Twenty-five principles guide the application of successful therapeutic community programming for drug abusers within the criminal treatment system.
The principles have been gleaned from clinical experience and sound evaluative research into correctional and community- based treatment programming that yielded reduced criminal recidivism and drug use. Recovery in the social learning model involves altering offenders' negative behavioral patterns, attitudes, and dysfunctional roles that were learned in interaction with a dysfunctional family and with delinquent and criminal peers; thus, recovery depends on learning by doing and participating as a community member in a variety of socially responsible roles. This is acquired by acting these roles and through training to avoid anger or other triggering emotions. Changes in lifestyle and identity are gradually learned through participating in various roles in the community, supported by the other community members similarly engaged in the learning process and a trained, experienced, and supportive staff of recovered ex- offender addicts and professionals. Treatment begun in prisons must continue in the community. One of the major problems in continuing treatment in the community is an insufficient number of well-trained recovering persons to staff treatment programs. One need is for an academy for training recovering persons and clinical professionals to become credentialed staff to serve the growing number of therapeutic communities in correctional settings. The process of recovery involves persons interacting with the community in a process of "curing" themselves. Persons themselves are at the core of the change process; thus, choices to enter and to leave the therapeutic community are appropriately part of that interaction between the individual and the therapeutic community and should be viewed from that perspective. 35 references