The therapeutic community (TC) as a treatment method for drug addiction has existed for approximately 40 years. Generally, treatment patients live in a drug-free residential setting that provides a high degree of social structure and treatment protocols. The primary difference between therapeutic communities and other drug addiction treatment programs is that TCs use the community as the key agent of change.
Essentially, TC staff and patients interact in ways that are intended to influence the patientsÆ attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors about drug use (NIDA, 2001). The TC treatment perspective holds that drug abuse is a disorder of the whole person and the addiction is a symptom rather than the essence of the disorder. The primary goal of TC treatment, therefore, is to change negative patterns of behavior, thinking, and feeling that predispose people to abuse drugs. TC treatment believes the people with serious drug-abusing patterns of behavior can be changed into productive members of society as a result of their TC experience. The TCÆs principle aim , therefore, is to change an addictÆs thinking to produce a person who abstains from alcohol and illicit drugs, does not engage in antisocial conduct, and who holds ôemployableö and ôpro-socialö attitudes and values (Nielsen & Scarpitti, 1997, p. 279.).
Most TCs use common program components to achieve their goals. Most rely on individual and group counseling. Generally, the focus of the TC is to change patientsÆ negative thought and behavior patterns through individual and group therapy, peer group sessions, and involvement in a therapeutic community with specific and known hierarchical roles, privileges, and responsibilities (NIDA, 2001). Specifically, the TC relies on a staged hierarchy. Treatment stages relate to increased levels of individual and social responsibility. The TC also uses peer influence, mediated through various group processes, to help patien...