of a therapeuticcommunity was submitted to the board. FromFebruary 1976 the young drug and alcohol addictswere told about the developments and invited toparticipate in the encounter groups, and thehierarchical structure was set up. Six of the eightyoungsters decided to stop cooperating. The pressureof the court influenced one “resident” to stay. Thesix who refused to cooperate adduced that thetreatment was too severe. A cooperation with ‘De
Emiliehoeve’ got extended. Therapy groups, seminarsand workshops were organised for the staff and theresidents. ‘De Kiem’ became a member of the DutchFederation of Drug Free Therapeutic Programs(F.D.P.), and Rudy Bracke was joined by two otherprofessionals - nurses - willing to do their practice inthe Netherlands. Residents who were still in theinitial phase of treatment became prepared to fill insome of the staff functions. At the beginning of 1978the therapeutic community was officially recognizedand subsidised with government funding. In 1980 Idefended my PhD. Dissertation on “ The Drug-Free
Therapeutic Communitybased on the SynanonModel: a new educationalapproach of youngsterswith substance abuseproblems [my translation –E.B.]”. I was given a full-time appointment as seniorassistant in the Departmentof Orthopedagogy at GhentUniversity.
The Department of Orthopedagogy at GhentUniversity (1)
By entering the Department I became part of a longtradition: In 1936, Nijssen, (a psychiatrist) wasappointed at The Higher Institute of Education at theUniversity of Ghent and charged with the “medicaland educational treatment of abnormal children”. Hehad been the adjunct physician of the well-knownState Colony for “mentally disturbed” at Geel – oneof the oldest psychiatric institutions in Europe. Fromthe time of the Middle Ages, this hospital had offeredfoster family treatment. In 1942 Nijssen, together withhis assistant M. Wens, started the Consultation Unitfor children and adolescents at the University. Inthe same year, at the height of the war, he publisheda textbook on child psychiatry and special educationcalled Textbook for special education and childpsychiatry [my translation – E.B.], De Sikkel,Antwerpen). Nijssen, who was influenced bysensorialism, drew attention to the psychiatrictreatment of children at a time when psychiatricpatients and disabled people generally were beingpersecuted by the Nazis. Nijssen’s successor, J. DeBusschere, took over the chair in 1946. He expandedthe Consultation Unit (1964-1973) with a “medical–educational” day observation centre and school forapproximately 5O children between 3 and 14 yearswith emotional and behavioural problems. In contrastto his predecessor, he had a psychoanalyticbackground and was interested in clinical neurology.He was the leading neuro-psychiatrist of theuniversity, and it was the “pedagogue” Wens whohad the daily responsibility for the care service andthe development of student courses concerned with
43Association of Therapeutic CommunitiesAssociation of Therapeutic Communities
children. In 1970, Wens was appointed to the Facultyof Psychological and Educational Sciences. As aformer schoolteacher, she had received her trainingfrom the Dutchman K. Boeke, a Quaker. Both ofthem were active promoters of the “New SchoolMovement” and both strived for a functional, activeand global education for children. Under herleadership, “Orthopedagogy” became an independentdepartment within the University’s Faculty ofPsychology, catering mainly for 6O students atmasters level (‘licentiate’), spread over a 3-yearprogramme of study. “Orthopedagogy” derivesfrom Greek and means: “the correct way of actingwith children (in difficult educational situations)”. The“Observation Unit” changed into an “OrthopedagogicObservation and Treatment Centre” which functionedas a training centre for the students. At the sametime Wens was director of one of the largestinstitutions in Belgium for children with behaviordisorders and, as a consequence of the wave ofdemocratization and student revolts during theseventies, this large institute stood in the middle ofmajor institutional conflicts. After periods of staffstrikes Wens, who could only follow the democraticstudent revolts in the sixties in theory, had to leavethe institution. She remained embittered towards theUniversity for a while. In 1985 I became Director ofthe Department, and have been Director since.However, there is now a second colleague, ProfessorGeert Van Hove.
It was and is clear to me that the functioning of theDepartment has always been based on analternatively coming together of different paradigmsof care. There was a shift from traditional childpsychiatry towards psychoanalysis, and from the “newschool movement” towards education-in-difficult-situations. Since the eighties the education of childrenwith intellectual and character problems has formedthe central focus point. The “partial” learningdisorders (indicating that there exists a discrepancybetween the global intellectual possibilities and somepartial defects) became part of the program.Psychology became a fully integrated part of theeducational sciences. Later (and ongoing) theeducational sciences developed more distinctly frompsychology and teaching, and social sciences camemore into the picture. Diagnosis of problems becamedirectly linked with action and evaluation, andattention is now more focused on the action than onthe disorder. Specializations, such as the treatmentof substance use and misuse, have developed.Neoliberal tendencies in society have changed theorganizational content of the courses towards newmanagement, continuity, co-ordination and quality of
care, effectiveness and efficiency, and integratedtreatment systems.
As a counterpart, postmodernism is expressedthrough the courses on disability studies, whereemancipation, inclusion, empowerment, self-advocacyand the subjective position of the client play aprominent role. No doubt this is also reflected in ourresearch. However, while the Department is fullyaware of the phenomenological and critical paradigmsof education, the empiric positivist approaches gainmore importance. This evolution takes place as aconsequence of the dominance of Anglo-Saxon andAmerican culture. “ Publish or perish” is not onlytrue in itself, but means ‘publish in a peer-reviewedjournal indexed on the Web of Knowledge’. TheBologna Declaration changes the traditional programsat the University of Ghent into Bachelor and Masterstructures. The accreditation of courses, curricula andUniversities brings in major changes. During theeighties our Department only took care of Mastersstudents. There were seventy to ninety. At thismoment there are some four hundred “Bachelor”students and two hundred and twenty “Master”students. During the last years the “OrthopedagogicObservation and Treatment Center” became anindependent unit, with privileged links to theUniversity. It takes care of some 7O children withmajor behavior disorder problems. The care remainsspecial, but with much more outdoor treatment, crisisand family interventions. The children that still remainin day care are not easy to handle, and suffer fromcomplex diagnoses and sometimes come from verybad social backgrounds. The director, FrankyD’Oosterlinck, makes use of a Crisis Managementmethodology called “Life Space Crisis Intervention”(LSCI). The roots of LSCI go back to the WaywardYouth of psychoanalyst and pioneer August Aichhorn(1935). Later, in the fifties, his pupil Fritz Redl,together with David Wineman, further extended theLife Space Interview, which is nowadays beingfurther developed by Nicholas Long (Conflict in theClassroom, Austin, Texas) and Mary Wood. It is averbal strategy that intervenes directly into the worldand life-space of the children and aims at enhancingself-esteem and reducing fears. It is interesting tosee that a school that was so close to the “new schoolsystem” relies on an actual method that is, in its turn,embedded in the same philosophy.I hope that this short introduction to my work cangive you a better insight into who you’ve chosen asone of the new editors for “TherapeuticCommunities: The International Journal forTherapeutic and Supportive Organizations”. Mayour further collaboration be enjoyable and interesting.
(1) For this part of the text I refer to Broekaert, E., D’Oosterlinck, F., Van Hove, G., & Bayliss, P. (2004).“The Search for an Integrated Paradigm of Care Models for People with Handicaps, Disabilities andBehavioural Disorders at the Department of Orthopedagogy of Ghent University”. Education and Trainingin Developmental Disabilities 39(3), 206-216.
FOOTNOTE:
44 Association of Therapeutic CommunitiesAssociation of Therapeutic Communities
THE CASSEL GARDEN PARTYHard to organise, loads of thingsto do, nag, nag, sort, sort.Things start to come togetheron the day, worry, worry.
Meet the Princess. Sharing,lovely, kind. It’s over, relief,congratulations and the comedown.
The voting was one of thehardest bits. Everyone’s handswaving in the air. Not looking,convinced you’re not going to bepicked. Then beginning tomeet with the staff, trying toorganise stalls and groups onthe day, trying to bringenthusiasm into thecommunity. Feeling likegiving up, but knowing youcan’t, this was the reason youwere voted – to help you stickwith something.
Jane & Ness
Managing the CasselGarden Party
Sitting in community stating myreasons for wanting tomanage the event and how itwould help me, wonderingwhat I’m letting myself in for.Scared stiff of the voting. Thenames are announced, I’m infor it now. A new challenge.I’ll give it my best shot.
The first meeting the staffknew what they were doing, thatis a great relief. Brainstormingideas, writing lists, arrangingleaflets and the security forPrincess Alexandra. What, I’mgoing to be meeting thePrincess! More secondthoughts, more excitement.
Then came the nagging,leafleting, trying to put moreenthusiasm into a communitythat was struggling. Feeling notgood enough, feeling like givingup, but knowing I can’t becausethis was the reason I was votedin, to stick with something, to
ask for help. The communitygradually came together. Stallsbeing organised, communityactivities like strawberry pickingfor the smoothies stall. Havingfun!
