If they will have me, I think I will stay a while: compassion and containment illustrated by the Ingrebourne Therapeutic Community
Therapeutic Communities: The International Journal of Therapeutic Communities
ISSN: 0964-1866
Article publication date: 13 July 2020
Issue publication date: 22 July 2020
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the evolution of discerning compassion and how it was used in the Ingrebourne Therapeutic Community.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is derived from a PhD thesis which was researched through interviews and archival research. The fundamental finding was that the therapeutic community approach was almost unique in providing a structured approach to implementing discerning compassion.
Practical implication
The therapeutic community approach for discerning compassion, in which the response to distress aims to promote flourishing.
Social implications
This paper offers a model that has implications on how care is delivered in other settings.
Originality/value
There is little literature that explores the role of compassion in therapeutic communities or in care environments of any form. The approach taken here places compassion in a historical and philosophical setting and contrasts it with the kindness expressed in traditional psychiatric care that promoted “tranquility”.
Keywords
Citation
Harrison, T. (2020), "If they will have me, I think I will stay a while: compassion and containment illustrated by the Ingrebourne Therapeutic Community", Therapeutic Communities: The International Journal of Therapeutic Communities, Vol. 41 No. 2, pp. 37-46. https://doi.org/10.1108/TC-11-2019-0015
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited