The residential therapeutic caring community.

The residential therapeutic caring community (RTCC) for adolescents combines psychotherapeutic principles of the professional model and self-help concept of the therapeutic community by using the collective resources of members to mobilize peer pressure. The RTCC is a safe, structured, supportive treatment environment that employs a confrontation, teaching, interpretative, and reasoning approach and uses the psychotherapeutic principles of reality therapy and existential thought. In the RTCC, the staff serve as mentors and role models, and they demonstrate their concern by maintaining high expectations for immediate improved behavior. The personal qualities necessary for a psychotherapist working in an RTCC are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some pre-treatment group psychotherapy considerations with alcoholic and drug-addicted individuals.

Contends that by virtue of their dependence on and preoccupation with psychoactive chemicals and alcohol, substance-abusing individuals remain unmotivated and unconvinced to alter their behavior unless the group psychotherapist is prepared to assume a more active and humanistic orientation. Despite their often convincing verbal assurances, initially most addicted individuals neither wish to terminate their drug-related activities or to trust the group psychotherapist. The group can be mobilized by the therapist not only to define and enforce behavior limits but also to serve as a support system. A learning-based confrontational psychotherapeutic approach has proven effective with addicts and alcoholics. The approach attacks the malignant aspects of behavior that enable individuals to extricate themselves from chemical oblivion and to discover positive, productive, and responsible indentities and options. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beyond reality: The need to (re)gain self-respect.

Notes that adolescents are tempted to pursue pleasure by indulging themselves. Psycho-educational characteristics are presented of adolescents who attend the John Dewey Academy (JDA), a residential college preparatory, therapeutic high school. These students possess superior, innate, intuitive intelligence, though neither standardized tests nor prior academic performance confirms their potential. These students also engage in self-destructive behavior. JDA students undergo individual, group, and family psychotherapy. Self-help groups are conducted by seniors, enabling students to gain self-respect by helping others to help themselves. The authors contend that helping adolescents (re)gain their self-respect is the most important goal of therapy. The attainment of self-respect involves a passion for the good and just life rather than for sex, drugs, and material possessions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)