The day comes, families coming,tension pressure, excitement.Meeting the Princess, coming outand seeing my family, smilingproudly. Then comes my speechon the microphone. I’m shakinglike a leaf, have practiced all
day. So many patients’ facessmiling, supporting me. Janestands next to me, lending mebraveness and confidence. Lotsof people here, scared, waitingto run. Slowly relaxing, startingto enjoy it.
Our names are called, I walk upand one beautiful sunflower isplaced in my arms. I hold backthe tears, realising what I’vehelped to accomplish. A warmfeeling in my heart, satisfactionand a moment of happiness.
Cleaning up, a come down aftersuch a good day. Counting themoney - £1400 profit! Decidingto spend some of the money ona trip to Thorpe Park. A reliefto know someone else will beorganising that! I made newfriendships, I got a sense ofconfidence and self worth. Ifelt proud and people felt proudof me. It was hard but it wasworth it.
Ness
The Cassel GardenParty
It felt terrifying to be voted inas Garden Party Manager.Would I be able to cope withthe responsibility or would Imake a mess of it, as usual; butit also felt good to be chosen,for people to have faith in me.Trying to organise the day withthe help of staff was difficultand overwhelming at times.
Motivating people, makingsure everything was goingto be ready on time. But italso give me a sense ofpurpose – that I could dothings and wasn’t totallyincapable.
The day itself wasterrifying. It felt chaoticto begin with – wouldeverything be ready? Wasit going to rain? How wouldI cope meeting the Princess?Then the Princess arrived. It
made me very anxious talking toher, but it also gave me a senseof pride. The people all arrived –it felt very scary – what werethey thinking of me. I hid for awhile. It felt too overwhelming,I couldn’t cope, but then with thesupport of staff and otherpatients, I carried on.
The atmosphere was great,patients all pulling together andsupporting each other to makeit a success. I even managed toenjoy the day. I was surprisedto hear our names called – wewere given flowers. Everybodyapplauded. I felt proud that Ihad achieved something, thatthe day had been a success. Iwas exhausted at the end of itand upset and overwhelmed. Ithad been a lot to deal with butmy lasting memory of beinggarden party manager is that ithad made me feel good aboutmyself for a change. I didn’tfeel such a failure, I even felt abit proud of myself.
Jane
45Association of Therapeutic Communities
It has been another busy quarter for Community ofCommunities. I joined in September as a researchworker after temping for Community of Communitiessince the middle of June, and have been thrust intothe fray, in the middle of the annual cycle. The teamis working hard and managing a variety of differentprojects at the moment.
Peer ReviewsWe are currently in the midst of the peer-review partof the annual cycle and we are still setting dates forthe peer-reviews. Seven peer-review visits havealready taken place with more confirmed visitsoccurring over the next few weeks. The peer-reviewprocess is an important part of the annual cycle as itgives communities a chance to reflect on theirpractices and discuss this with other communities.Most communities find this very helpful and thefeedback we have had so far this year has been verypositive.
As the local reports will be different this year, we arestill in the process of redesigning the layout andcontent. The new report should make it easier to seethe comments made by the review team as well asthose made by the community. Once the initial designis agreed upon, we should be able to send out thedraft reports faster than in previous years.
Joint WorkingThis year Community of Communities has beenworking in close collaboration with the Prison Serviceto incorporate Community of Communities standardsand the Democratic Therapeutic Community CoreModel Prison Service Audit Guidance Document. Thisyear 13 prisons will be involved in piloting a modelled by the Community of Communities thatincorporates the prison service audit of TCs in prisonwith the Community of Communities review process.The inaugural peer-review took place 14th –15th
October and despite being somewhat stressful at firstseemed to be beneficial for all involved. This is alandmark for the Community of Communities, it ishoped that this collaboration and the acceptance ofthe process by the Correctional Services AccreditationPanel could be an important benchmark against whichfurther collaborative work with the Commission ofSocial Care Inspectorate or the HealthcareCommission may take place.
Further partnership with the Charterhouse Group hasled to the implementation of the Community ofCommunities review process using the distinctstandards developed with the specific needs of childrenand young people and their carers in mind. We areabout to embark on working with six communities
UPDATE
and look forward to working with more communitiesfor children and young people in the future.
Joint working is also being sought with the EuropeanFederation of Therapeutic Communities as describedby Bruno Davey elsewhere in the newsletter.
Therapeutic Communities CommissioningProjectLast quarter Sarah Paget wrote about how theDepartment of Health, under the auspices of theNational Specialist Commissioning Advisory Group(NSCAG) has funded the College Research Unit(CRU) to develop and implement standards to supportthe commissioning of care from TCs. We held fiveworkshops to develop a set of top-level standards inJuly and August and consulted with commissioners,TC staff and clients via email and postal consultationas well as dedicating time at the Windsor Conferencefor discussion and feedback. A lively debate was alsoheld on the ATC list. The draft standards have beencompleted and will be piloted in a small number ofcommunities later in the autumn. Further discussionwill take place about their inclusion into the 4th editionof the Community of Communities standards.
Important DatesComing events include the Standards Working Group,Lead Reviewer training, and the Annual Forum.
The Standards Working GroupThe Standards Working Group is an opportunity toplay a key role in the critical part of the annual reviewprocess. In this group, standards are discussed,changed, removed or added depending on the viewsand comments of participants. This is an opportunityto influence the nature and content of the standardsand to be a central part of the Community ofCommunities democratic process.
If you are interested in joining with others active inthe therapeutic community field to explore, discussand set the agenda for what should count ascontemporary good practice in therapeuticcommunities, please contact us.
The Standards Working Group will be held onFriday 10th December 2004 10:30am to 4:30pm atthe Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Research Unit, 6th
Floor, 83 Victoria St, London SW1H 0HW.
Lead Reviewer Training and CertificationThe project team has developed a new lead-reviewerstraining leading to certification by the Royal Collegeof Psychiatrists’ Research Unit. This will include anintroductory day workshop covering all aspects of
Olivia Hirst Research Worker Community of Communities
Community of CommunitiesCommunity of Communities46
leading peer-review visits between therapeuticcommunities. Members are warmly invited to becomelead-reviewers by participating in this workshop.
If you are interested in visiting a wide range oftherapeutic communities, meeting staff and clientmembers on site to explore contemporary clinicalissues, please contact us.
The Lead-Reviewer Training Workshop will beheld on Friday 3rd December 2004 10:30am-4:30pm at the Royal College of Psychiatrists’Research Unit, 6th Floor, 83 Victoria St, LondonSW1H 0HW.
The Annual Forum will be held on the 25th February2005 at the Royal College of Pathologists, 2 CarltonHouse Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AS
For more information about Community ofCommunities please feel free to contact
Sarah Paget, Project Manager, 020 72270849, [email protected]
Laura Jones, Research Worker, 020 72270847, [email protected]
Olivia Hirst, Research Worker, 020 72270891, [email protected]
Having graduated in Psychology and Criminology lastyear, I had an insight into the world of therapeuticcommunities. Through researching HMP Grendon, Ilearnt the principles of therapeutic communities andthat they can be successfully applied to the prisonsetting. Like most graduates I didn’t really know whatI wanted to do after university, and after taking sometime off to travel, I thought it’s time to join the ‘realworld’ and get a job. I wanted to do something thatwas related to my degree and I knew that I liked theresearch aspects of studying so I decided to look forresearch posts. My interests in therapeutic prisonsled me to apply for the role of Research Worker forthe Community of Communities project, which Istarted in June; I was very excited about thisopportunity, as it is my first ‘proper’ job.
My first experience of a therapeutic community waswhen I visited the Cassel Hospital on their visitor’sday. As I had an understanding of the theory oftherapeutic communities it was great to be able tovisit a community to see how they work ‘in real life’.To be honest I didn’t really know what to expect:Although I knew that hierarchies are broken downand patients are encouraged to take on responsibilities,I still thought that the community would be similar toa hospital, as it is called the Cassel ‘Hospital’. Oneof my first thoughts was that I couldn’t tell who thestaff were and who the patients were; in fact, duringbreakfast I had a conversation with a lady who Ithought was a staff member, but was in fact a patient.With the staff, patients and children eating togetherin the dining room it created a ‘homely’ atmosphere,and with a lounge with comfortable sofas, a big gardenwith a barbeque, it was a completely different pictureto what I had envisaged.
One of my favourite parts of the visit was when Iattended a community meeting. I had mixed emotions
Community of Communities: FIRST IMPRESSIONSLaura Jones
Research WorkerCommunity of Communities
about this. I was excited, as I knew that communitymeetings are central to the therapeutic programme,and I’d watched a BBC documentary about Grendonwhich showed a community meeting and now I wasgoing to see one ‘in real life’. I also felt anxious, as Ifelt that I didn’t belong there, mainly because I don’tknow a lot about the difficulties the patients are goingthrough. It hit me that these are ‘real people’ with‘real problems’. Although I knew I wasn’t there tohelp the clients but to simply observe the meeting, if Iknew more about their problems I would have feltlike I had more of a ‘right’ to be there. I know that Iwouldn’t want a complete stranger hearing myproblems, especially if they had no idea of what Iwas going through.
