CCOR REVIEWER
(brother’s keeper);
Lesson 1
BASIC CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES
The Therapeutic Community (TC)
- is an environment that helps people
get help while helping others.
- It is a treatment environment: the
interactions of its members are
designed to be therapeutic within the
context of the norms that require for
each to play the dual role of client-
therapist.
HOW DOES TC LOOK LIKE?
- The operation of the community
itself is the task of the residents,
working under staff supervision.
- operates in a similar fashion to a
functional family with a hierarchical
structure of older and younger
members.
Working Assignments
- called “job functions” are arranged
in a hierarchy, according to seniority,
individual progress and productivity.
SALIENT FEATURES OF TC
1. The primary “therapist” and
teacher is the community itself,
consisting of peers and staff, who,
as role models of successful
personal change, serve as guides in
the recovery process.
2. TC adheres to precepts of right
living:
- Truth/honesty;
- Here and now;
- Personal responsibility for
destiny;
- Social responsibility
- Moral Code;
- Inner person is “good” but
behavior can be “bad”;
- Change is the only certainty;
- Work ethics;
- Self-reliance;
- Psychological converges with
philosophical (e.g. guilt kills).
3. It believes that TC is a place
where:
- One can change – unfold;
the group can foster change;
- individuals must take
responsibility;
- Structures must
accommodate this;
- Act as if – go through the
motion.
4. 5 distinct categories of activity that
help promote the change:
- Relational/Behavior
Management
- Affective/Emotional/
Psychological
- Cognitive/Intellectual
- Spiritual
- Psychomotor/Vocational-
Survival Skills
Therapeutic Community
- is a tool that the Administration uses
to prepare the client for reintegration
to the community as a reformed,
rehabilitated, productive, drug-free
and law abiding person.
TC MISSION
 - To promote human and social which alcohol and substance users
transformation among our clients could rebuild their lives.
and among ourselves.

TC VISION
- TC shall have become the GOAL OF TC’s
corporate culture of the Parole - promote a more holistic lifestyle and
and Probation Administration to identify areas for change such as
permeating its plans, programs, and negative personal behaviors--social,
practices, and confirming its status psychological, and emotional--that
as a model component of the can lead to substance use.
Philippine Correctional System.
FACTS
ARE THERAPEUTIC COMMUNITIES - a large majority of residents served
EFFECTIVE? by TCs were male heroin addicts
who entered 18- to 24-month
- Overall, studies find that residential programs.
therapeutic community (TC) - By the mid-1970s, a more diverse
participants show improvements clientele was entering treatment; 45
in substance abuse, criminal percent used heroin alone or in
behavior, and mental health combination with other substances,
symptoms; this is especially true of and most were primarily involved
participants who enter treatment with with a range of substances other
the most severe problems. than heroin, such as amphetamines,
marijuana, PCP, sedatives, and
Lesson 2 hallucinogens.
HISTORY - By the 1980s, the large majority of
those entering treatment in TCs had
Therapeutic Community primarily crack or cocaine problems.
- is an intensive and comprehensive - The percentage of women entering
treatment model developed for use treatment grew, and they presented
with adults that has been modified with different problems, including
successfully to treat adolescents extremely dysfunctional lives and
with substance use disorders. more psychopathology.
- originated in 1958.
- first TC for substance users was Lesson 3
founded in California by Chuck CHARACTERISTICS OF THERAPEUTIC
Dederich. MODALITY

Chuck Dederich Two unique characteristics of TC’s

- one of the earliest members of
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), who The use of the community
wanted to provide a controlled itself as therapist and teacher in
(substance-free) environment in the treatment process
 - The community residents develop socially productive
includes the social lifestyles for the first time in their
environment, peers, lives.
and staff role models. - and rehabilitation, in which other
Treatment is guided residents are helped to return to a
by the substance use previously known and practiced or
disorder, the person, rejected healthy lifestyle (De Leon,
recovery, and right 1994).
living. - TC approach and 12-Step-based
programs is the belief that the
A highly structured, well-defined, individual is responsible both for his
and continuous process of self- addiction and for his recovery.
reliant program operation - Job Functions, Chores and other
- Right living facility management responsibilities
emphasizes living in of TC help maintain the daily
the present, with operations of TC.
explicit values that - TC has been used as a vehicle for
guide individuals in teaching self-development.
relating to - Activities are performed collectively,
themselves, peers, except for individual counseling.
significant others, and Treatment
the larger society - Treatment is ordinarily provided
- Recovery is seen as within a 24-hour, 7-days-per-week
changing negative highly structured plan of activities
patterns of behavior, and responsibilities.
thinking, and feeling
that predispose one Recommended treatment
to substance use and - Tenures have generally shortened in
developing a recent years, averaging around 1
responsible year, they may last as long as 18
substance-free months.
lifestyle
TC Program
Theoretical Framework - conducted in three stages:
- considers substance use a symptom induction, primary treatment, and
of much broader problems and, in a preparation for separation from
residential setting, uses a holistic the TC (De Leon, 1994).
treatment approach that has an
impact on every aspect of a TC Personnel
resident's life. - committed to providing services to
residents in shorter periods of time
FACTS and with decreased resources than
- The community provides was the case in previous years
habilitation, in which some TC
New Strategies
- focusing goals on moving the
resident to the next stage of
recovery in another, less expensive
setting;
- expanding aftercare opportunities in
residential and day treatment
programs following TC treatment.