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Madness and chaos in the culture of a therapeutic community

Madness and chaos in the culture of a therapeutic community The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of staff members working in a psychiatric therapeutic community in relation to ideas of “madness” and “chaos”.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is a qualitative study based on oral history group witness seminars.FindingsThe findings indicate that many of the participants experienced working in a therapeutic community as both exciting and unsettling; some found themselves questioning their own mental health at the time. Despite a sense of “madness” and chaos in the life of the community, there was also a feeling that it provided a containing environment for some very disturbed patients.Originality/valueThis study is unusual in drawing upon staff member’s perceptions of their own relationship to “madness” in response to being involved in the life of a therapeutic community. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Therapeutic Communities The International Journal of Therapeutic Communities Emerald Publishing

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References (29)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
© Emerald Publishing Limited
ISSN
0964-1866
DOI
10.1108/tc-04-2018-0006
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of staff members working in a psychiatric therapeutic community in relation to ideas of “madness” and “chaos”.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is a qualitative study based on oral history group witness seminars.FindingsThe findings indicate that many of the participants experienced working in a therapeutic community as both exciting and unsettling; some found themselves questioning their own mental health at the time. Despite a sense of “madness” and chaos in the life of the community, there was also a feeling that it provided a containing environment for some very disturbed patients.Originality/valueThis study is unusual in drawing upon staff member’s perceptions of their own relationship to “madness” in response to being involved in the life of a therapeutic community.

Journal

Therapeutic Communities The International Journal of Therapeutic CommunitiesEmerald Publishing

Published: Apr 23, 2019

Keywords: Qualitative research; Therapeutic communities; TC history; Madness; Mental health continuum; Staff perceptions

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