The meeting made me realise how difficult life canbe, living in a therapeutic community. From havingto always express your feelings, when there are timeswhen I am sure patients would just want to sit thereand hide in the background, to having your behaviourchallenged in front of other people. I was impressedthat patients talked openly about their feelings, whichwere obviously very painful, and they were able to dothis with the visitors in the room. I was also verysurprised when the meeting finished exactly on time,despite being in the middle of a discussion which hadcreated a lot of emotions amongst the group. Myinitial reaction was: Shouldn’t we finish the discussion,it seemed quite important!
I also enjoyed talking to the patients, who were verywelcoming and talked openly about their personalbackgrounds and difficulties, and being involved intheir daily activities enabled me to see how well thestaff and patients work together. The visit helped mesee the effectiveness of therapeutic communities, andto me it seemed like they work: Patients mentionedthat the therapy is helping them; it seemed that theywere able to live together, take responsibility for theiractions and environment, and most importantly somepatients were getting ready to leave and start life inthe ‘outside world’.
47Community of CommunitiesCommunity of Communities
Over the months I have visited different communitiesas part of the Community of Communities peer-reviewvisits. Up to now I have used the term ‘patient’ as thisis used at the Cassel, but having visited other TCs, Ihave learnt that other members prefer to be called‘clients’ or ‘residents’. My most prominent thoughtsare that both staff and clients can be defensive andprotective about their community. It almost feels likecommunities are in their own ‘TC bubble’, which theytry to protect from being burst by outsiders. In relationto Community of Communities (CoC) reviews, I thinkthis is due to communities having very differentapproaches to therapy and therefore they are scaredof someone telling them ‘this way is better’ - whichin my experience doesn’t happen; instead, the feelingis that ‘both communities are very different, but workjust as well as each other’. However, it is evidentthat the pressure from external sources, who can becritical of the model and want communities to workin a ‘different way’, can affect communities, and theparanoia that this elicits can be transferred to the CoCreviews.
Clients have also mentioned that they feel like theyare in their ‘own little world’ when they are in theircommunity, which makes it difficult when they haveto leave and join the ‘outside world’. However,
members have also commented that having a differentcommunity visit their community helps them questiontheir own practice, and initiate change. As someonewho had never visited a TC, it did feel like I wasentering another world, as although I really enjoytalking to the staff and clients, sometimes it feels likethey use a ‘foreign language’ with words andabbreviations which I do not understand, such as ‘top3’, ‘doors’, ‘CPN’, etc.; but I am learning as I goalong. I do believe that the language is necessaryand is something that I should learn and get used to,but this may be another way of preventing entry tothe ‘bubble’.
Before I started to work on Community ofCommunities I had no idea of the size of thetherapeutic community world. I have learnt a lot overthe past couple of months and feel lucky to be part ofa network which helps communities to improve theirservice. Most importantly I feel lucky that I am ableto visit different communities and learn about the typesof treatment that communities are able to give toclients, and how effective it can be. I feel it isimportant for ‘outsiders’ to learn about theeffectiveness of therapeutic communities and see thechallenges that both staff and clients face.
Olivia HirstResearch Worker
Community of Communities
Community of Communities: My first impressions of TCs
When I first started this job I had never heard of aTherapeutic Community. I graduated last year fromEdinburgh University in Sociology, and went straightin to the typical travelling and temping work of recentgraduates. I was fortunate to land a temporary positionat the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ CollegeResearch Unit working in Community ofCommunities, and this was where my interest in TCsbegan to grow. Being part of the office at Communityof Communities meant I could not escape learningabout TCs; from general chatting to Sarah Paget aboutthem, to reading the Standards, I quickly leant thatthere was a side to mental health I had not previouslythought about. It was hard to imagine what they couldlook like, or how they worked, but if I tried it wasprobably something along the lines of a hospital wardin a Victorian asylum combined with some sort ofhippy commune. Whatever it was, it was unlikeanything I’d come across before.
Not knowing anything about them meant I had a steeplearning curve, and I soon learned that they were verydifferent from how I imagined them! I had never reallythought what a place would be like if hierarchies wereflattened or what it would be like to live or worktogether with the same people from whom you gottherapy, or to have to vote on all sorts of different
aspects of life in a community. It also amazed me thatthere are so many of them worldwide and in all thesectors, and yet I had never come across one, and norhad many other people who are not within the ‘TCworld’; most people’s reaction when I tell them whatI do is to look at me blankly and say “a whatcommunity?” It also became apparent to me from allthe reading that TCs are an effective way of helpingpeople with mental health difficulties, but that thereare conflicting views on their effectiveness within the‘professional’ world. Some people think that they areexcellent (for PD) whilst others argue that there is no‘hard evidence’ ‘proving’ their effectiveness. Howeverdespite all the learning I was doing, it was still veryhard to picture what a TC looked like or how it worked,and this knowledge would only come from seeingactual TCs.
I have now visited three TCs, all based within theNHS, but all very different in clients, atmosphere,buildings, and style. If this is just three out of thethousands, I think the reason it is so hard to picture aTC is because there is no such thing as the typicalTherapeutic Community. However the overridingimpression I got from the TCs were that they werefar more homely than I had expected and that thecommunities had done as much as they could to makeit feel less like part of a hospital and more likesomewhere you want to spend time. The supportive,safe environments these TCs provide are nothing likethe places I had imagined (sterile hospital wards full
48 Community of CommunitiesCommunity of Communities
of clients and staff who did not want to me to be there)and were far less daunting to enter than I had feared.Although TCs have been perceived as not beingintegrated enough with the rest of society, the senseof community these units create was not hostile ‘themversus us’, but the results of the hard work andchallenges that go on within them which creates astrong group bond. I would imagine that dealing withvery personal and difficult emotions everyday wouldmake a community less willing to have ‘outsiders’intruding and this could make them appear defensive.Overall I came away from the TCs feeling verypositive about their role and potential for helping thepeople within them.
As I have never experienced a regular day at aTherapeutic Community, I’m still not entirely surehow it feels to live in a TC, particularly for clients.More than once I have come across patients describinglife away from the TC as the ‘outside world’; and forme it does still feel like I am on the outside trying tolook in, but I am slowly getting a clearer picture ofwhat goes on within them. I think personally I wouldfind it very difficult to experience group therapy, andfrustrating to have to vote on every decision made
Community of Communities at the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ ResearchUnit is organising a one-day annual members’ forum on Friday 25th February
2005 at the Royal College of Pathologists, London.
THE DAY WILL CONSIST OF:· Presentation of key findings from the third year of reviews
· Review of the achievements of individual therapeutic communities· Discussion of future development of the Community of Communities
· Parallel workshops to explore findings from the review process, exchange with peers and makeaction plans
· Plenary session for all communities to exchange and reflect
THE FORUM IS AIMED AT:· All therapeutic community staff and client members involved or interested in the Community of
Communities review process· All commissioners, managers, staff members, client members and ex-client members interested in
the Community of Communities Quality Network of Therapeutic Communities
COST:£90.00 per person for members and £130.00 per person for non-members. Client members are
encouraged to attend at a discounted rate of £50.00 per person.
Enquiries to Sarah Paget, Project Manager, Community of Communities on 020 7227 0849 [email protected]
Please contact Emma George, Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Research Unit, 6th Floor, 83 VictoriaStreet, London, SW1H 0HW Tel: 020 7227 0825 or email: [email protected]
ADVERTISEMENT
CoC ANNUAL FORUM
25 February 2005
within the community, but it seems to me that forclients within TCs, these have become normal andare expected, and that they find the support they needthrough this. As I have limited knowledge, I couldonly suggest that perhaps this is because it allowssome control and involvement and a positive impactwhich effects their own and other’s lives.
The fact that there seems to be so little known aboutTCs by people who are not involved with them, is notperhaps because TCs choose to be that way, but maybe more to do with the stigma surrounding mentalhealth, and the fact that in order to preserve acommunity feel, TCs need to maintain a sense ofdivision; a community can only feel like a group ifthere are some boundaries to separate it from the restof society. However, by not being more accessiblethere will remain a lack of understanding surroundingTCs and what they do. As an ‘outsider’ I think TCsneed to blow their own trumpet a bit more, particularlythrough advertising the work they do, and this wouldmake people more aware that there are different andeffective approaches to treating people with mentalhealth problems other than just giving them medicationand forgetting about them.
