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This paper aims to describe a method of training for practitioners in democratic Therapeutic Communities (TCs) which has been used in several settings across the world over the past 25 years: the “Living-Learning Experience” (LLE) workshop. It goes on to consider the cross-cultural implications of the work.

Drawing on the experience of running exactly the same programme in different countries and cultures, the paper examines the cross-cultural adaptability and describes necessary adaptations for local circumstances. It also contains original ethnographic research in UK and Italy; further study is planned for other countries.

The workshops are readily transferable to different cultures and are appreciated for their democratic and relational way of working.

The ethnographic study examines the workshops in some depth, in UK and Italy, and could usefully be replicated in other countries. No quantitative, outcome or follow-up studies have yet been done, and this paper could contribute to the design of useful quantitative studies.

The paper demonstrates that the LLE is a useful experiential learning tool in widely different settings. It could be developed in different ways, such as for developing relational practice or establishing therapeutic environments in different settings.

The workshops' acceptance in widely different cultures indicates that the open and non-didactic format addresses essential and fundamental qualities required for therapeutic engagement and human relatedness.

This is the first description of the principles of democratic TCs being applied across different international settings. Its value extends beyond the TC field, to the use of democratic and relational principles' applicability in therapeutic pedagogy and training.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the training value of a residential “enabling environments” (LLEE) workshop in relation to the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ (RCPsych) ten specified standards, as rated by workshop participants.

A 34 question yes/no/na questionnaire was drawn up, derived from the ten value-based standards and criteria which need to be met for the enabling environment (EE) award by the RCPsych’s Centre for Quality Improvement (Table AI). It was administered after six residential workshops, in Italy and UK, to 99 participants. Results were analysed for each of the six workshops, and for each of the ten standards, to show the degree to which participants recognised whether the standards were met.

High rates of positive responses were recorded with little variation across the six workshops sampled. Some standards and criteria showed higher levels of positive responses, and some showed slightly higher scores for “not applicable”.

Experiential Living-Learning Experience (LLE) workshops provide a valid training experience for those developing or working in EEs.

Value-based standards can only be fully understood by direct experience of them, as verbal or written explanations fail to convey the psychological impact of the experience.

The questionnaire and its translation is the original work of AL. RH is the founder of LLE training workshops and the EE award.

The purpose of this paper is to explain that an integration of cognitivism with sociotherapy is possible and appropriate to help severe BPD cases. What follows is both an outline and a rationale of this integration.

Recovery programs for serious BPD represent a challenge because they require complex answers in three problematic areas: interdependent relationships, emotional intensity and identity, virtually at the same time. This prompted Raymond Gledhill Community the opportunity to integrate recovery programs with treatments that have yielded proven results for each cluster. Schema therapy and Systems Training for Emotional Predictability and Problem Solving have been integrated with sociotherapy.

This integration has led to considerable results including: increased motivation among the resident community, the adoption of a shared language, improved communication levels in the community, greater mutual support, increased trust in, and empathy toward, fellow residents, and more self-awareness – even among the facilitators.

It is the belief that the integration of cognitive tools with sociotherapy can indeed target recovery for people with BPD in a much more efficacious and cost effective manner.

The purpose of this paper is to describe transient therapeutic communities (TCs) and their value for training.

This is a descriptive account which includes the findings of two field study evaluations, and direct participant feedback. It is an exploration of the application of TC and group analytic theory to transient TCs.

The transient TC format is an excellent training format for creating a powerful and effective environment for learning and personal development in the very short time frame of three days.

These courses are a very efficient and effective way of promoting reflective practice, enabling environments, and emotionally safe working practices. The trainings are useful for a wide range of people from mental health professions, those working in human resources, and those in senior positions in industrial, commercial and public sector fields.

This paper will raise awareness that target-driven training is insufficient to improve quality of services beyond a certain point. A relational focus of training is needed to deal with issues of complexity which cannot be resolved by simple managerial methods. This experiential training can help to meet the need for inculcating compassion, kindness, and empathy in its participants.

Although other psychotherapy and group relations courses exist, and are used beyond the mental health field, the focus on generating an experience of belonging, emotional safety and democratic empowerment in the relational field of the course itself – by use of TC methodology – is novel, and could be of considerable value more widely.

This is an appraisal of two workshop formats for people involved with, or interested in Therapeutic Communities (TCs). The paper aims to discuss this issue.

The author had the good fortune of being a staff member of two differently organised workshops, both of which aimed to help staff working in TCs with the role of staff member. The origin and structure of the two workshops are described in “Living-Learning Experience” (LLE) and “Learning from Action” (LfA).

This is followed by some observations and reflections made possible by the privileged position of the author's participation in both, within a fortnight of each other.

The two workshops could be considered a valuable complementary training tool.

This study aims to describe Italian and UK therapeutic community developments during 1960–2021.

Historical review and personal experience.

After significant divergence in the nature of “therapeutic communities”, mostly based on the different sociopolitical contexts in the two countries, areas of formal rapprochement have been emerging in the past 20 years.

The details of how therapeutic communities developed in Italy, particularly in the wake of Law 180, deserves investigation and comparison to the UK and other countries.

The recent collaborative work in quality, training and research could support the future use of therapeutic communities and enabling environments.

The underlying principle of “relational practice”, which underlies the therapeutic community approach, could have wider implication in public services beyond mental health.

Much has been written about the progressive intentions of Italian mental health with Law 180, but not with a specific focus on therapeutic communities – which were an important initial impetus for Basaglia and his equipé.

The aim of this paper is to examine marketing practices within the bicycle industry.

The paper utilizes both primary and secondary sources to provide a retrospective analysis of marketing strategy at the largest Italian bicycle company.

The paper explains how marketing works at the Bianchi company and provides a detailed analysis of how it built its brand identity over time.

Very few primary sources were available. There was neither a company archive nor other archives. For the most part, the paper is based on secondary sources.

The paper tries to fill the gap in current marketing literature that usually neglects the bicycle as a relevant topic, despite bicycle companies being a predecessor to the automobile industry. Moreover, the paper demonstrates that bicycle companies developed a rather sophisticated approach to marketing that is still in use.

The purpose of this study is to review the application of semantic technologies in cultural heritage (STCH) to achieve interoperability and enable advanced applications like 3D modeling and augmented reality by enhancing the understanding and appreciation of CH. The study aims to identify the trends and patterns in using STCH and provide insights for scholars and policymakers on future research directions.

This research paper uses a bibliometric study to analyze the articles published in Scopus and Web of Science (WoS)-indexed journals from 1999 to 2022 on STCH. A total of 580 articles were analyzed using the Biblioshiny package in RStudio.

The study reveals a substantial increase in STCH publications since 2008, with Italy leading in contributions. Key research areas such as ontologies, semantic Web, linked data and digital humanities are extensively explored, highlighting their significance and characteristics within the STCH research domain.

This study only analyzed articles published in Scopus and WoS-indexed journals in the English language. Further research could include articles published in other languages and non-indexed journals.

This study extensively analyses the research published on STCH over the past 23 years, identifying the leading authors, institutions, countries and top research topics. The findings provide guidelines for future research direction and contribute to the literature on promoting, preserving and managing the CH globally.