Background
Pioneered in the late 1950's, the therapeutic community movement spread across the nation bringing a way out of self-destructive behavior for those who were thought often to be beyond recovery.
Therapeutic Communities of America (TCA) was founded in 1975 as a non-profit membership association for therapeutic communities across the United States and Canada.
TCA has grown to a consortium of over 600 member programs. The association represents the interest of its member programs and their thousands of dedicated staff workers, who know that through appropriate intervention and treatment that our nation's drug problem can be addressed effectively.
Responding to the challenge of a national crisis in substance abuse, therapeutic communities, have grown from early long-term residential programs to comprehensive programs.
What is a Therapeutic Community (TC)?
The primary goal of a Therapeutic Community is to foster individual change and positive growth. This is accomplished by changing an individual’s life style through a community of concerned people working together to help themselves and each other.
Being part of something greater than oneself is an especially important factor in facilitating positive growth. TCs offer a holistic approach to treating the whole person and not just the addiction.
Clients in a Therapeutic Community (TC) are members, as in any family setting, are not patients, as in an institution. These members play a significant role in managing the TC and acting as positive role models for others to emulate.
High expectations and high commitment from both Therapeutic Community members and staff support this positive change. Insight into ones problems is gained through group and individual interaction, but leaning through experience, failing and succeeding and experiencing the consequences, is considered to be the most potent influence toward achieving lasting change.
The goal of the TC is to help the individual to gain the ability to return to society and live productive lives.
Many TCA member programs now provide assessment, detoxification, crisis intervention, ER triage, residential, outpatient, family, education, vocational training, medical and health services, aftercare, and continuing care.
Both adults and adolescents are served in therapeutic communities. In addition, therapeutic communities serve a broad spectrum of special need populations. These populations include pregnant and post partum drug-addicted women, individuals with HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C, mentally ill substance abusers, criminal justice populations, the homeless, the physically handicapped, gang involved individuals, the elderly, veterans, and mothers and children.
Members of Therapeutic Communities of America are actively involved in research studies which have determined the efficacy of their efforts. Treatment improves the relationships, career prospects, and health of those directly impacted by addiction, and provides an impressive return on the dollar to society.
Positive treatment outcomes reduce health care costs and incidents of crime, while increasing work productivity.