49Community of CommunitiesCommunity of Communities
Community of Communities is areview network that includes nearlyall therapeutic communities in theUK. Each year members agreestandards that are applied in self- andpeer-review. Many members alsoparticipate in multi-centre researchstudies. Recently there have beenexpressions of interest about thedevelopment of standards, reviewmethods and research fromtherapeutic communities in other EUstates. This has prompted theAssociation of TherapeuticCommunities, the University ofNottingham and the Royal College ofPsychiatrists to study the feasibilityof creating a European Communityof Communities. This willcomplement the work of otherorganisations like the EFTC andWFTC, who have been instrumentalin forging links between therapeuticcommunities. With this in mind theteam is currently investigating
Recent events such as UKIP pushing the Tories intofourth place at the Hartlepool by-election, or thecontinuing differences on policy over the Iraq warmight make you think that Europe is rife with divisionsand splits. The picture painted by these events thoughignores convergence in many areas of policy andresearch.
You are all doubtless aware of the work done by theCommunity of Communities, but you might not knowabout expressions of interest in standards, reviewmethods and research from therapeutic communitiesin other European states. This has prompted theAssociation of Therapeutic Communities, theUniversity of Nottingham and the Royal College ofPsychiatrists to study the feasibility of creating aEuropean Community of Communities. This willcomplement the work of other organisations like theEFTC and WFTC, who have been instrumental inforging links between therapeutic communities. Withthis in mind the team is currently investigating fundingoptions including those within the EU’s SixthFramework Programme.
Expanding this network would create a set ofEuropean standards, and encourage collaborativeresearch and the collection of routine data on costs,clinical outcomes and community activities. Otherproducts include an annual report and a book ontherapeutic communities with chapters contributed byeminent figures from each country. The final goal of
RESEARCH INTO EU FUNDING FOR EUROPEANEXPANSION OF THE COMMUNITY OF COMMUNITIES
Bruno DaveyCollege Research Unit,
The Royal College of Psychiatrists
such a network is the improvement of therapeuticcommunities across Europe.
As with all funding applications there is a lot oflegwork, form filling and red tape to get through. Twoimportant aspects of this have been compiling adatabase including all therapeutic communities inEurope and finding out about current or plannedresearch concerning therapeutic communities. As I’msure you can imagine both of these have been quitearduous and are still ongoing.
My research has also involved hours on the Internetreading reports like “Communication from theCommission to the Council, the European Parliament,the Economic and Social Committee and theCommittee of the Regions on Health Strategy of theEuropean Community”. Or earnestly leafing throughbooks such as “How to Write a Competitive Proposalfor Framework 6”. But there have been some morefun things, one of which was attending the ATCconference in Windsor at the beginning of September.Here I got the chance to meet representatives oftherapeutic communities from across Europe such asAnthony Slater, President of the European Federationof Therapeutic Communities. Meetings like this hasafforded valuable insights into attitudes toward aEuropean Community of Communities, and how thenetwork would have to function to work properly inplaces as culturally diverse as Rome, Athens and Oslo.
funding options including thosewithin the EU’s Sixth FrameworkProgramme for research.
Expanding this network would createa set of EU-wide standards, andencourage collaborative researchand the collection of routine data oncosts, clinical outcomes andcommunity activities. Other productsinclude an annual report describingTCs in Europe and a book ontherapeutic communities withchapters contributed by eminentfigures from each EU member state.The final goal of such a network isthe improvement of therapeuticcommunities across Europe.
How You Can HelpFor each member state we need toknow details of services and keyindividuals prominent in the field,from both democratic andhierarchical therapeuticcommunities. Those we are aware ofare listed overleaf but we would be
very grateful to receive details ofcommunities, or of individuals, whomwe have yet to identify. It would alsobe great to hear advice about theprocess of applying for EU funding,and to know of any current orplanned research concerningtherapeutic communities. Again wewould appreciate it if you could passon any information to us.
If you know of a therapeuticcommunity or an individual withexpertise in this area not listedoverleaf, or if you feel you havesomething to contribute to thisresearch please contact:
Bruno Davey, College ResearchUnit, The Royal College of
Psychiatrists83 Victoria Street, London SW1H
0HW, UK
Tel: 0207 227 0830Fax: 0207 227 0850
THE APPEAL
50 Community of Communities
Country Clinics Experts
AUSTRIA
BELGIUM a) Katarsis b) De Sleutel c) Trempoline d) De Kieme) De Spiegel f) De Klimop g) Therapeutic Community
Les Hautes Fagnes
a) Prof. Eric Broekaertb) Arne Schanche Andresen
BULGARIA a) Institute for Ecology of Cognition b) PhoenixTherapeutic Community c) Society Against Drugs
a) Eleonora Nesheva b) Reni Simova
CROATIA
CYPRUS
CZECH REPUBLIC a) Josef Radimecky b) MartinaTeminova c) Pavel Bem
DENMARK a) Opbyningsgården T.S. Phoenix House b) PhoenixHouse Fyn c) Egevang
ESTONIA a) Kariis Tarmo
FINLAND a) Hietalinna Community b) Pellas Community c) 3 +3 Community: Kankaanpaa A-home d) Kisko e) A-
Klinikkasaaotio
FRANCE
GERMANY a) STEP – Hanover b) DOH - Grafrath a) Martin Lutterjohann b) JosefLösel
c) Heiner Petersburs
GREECE a) Daily Psychotherapeutic Community – Athensb) Hellenic Association of Group Analysis c) Open
Psychotherapy Centre – Athens d) TherapeuticCommunity Enterprise of Salamina Naval Hospitale) Kethea - Athens
Babis Poulopoulos
HOLLAND a) Emiliehoeve – Den Haag a) Dr M.J. Zomer b) Dr Kuno vanDijk Stichting c) Dr. Martien
Kooyman
HUNGARY a) Terezia Farkasinszky b) INDIT - Pecs a) Csaba Timar
IRELAND a) Aisling Group b) Coolmine House c) St Bernard’sGroup Homes d) Smiley Trust Homes
a) Seamus O'Dowd b) Jim Cumberton
ITALY a) Urbania – Roma b) Il Porto – Torino c) CeIsVerona
d) Casina Verde Spes – Milano e) CeIs Roma f) CeIsModena g) CeIs Don Lorenzo Milani h) CeIs Bellunoi) CeIs Treviso j) CeIs Vincenza k) Il Symposio Onlus
– Milano l) Communita Cearpes Il Mandorlo Itacam) Communita Cearpes Koine n) Communita CearpesNostos o) Communita Therapeutica Crest di Vinagop) Communita Il Mandorlo Cearpes q) Communita
Maieusis r) Communita Terapeutica Sabrata
a) Bianca Costa Bozzo b) EnricoPedriali c)Daniela Massarani
LATVIA Riga Drug Abuse Prevention Centre a) Ivars Fenuks
LITHUANIA a) Elena Bykova
LUXEMBOURG
MALTA
NORWAY a) Phoenix House Haga, b) Stiftelsen Renavangenc) Veksthuset d) Færingen Terapeutiske Samfunn
e) Stiftelsen Sauherad Samtun
a) Anthony Slater b) SigmundKarterud c) Berit Salvesen d) Hans
Stapnes
POLAND a) Gornoslaskie Stowazyszenie Familia b) Centre ofPsychiatric Health and Addictions c) Biura d/s
Narkomani – Warsaw d) Department for Treatmentof Personality Disorders e) Szpital Specjalistyczny im.dr Józefa Babinskiego
a) Andrzej Maj-Majewski b)Krzysztof Krysta c) Janusz Zimak
d) Towarzystwo Rodzin e) BronislawPawel Rosik f) StowarzyszenieKatolickiego g) Janusz Gabrysiak
h) Aneta Marcinowska i) JózefWalusiak j) Katolicki OsrodekWychowania k) Jolanta Koczurowskal) Krystyna Grzywinska m) Edward
Bozek
PORTUGAL a) Caritas Di Desana de Evora b) Casa da Praia a) A. Seita Duarte b) Pedro Strecht
ROMANIA
RUSSIA a) Kitezh a) David Dean b) Leonid Mikhailovc) Galina Korchangi d) Grigory
Latyshev
SLOVAKIA a) Lubomir Okruhlica b) HroznataZivny
SLOVENIA a) Projekt Clovek
SPAIN a) Centro Orientacion Psicosocial y Familiarb) Asociation Proyecto Hombre
SWEDEN a) Alba Treatment Clinic b) Skede Klockargårdc) Psykiatriska kliniken Karlskrona öst
a) Anita Albins b) Goran Karlström
TURKEY
UK We already have a list of UK contacts as detailed onthe ATC website. If however you think this overlooks
a therapeutic community please get in touch.
Jeremy Harvey: “FROM DEADLINES TO LIFELINES”Review of LIFELINES, a new book by David Gribble
published 2004 by Libertarian Education (London) ISBN 0 9513997 9 9David Gribble has written an important and veryreadable book on ‘non-authoritarian’ education, hispreferred term for liberal or progressive education.For me Lifelines now joins other inspiring educationalreads, such as Mr. Lyward’s Answer by Michael Burn(1956), Pioneer Work with Maladjusted Childrenby Maurice Bridgeland (1971), The Learning Gameby Jonathan Smith (2000) and Ahead of the Classby Marie Stubbs (2003). These are books to re-readand mull over.
It was Lyward who insisted that deadlines are nouse unless they act as lifelines. Gribble is describingseveral kinds of lifelines, including four stories or casestudies of pupil-centred, non-judgemental, non-authoritarian education. In each the tenacity, goodnessand courage of the staff and children shine through.There is at work an unstoppable force for good whichDavid Wills, one of the pioneers featured in this book,called love. ‘First and foremost and all the time thechildren must feel themselves to be loved.’
As for those of us who grumble, or have our doubts,about mainstream schooling today; well, here is amessage of great hope – real lifelines for us and othersto reach for. Among the deadlines that Lyward warnedagainst are unfair pressures, constant nagging andthe running down of a person; teaching to the bookand clock rather than responding to the emotionalreadiness of the child; and a failure to include anelement of fun.
None of those deadlines feature in the four storiesfeatured in Lifelines, which was seeded by a questionthat had niggled Gribble for some time. He taught atDartington for 30 years and was a founder memberof Sands School, and he had long known aboutA.S.Neill and Summerhill. But weren’t Summerhilland Dartington privileged to draw from middle classand liberal families? They were schools founded tofit a particular philosophy. What would a school belike which was founded to answer particularchildren’s needs? Were there such places?
Yes, there were; and he decided to concentrate onfour, two of which he visited with his wife. The firstwas Barns Hostel, a large and dignified house, set inthe Manor Valley near Edinburgh. There wartimeemergency schooling and care were provided foryoung unmanageable evacuees from Edinburgh.David and Ruth Wills ran it for five and a quarteryears (1940 –1945). This was Gribble’s one forayinto the past, and for it local people and Craig Fees(and the PETT archive) were helpful.
Then he visited a Puerto Rican High School inChicago that tries to rescue Puerto Rican childrenfrom the gangs, racism, violence and even rapes of
their local community, and so create a safe educationalhaven for them. Next they went to Moo Baan Dek orChildren’s Village in Thailand, the creation of Rajaniand Pibhop Dhongchai, where some 150 orphaned orhomeless children are housed and looked after in thecountryside away from all the perils, distractions andtemptations of city life. The fourth and last place wasButterflies, a Delhi street children project run by RitaPanicker, a very enterprising and dedicated Indian.Here it was accepted that the street children mayhave to continue to sleep on the streets and earnmoney but that schooling and help could be broughtto them.
During his visits he talked to adults and children,observed what went on, joining in at times, and hetape-recorded interviews. The book is mostly thestories and findings of the people involved – presented,crucially, in their words. He tops and tails these withsome definitions and conclusions. For the rest we areinvited to go with him and meet the people.
Among the lifelines, the fundamental principles thathe found in operation were firstly the staff ’sdetermination to maintain an unshakeable belief in andaffection for the children in their care. This wasespecially so of David Wills at Barns Hostel and ofthe Dhongchais at Moo Baan Dek in Thailand wherethe children came to know that they were loved.
The second was the staff’s determination to listen tothe children and to understand their needs and so toestablish ways of providing for them. The exemplarof this was Mrs. Panicker who would daily ask herself,‘am I really listening to the children and taking noteof what they are saying?’ As a result, in Delhi thestreet educators, who go daily to find the streetchildren, start each contact by giving the children thechoice of whether they want to study (from the boxprovided) or talk about their problems.
The third lifeline was a willingness to establish someform of self-government or shared form ofresponsibility in the maintenance and improvement ofthe way of life that was on offer. David Wills set up aCitizens’ Association which ran for eight months, attimes virtually without any staff input, and was thenreplaced by a Cabinet, a group of six who ran muchof the daily life of the evacuees. In Moo Baan Dekthe children took it in turns to chair the weekly meetingand nearly all proved very trustworthy. In Delhi astreet children’s newspaper was produced every fewweeks which two or three of the children gatheredstories for and then had it distributed across the city.It was a paper by the children and for them.
For many of my readers David Wills’ life and workmay be a familiar topic. I spent a happy day with
52
To my great disappointment I found that this book wasnot about Freinet education. I had not read the titlecarefully enough. It is about the Freinet movements,that is to say the way the educational ideas of CélestinFreinet spread and failed to spread around the world.Nicholas Beattie is primarily interested indemonstrating how this process fitted in with the ideasof Francesco Alberoni; Alberoni wrote a book calledMovement and Institution, putting forward a theoryabout the development and implementation of socialtheories – abstract discussion of an abstraction.
Freinet is a particularly inappropriate subject for suchtreatment, because his work is based on practicalexperience. He was badly wounded in the First WorldWar, and was afterwards physically unable to conducthis tiny rural school in the authoritarian manner thatwas usual at the time. Instead he developed ways ofinvolving the children in practical work, in helping eachother, in deciding as a group how to solve problemswithin the group. The book does not explore this.
Freinet’s best-known innovation was the use of aprinting-press in the classroom. Each day children inhis class would read out what they had written duringthe first part of the morning, and one piece would beselected by the class for editing and printing. The editingwas a public affair, with everyone helping to correctspelling and punctuation, and suggesting otherimprovements. The article, which might well have beenonly thirty or forty words, was then set up on asimplified printing form by the team of printers whoseturn it was, and then printed and circulated. It was notonly distributed locally but also sent to other Freinetclasses in different parts of France. Contact with otherclasses was an important part of Freinet’s practice.The fact that the printed passages were chosen by thechildren themselves from what the group had writtenabout what interested them, made it possible for theyounger ones to learn to read from material that reallymeant something to them, instead of the steriletextbooks that were used in most French schools at thetime.
Freinet also introduced, among other things,worksheets which the children could correct forthemselves, and more importantly a weekly classmeeting, where all the affairs of the class could bediscussed. These were structured to include time forcriticisms, time for praise, and time for positivesuggestions. Freinet made sure that these meetingsshould always end on a positive note, but otherwisethe agenda was created by the children themselves.Beattie reveals his misunderstanding of thesignificance of these meetings by quoting Freinetsaying of children “Il faut les faire vivre en républiquedès l’école”, and translating this as “We must helpthem to live in school and after it as though the republicwere a reality.” The French carries no implication thatthe Republic is not real.
In Beattie’s book we are given the social and politicalbackground of the rural school in Freinet’s time, weare told a little of the official opposition to his methods,how he was driven out of the state school system andhad to start his own small private school, how heinterested other people in his ideas and published amagazine and eventually a number of books, howconferences were held and associations formed, butwhat he did in the classroom, how he interacted withhis pupils and what they achieved together is passedover in a page or two.
If Beattie has ever visited a Freinet classroom, he doesnot mention it. Freinet teachers are still able to operatewithin conventional French schools because schoolheads have no say in the appointment of staff, whoare appointed on the basis of seniority by the localauthority. It would not have been difficult to visit aclass and see what makes it different.
This is a book written for people who are interestedin the way movements grow. It will not hold theattention of people who want to learn more aboutFreinet’s methods. This is a shame, because Freinet,like Janusz Korczak, Jürg Jegge and Mauricio andRebeca Wild, is hardly known in the anglophoneworld, and like them he deserves wide recognition.
staff and pupils at New Barns School (which wasnamed for his ‘Barns experiment’ in wartime Scotland,and of which he was the first Chair of Governors) inMay 1990, and I have read two of Wills’s later books.But Lifelines has introduced me to the earlier Wills -how, as a ‘brother’ at Wallingford Farm TrainingColony for boys in the 1920s, he felt he had to adoptviolent forms of punishment, which he later rejectedbecause they did not work , and hitting peoplesickened him. Barns Hostel was part of the story ofhis breakthrough and salvation.
I urge you to get a copy of Lifelines. Having read it,send it to your MP or give it to someone who can
influence the course of local or national education. Inow want to read David Gribble’s previous book, RealEducation: Varieties of Freedom, and I may evenhave the chance to visit Moo Baan Dek.
Jeremy Harvey
Jeremy is a trustee of PETT and a former headmasterof a Somerset comprehensive, a neighbourhood
community school. He studied George Lyward’s lifeand ideas for his doctorate and is currently writing abook about Lyward and teaching today (for Jessica
Kingsley Publishers).
The Freinet Movements of France, Italy, and Germany, 1920-2000,by Nicholas Beattie, published by Edwin Mellen Press ISBN 077470204 £80
David Gribble Reviews....
53
I was appointed to help Raymondset up the St Luke’s Project inOctober, 1974. This was anexperimental part-time day centrerun on the lines of a TC.
Knowing nothing about TCs, Iremember feeling in awe of thischarismatic man with such a clearvision of the community he wantedto develop. We first met on aninformal visit to the project which
Tribute to Raymond Blake - with whom I had the privilege of working
Milestones:RAYMOND BLAKE
Raymond, my father, began his full andunusual life in Surbiton. He had a sister,Mary (Billie) and two brothers, Tim andJohn. After his schooling he very muchwanted to join the RAF (this was in the early40s) but finally joined up with the Army likehis two elder brothers. Whilst in India, whenhe was 21, he contracted polio and wasparalyzed from the neck down and nearlydied. Fortunately he didn’t, and after manymonths of hospital care, he later convalescedwith his brother Tim and Tim’s wife Wynne,in Richmond.
Raymond met Peggie, my mother, when I was a fewmonths old, in 1950 at Tim’s pub in Cornwall, andthey married a few years later. I remember he liked todo what fathers do with their daughters, playing withtrain sets, sailing boats on the Turpentine, andgenerally reliving his youth.
We lived in Sussex, and during this time he becameinterested in psychotherapy, and we moved to Londonso that they could both attend the Open Way, whichheld Lectures and Seminars. His interest in this areacontinued, and in the mid 60s he joined Ronnie Laingat Kingsley Hall, in the East End of London, workingwith and helping schizophrenics. By this time mymother and Raymond had divorced, but kept in touchon a regular basis. When he left Kingsley Hall, hehad a brief brush with property development in Spain,and then later joined The Richmond Fellowship; buthis long-lasting and more recent contribution wassetting up the Day Centre for the Kensington andChelsea Authority in the crypt of St Luke’s Church inthe early 70s, which he ran for about 16 years.
This was his flagship, and other day centres in otherareas of London followed from his example. Evenwhen he retired he continued to see clients, and wasvery keen to create workshops in Russia to help withthe new era of Glasnost. Sadly, in 1999, he had a
stroke, and although he came through it quite welluntil recently, he was unable to continue with hiswritings.
On a more personal front, he was a complex and oftenentertaining character. Any project he took on, he tookon whole-heartedly and would discuss at great lengthwith anyone who would listen. The Russian projectin particular. But as with many people in his area ofwork, having to deal with self-analysis and trying tofind answers that would help him find himself andlearn to understand himself often eluded him. He wasloved by many people, but couldn’t always see it orrespond to it.
At weekends he enjoyed going for long walks on theSussex Downs, steaming ahead and enjoying theexhilaration of it all, leaving lesser mortals to keepup with him, physically and conversationally. He alsoloved to travel, and spent many summers on the GreekIslands with Marianne, and would probably havepreferred to spend his later years in a much warmerclimate!!
He was a very rare person who we will all rememberfor the special things he did for us.
Lynne Blake6.9.2004
Mary Wardwas held in the crypt of St Luke’sChurch in Sydney St, Chelsea (justoff the King’s Rd). He was therewith a few founder members,encouraging them to express theirviews on how this communityshould be run. This undergroundsetting took some getting used toand that wasn’t just me! Somepeople found it safe and womb
like, while others disliked the factwe were under a church,particularly when funerals wereheld above during our groupsbelow!
Even though I am reflecting on atime nearly 30 years ago, somememories are still vivid. I attributethis mainly to Raymond’senthusiasm and utter determinationto show how people with
54
psychiatric problems can behelped.
This novel approach to mentalhealth rehabilitation in a socialservices setting was met withfrequent opposition from ourmanagers, but Raymond wouldn’tbe put off.The theory advocating all memberstaking an active part in running StLuke’s was all very well, but theydidn’t want ex-psychiatric patientsbeing responsible for keys to theProject! Quite rightly, Raymondinsisted that learning to takeresponsibility was an essential partof the treatment. If lunch, foranything up to 25 people, was tobe ready for 1 o’clock, then thoseon cooking rota would have to startpreparing the meal at least an hourbeforehand. Luckily, the membersnever let us down and K and Cmanagers came to accept this wayof working. Maybe the deliciousmeals had something to do with it!
Raymond was skilful at usingnumerous situations to encouragemembers to care for each other.For example, suggesting the moreconfident members call on anyonefeeling particularly fragile toaccompany them to the project.
Raymond had certain memorableexpressions, I believe becausethey make so much sense, and hewasn’t one to use jargon. For
example, ‘The importance ofappealing to the member’s adulthealthy side.’
I remember a course Raymond didat the Henderson Hospital everyThursday during those early days.Initially, the prospect of “being incharge” once a week filled mewith horror! Naturally, he helpedme to explore these feelings duringsupervision, and I learned animportant lesson - it’s OK to sharemy anxieties with the members(some of whom had joined beforeme and were older than me). Theycould understand my fears, and itseemed that this knowledge freedus all up to cope adequately duringRaymond’s absence.
Raymond firmly believed in theimportance of regular staffsupervision and training. It wasthrough him that I joined my owngroup at the Institute of GroupAnalysis.
Another expression of Raymond’swas this: “The degree to which youcan handle your own feelings is thedegree to which you can handleother people’s feelings.” He calledthis ‘the core of the discipline’.Given the people we were workingwith, inevitably things would beupsetting and overwhelming, butRaymond would be there tosupport me, taking time to explorehow the upset related to my inner
world. He would finish by sayingthat I needed to use my group atthe Institute of Group Analysis todevelop myself further, in order tobecome more effectiveprofessionally as well aspersonally.
Raymond loved having fun andfrequently arranged outings for thecommunity. We also had somewonderful parties in the churchcrypt with a wide range of people.St Luke’s reflected the greatdiversity of Kensington andChelsea. There were exceptionallyacademic members who Raymondcalled the Bloomsbury Group.There were others who werebarely literate. One man, who wasthe ‘grandfather’ of thecommunity, joined us when he wasnearly 65. He became veryworried because his assets haddwindled to a mere £100,000.Understandably, his situationevoked a mixture of responsesfrom the members! However, hewas an excellent cook, alwayswilling to teach his skills to others.
Many people’s lives have beenenriched by knowing Raymond. Itwas a fitting end to his funeral thatwe enjoyed lunch and drinks in thesun at one of his favorite pubs,‘The City Barge’ at Kew,overlooking the Thames.
Originally on the ATC email list:I want to share a memory of Raymond Blake thattypified his attitude and commitment.
As part of his contribution to the development ofGroup Analysis in Russia, he was due to go there toconduct a seminar or workshop. He was contactedthe day before he set out for Russia by his hosts, whoinformed him of a political crisis - the attempted coupagainst Gorbachev, if I remember rightly. They saidthe British Embassy was closed, and they assumedRaymond would wish to reconsider his visit. Raymondreplied emphatically that he would be there at theappointed time to conduct the event (Coup or noCoup), and he would work with whoever else showedup.
So, even when the British Embassy was closed, Group
Analysis, in the person of Raymond, was open forbusiness.
I recently had cause to remark at a meeting to markthe passing and to honour the contribution of anotherof the Group Analytic pioneers, “For the nextgeneration to take up their ideas is relatively easy.To inherit the pioneering spirit that generated thoseideas is considerably more difficult.” So I pass onthis recollection of Raymond in the hope that someoneout there might find it inspiring.
Dick BlackwellPsychotherapist and organisationalconsultant, group analyst and familytherapistPsychotherapist and supervisor at theMedical Foundation for the Care of Victimsof Torture
55
Raymond: recollections
Raymond was not the easiest of characters, althoughat the same time he inspired a great loyalty. I firstmet him at an ATC meeting in 1974. He had justbeen appointed by the Royal Borough of Kensingtonand Chelsea to start up a Mental Health day centrefor the Borough. He was enthusiastic, with that finesharp edge to it which assumed his listener would bejust as interested as himself. He could draw you in tohis enthusiasm, and one ended up knowing no otherpossibility than his way of thinking. I was to becomefamiliar with that inimitable characteristic.
He had been associated with the legendary KingsleyHall and its guru, R.D. Laing, though he was never inthe inner circle. He wore that experience quietly,however it gave him authority and confidence to speakfor therapeutic communities. He told me of hisintentions when I met him, and shortly afterwards hegot me appointed by the Borough as supervisor to StLuke’s Day Centre. This was accommodated in thewindowless basement of St Luke’s Church in SydneyStreet, Chelsea. The first members were admitted,and after about 6 months I met the staff team eachweek and had lunch with the whole community.Raymond had an assistant, and a social work studentand around 10-12 members. He presided rathermagisterially over our meetings, and quickly he setout to establish the pattern of supervision as one inwhich I would endorse his education of his staff. Beingrather independent-minded and determined a personmyself, I was more interested in a role in which wecould engage together in looking at emotional currentsin and out of the staff team. These tensions did notresolve, and for some considerable time they wereaccepted and mitigated by us all as inevitableconsequences of humans in community life. Perhapsthey were. And who was I to challenge the positionthat the leader of the community chose for himself –and for me. It came to a head perhaps when I took theopportunity to write about an aspect of the dynamicsof St Lukes, the dynamics around the staff and themembers, including rather perilously the leader,
Raymond himself (and also, actually, around thesupervisor). This did not go down well, but in theinterests of free communication, which was what theTC was about, Raymond and his team could not refuseme the right to publish my opinion.
The Day Centre became a flag-ship pioneering socialservices facility. It spawned three other day centresin the Borough, each with clients with specificallytargeted needs. Perhaps the high point of Raymond’scareer was a conference for social services on theKensington and Chelsea model, which the Boroughof Wandsworth followed. We were greatly proud ofRaymond’s achievement – and I might say, the ‘we’included not just Raymond and his team, and me assupervisor, but the whole central core of theAssociation of Therapeutic Communities whoRaymond enthused. At this time the heyday of thetherapeutic community movement was over and thelong grinding process of putting it on a solidfoundation, moving from charisma to conformity hadbegun. Fascinatingly, Raymond with his Laingianheritage, was at the forefront of this conversion fromthe naivety of the revolutionary spirit into the solidityof a tried and tested method, which the therapeuticcommunity has now become.
I remember having persuaded him, as the man withthe greatest charisma in the Association, to accept theChair after Stuart Whiteley stepped down. As Chairof the ATC, he steered us into accepting a constitutionand into the clutches of the Charity Commission. Iwas surprised and a little saddened at Raymond’ssudden dedication to this formality, when Raymondand the ATC had prided ourselves on our constantborn-again zeal, and our differentiation from stuffypsychiatry.
One of Raymond’s greatest enthusiasms was histraining as a group analyst, and his devotion toapplying that technique to TCs. After the great fall ofEastern Europe Raymond found a new enthusiasm –to bring group analysis to Russia. In the process hefound his Russian wife and they endured a rather briefmarriage together. Raymond was never lacking inpassions. He was a curious blend of dedication tothose who suffered mental disorder, of grand gestures
David Kennard writes:Raymond took over as Secretary of the ATC from Stuart Whiteley in 1978, founded the Steering Group, andsaw the importance of charitable status and did all the hard graft of steering the ATC to it. He had enormousenthusiasm for therapeutic communities, and in the 1970s developed St Luke Project and three other TC daycentres in Kensington and Chelsea, which ran for 16 years and were models of innovative practice. In 1990 heled the first visit by a Jungian analyst and members of the Institute of Group Analysis (of which I was one) toSt Petersburg, from which so many training developments in Russia and the Baltic States have come. He wasalso a great raconteur and networker and enjoyed recounting his experience of working with RD Laing. Henever quite pulled off the great funding coup he was after from the likes of George Soros, but not for want oftrying. Those who had the good fortune to work with him will miss the great sense of personal engagement,vision and bonhomie he brought to everything he did.
[Raymond Blake: ATC Secretary 1978-1982; Convenor of Steering Group 1978; ATC Chair 1986 – 1988; member of Steering Group 1989-1991]
From Bob Hinshelwood
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that would match a Russian Tzar, and of the puckishnerve of Toad of Toad Hall.
He tried to write down his philosophy and intentions,but the results were execrable. His talent waselsewhere, not a thoughtful exposition of what we wereabout. Instead, he was personally engaging, bringingon new recruits, so that their interest in TCs wouldbecome zeal – and what more valuable function couldthere be?
Raymond with his contradictions, with his insufferablyclaustrophobic enthusiasm, and his inspiring soaring
passion, expressed for a while exactly the knife-edgedilemma which the movement passed though in the1980s. The last of the great TC charismatics, andthe first of the institutionalisers. When Craig askedme to write something for Raymond, I wanted to passon that. Raymond was, in my mind, too controversiala character to do justice to – especially at the time ofhis death. But here I am writing my recollections outof a loyalty to his achievements. Perhaps, even now,his contradictions live on as my own.
Bob HinshelwoodOctober 2004
I first met Dr Kübler-Ross in Lucerne in 1984,while working for a non-profit offering seminarsand educational tours forhealth careprofessionals. FellowSwiss, Ernst Wenk, the
director, had engaged Dr Kübler-Ross to give a two-day seminar on her well-known topic of death anddying. Ernst hoped to get the minimum of 25-30people to cover expenses and make a small overheadcontribution, but to his surprise more than 140enrolled. The overwhelming response meant that notone but four tours had to be arranged in short order.Travel agencies could not guarantee accommodationlet alone a conference center. I was dispatched to findone. As luck would have it, I came across the resortat Füringen, high on a mountain overlooking the farside of Lake Lucerne. The director treated me to anelegant lunch on the balcony looking down on thelake. Unfortunately they were booked for months inadvance. But as the lunch progressed and we talkedabout Dr Kübler-Ross and her work, he suggested acompromise: By making some rearrangements, theymight be able to accommodate the seminar for thetwo days, but I would have to find a hotel to housethe guests. He made some phone calls and came upwith a possibility at the delightful old-world HotelMontana across the lake. There would have to besome transportation arrangements made and hesuggested that we board the seminarians on a steamerthat docked near the hotel, bring them across the lakeand then take them in the tiny funicular that randockside up to the resort. This would give them amagnificent view through the mountain terrain wherethere were deer and other wild life grazing near the
entrance. The tiny car would only hold a dozen; thewait turned out to heighten expectations.
I returned to San Francisco where preparations wereunderway for four tours to begin in a month; I was tolead one. Our tour was to be assembled at JF Kennedyand begin in Amsterdam. The group, mostly nurses,had high hopes. Some had drawn on their savings fora once in a lifetime spree; most had never been toEurope, there were a few who’d never been out ofCalifornia. One brought along her aging mother,another her husband, and several had experiencedrecent deaths of loved ones, hoping to find somesolace from the renowned “death and dying lady.” Afew asked me if they could sit beside her on the bus,mis-assuming she’d be on the entire 14-day tour. Theywanted to know more about her, her work and herpersonal life, but I was at a loss to contribute verymuch although I had read her best-seller, On Deathand Dying. I was there to meet her also.
We had a delightful student from a Swiss universityas our tour guide whom the nurses immediately fellin love with, and a German driver, who spoke noEnglish; but we were able to communicate and sothe two in reality joined our group. I wanted the twoweeks to be a memorable occasion for the nurses,not just in terms of sight-seeing, taking pictures, andshopping, but to experience a somewhat differentway of life, less centered on accumulating wealthand achieving individual autonomy; to gain a differentcultural understanding of human existence, one morerecently put forth by Jeremy Rifkin in The EuropeanDream. I’d lived in Europe for a decade and hadexperienced the plethora of cultural diversity it hadto offer. And of course I thought the tour could beenhanced if we organized it as a group, for wewould be living together and experiencing events onan intimate basis for the two weeks. Breakfast wasscheduled for 8 and the bus was ready to leave at 9each morning, and so I suggested a half hour daily
MILESTONES:
DR ELISABETH KÜBLER-ROSS (1926-2004) - A REMINISCENCE
by DennieBriggs
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coffee klatch following breakfast for those who wereinterested, to share experiences. To my surprise,everyone showed up most mornings including Andreand our driver. We frequently also gathered togetherat cocktail hour to review the day.
After a tour of Amsterdam and a visit to the see theRembrandts at the Rijksmuseum, our journey took usto visit the great cathedral at Köln, a boat excursionon the Rhine, through the Black Forest, and an eveningdrinking beer with lively students at Heidelberg. Aswe passed through Bavaria our driver, who was fromthe region, informed us that we would be passing afew miles from Ludwig’s Castle and wondered if wewould like to pay an unscheduled visit. Theopportunity was an instant highlight—to see the realthing in contrast to its Disneyland replica. But it meantwe would arrive in Oberamergau in the evening, whichwas a disappointment to one nurse, as she’d hoped tobuy Christmas tree ornaments there. From Innsbruckwe proceeded to Venice, and then we began the ascentto the Alps, stopping off in Lugano.
I wish I could remember more of what happenedduring the seminar. I’m getting old and, aware of theexcess baggage I’ve been carrying around for so manyyears, have begun downsizing so as to leave aminimum for someone else to attend to. It was onlyrecently that I got rid of my file on Elisabeth Kübler-Ross which contained extensive notes of theseseminars, tape recordings, photos and copies ofinterviews she had given over the years. But I didfind I’d scanned a few photos. And so my constructof the experience may run at variance to the reality ofthe event—but then restoration is reality also.
After we’d assembled at the Füringen conferencecenter, the anticipation ran high. Someone had drawnthe peace symbol on the blackboard and written“Welcome, Elisabeth.” Ernst was to bring her for theopening at 9. That came and went. A coffee breakwas scheduled for 10:30. Still no Elisabeth. The threeother tour leaders and I tried to fill in as best we couldbut patience was running out when the door openedand she appeared. Her flight from the Far Easthad been delayed. Without fanfare, Elisabethwent straight to work. She concentrated on thespiritual aspects of death and dying and howthis was a badly neglected area in which nursescould contribute a great deal. When I askedher at lunch what I could do to make her staymore enjoyable she said only to supply her withlots of black coffee. So for the remainder ofthe seminar I saw to it that her carafe wasfilled with fresh brew. I was surprised to seethat she was a heavy smoker.
I can’t recall what I had expected of her, butElisabeth was far more human than I hadanticipated. For one thing, she was quite small,but was immediately at home with the large
group and became personal in her anecdotes, abouther family, being the “runt” of the triplets, and hercurrent interest and exploration into the paranormal.I was amused by her frequent use of “crap!” with aheavy German accent, when asked about certainpopular gurus and their theories concerning death.
Elisabeth had planned to deliver an opening session,then divide the group into four working groups eachwith a facilitator; she was to visit each one. But planshad to be altered that first day due to her late arrival.The nurses didn’t want to meet in smaller groups—they’d come to hear and see the renowned teacherand they wanted all they could get of her, even thoughthe audience numbered 150.
Following the two-day workshop, a day was left openfor the nurses to unwind, to explore on their own, andthere was an excursion trip to the alpine country ofthe Bernese Oberland. Ernst arranged for me toaccompany him and Elisabeth on an outing. He’dmentioned the work of Maxwell Jones, which sheknew about, and from my work in therapeuticcommunities in prisons, suggested to her that wecollaborate on a book focusing on the spiritual aspectsof incarceration, which would be published by hisInternational Dialogue Press. She’d done some workin a prison, I believe it was in Hawaii, and was keenlyinterested in the plight of prisoners. She liked the idea,and suggested that we begin by looking at the prisoneras archetype and the prison as metaphor for theincarceration of the self. We speculated what it mightbe like to be suspended in death for prisoners on deathrow. Both she and Ernst agreed the format should beprimarily dialogue. Since she was traveling constantlyI would have to meet her at various places as well asspend time with her at the retreat she was building inHeadWaters, Virginia. As we discussed the project, Itook some notes of how it might start to shape up.During our discussions, I mentioned something aboutthe stages of dying which she’d delineated in her book.She regretted having made that categorization, addingthat she had meant it more metaphorically than literallyand was distressed when she heard health care
...a Steve Paddock cartoonTC dilemmas
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professionals talking about a terminally ill patient beingin phase two, etc, of dying. Dying wasn’t that simpleand didn’t run on a schedule.
And yes, she did carry a ouija board on her trips—she had it right there, but again, not to be consultedprophetically but rather yet another means of openingup new vistas, new communications; to put her incontact with the spiritual dimension; then it was up tothe imagination to carry forth. Much as poet JamesMerrill used his to go beyond recall and reach anotherplane in writing “The Book of Ephraim.” It wasn’tall cerebral that day in the Alps; it was also fun. Therewas snow on the ground and I can’t remember if wemade snow balls, but we had lunch outside,sandwiches of heavy brown bread, with pickles andall the trimmings, took pictures, and sang songs. Thenshe had to leave to visit her two sisters in Basel andbe off to her next workshop. She took a last picturefrom the train window and blew a kiss.
A year later, I was involved in arranging a one-dayseminar with Dr Kübler-Ross at San Francisco’s HyattRegency. After my initial meeting in Switzerland,perhaps I’d been over enthusiastic: my partner wasskeptical. Maybe it was the out of body experiencesshe related that didn’t set well with him. At any ratehe was curious to see what she was like, and so Iarranged for him to sit at her table for lunch. Before Icould introduce him to her, she put out her hand andsaid, “You must be John.” And when he acknowledgedthat she was right, she hugged him. I was as astoundedas he was, for I’d never mentioned him to her. He
was an instant believer. So much so that the meetinginfluenced his choice of death as the topic for hismaster’s thesis at San Francisco State University.
Maxwell Jones became more interested in theimplications of her work in his later years, especiallythe transcendental. In fact, I believe he first calledmy attention to her work during his first retirement,when he was living in Phoenix; he sent me a copy ofher provocative interview published in Playboy. In1985 as I was arranging another tour for nurses, thistime in the UK and Ireland, I asked him if he’d bewilling to do a one-day workshop preceding hers. Heagreed, and it was held at Chester, England. Althoughhe wanted to meet with Elisabeth it was not possibleto coordinate their schedules. She gave her workshopthe following week in Killarney.
In his last book Max wrote: “It was she who drewattention to the phenomenon of the out-of-bodyexperience often found in people who have been nearto death (on the operating table, in accidents, etc.).On recovering, these people have frequently describedhow they appeared to themselves to have left theirbodies and had watched the activity to revive themfrom a few feet above their bodies. . . Her work onnear-death out-of-body experiences leads her toexplore personally the work of spiritualism andmediums. . . one can admire the way Kübler-Rosshas ignored public opinion and has talked openly abouther experiences with spirit guides.”
Dennie Briggs
ATC email list (July 26, 1996 -December 16, 2004) Over eightyears and almost 5 thousandmessages since giving birth, ChrisEvans is calling it a day on owningand managing the ATC emaildiscussion list. On December 16, 2004it will close down. Chris ran the groupon his own equipment, from home,rarely bothering the ATC for money,or being bothered in return. Moreappreciations in our next issue. For ahistory and description of the list, seeChris’s article in Joint Newsletter 9(2003), pages 64-65.
Howard Polsky (d. 19 October2003). Author of Cottage Six: TheSocial System of Delinquent Boys inResidential Treatment (1962). See.“The Gentle Giant of Child andAdolescent Residential Care: InMemory of Howard W. Polsky”, byRoni Berger. Residential Treatment forChildren and Youth 21:4 (2004), 1-6.
Donald J. Ottenberg (d. 20August 2004) “one of the greatpioneers of the early therapeuticcommunity movement in the USA andpivotal to the development oftherapeutic communities in Italy andother European countries “ (RowdyYates)http://www.dass.stir.ac.uk/DRUGS/donaldtributes.php
Marjorie Boxall (d. 1September 2004) Founder ofnurture groups. See appreciation byMarion Bennathan, Young MindsMagazine 73 (2004), pages 29-30.
John McCarthy (d. 13November 2003) “joined thePrison Service in 1957…found his truemetier as deputy governor of Grendonpsychiatric prison…able to exercisehis positive intentions, and learnt toinvolve the staff within the healingregime of the therapeutic communitydesigned by Maxwell Jones….withinthe unlikely punitive regime of adetention centre for young offendersat Latchmere House, Ham Common,Richmond, in 1967... he transformedthe required and rigid “short, sharpshock” approach... involved hisofficers...even enabling them to workalongside staff at the nearby Casselhospital... became associate directorand head of residential services at theRichmond Fellowship…” see fullobituary by Michael Selby, Guardian,Tuesday December 9, 2003.
Alexander Bassin (d.November 10, 2004) “Dr. Bassinhelped start Daytop Lodge, thehalfway house that became DaytopVillage, in 1963… Dr. Bassin wasdirector of research and education forthe probation department of the StateSupreme Court in Brooklyn. Disturbedby the inability of the prison systemto rehabilitate drug addicts, heconceived of a therapeutic communitymodeled on Synanon…With JosephA. Shelly, the court’s chief probationofficer, Dr. Bassin founded Daytop(acronym for Drug Addicts Treated onProbation) Lodge in a 20-roommansion on Staten Island...” FromMargalit Fox, The New York Times,November 10 2004
Donald Meltzer (d. 13 August2004) Psychoanalyst, Consultant
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Valya’s poem from KitezhI cannot find words to expressEverything my soul cries about.I get breathless with my tearsWhen I try to muse
I was so much shocked andbewildered bythe depth of my story.I asked you to take me with you,
to take me higher,And I saw neither adults norchildren in you.
Oh, for how long have I not lookedfor stars!Now my heart is bursting withtears.However, I do not think it will beeasy.
Valya’s poem from Kitezh
I cannot find words to expressEverything my soul cries about.I get breathless with my tearsWhen I try to muse
I was so much shocked andbewildered bythe depth of my story.I asked you to take me with you,
to take me higher,And I saw neither adults norchildren in you.
Oh, for how long have I notlooked for stars!Now my heart is bursting withtears.
Valya’s poem from KitezhI cannot find words to expressEverything my soul cries about.I get breathless with my tearsWhen I try to muse
I was so much shocked andbewildered bythe depth of my story.I asked you to take me withyou,
to take me higher,And I saw neither adults norchildren in you.
Oh, for how long have I notlooked for stars!Now my heart is bursting with
Valya’s poem from Kitezh
I cannot find words to expressEverything my soul cries about.I get breathless with my tearsWhen I try to muse
I was so much shocked and bewildered bythe depth of my story.I asked you to take me with you,
to take me higher,And I saw neither adults nor children in you.
Oh, for how long have I not looked for stars!Now my heart is bursting with tears.However, I do not think it will be easy.I do not know if I can trust you.
You are somewhere and you might be nearby,My path will not miss you.I am determined to overcome all difficultiesTo join the Circle as an equal.
Valya Kanukhina, 14