Training for democratic therapeutic community staff: a description and evaluation of three experiential workshops

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to compare and evaluate three experiential training workshops, each set up as three-day transient therapeutic communities, and established to train therapeutic community staff. Design/methodology/approach The author carried out participant observation of all courses and analysed these using thematic analysis. The description is provided in Part 1 of the paper. The evaluation, in Part 2 was based on written feedback from participants and from assessment against relevant audit criteria. Findings All three workshops achieved their aims of providing participants with an authentic TC resident’s experience. Additionally, each offered personal understandings of how participants felt and why they felt that way in the community setting. Research limitations/implications This was largely a piece of qualitative research, carried out in the field, to achieve depth of description and understanding rather than statistical outcomes. Some numerical scores were derived from feedback forms. Further analysis of feedback from future workshops will strengthen findings by increasing the numbers of respondents. Practical implications The workshops should continue largely as they are, although there may be some small changes to the designs. They achieve the aim of advancing the understanding of TC staff members. Originality/value The paper is based on three earlier unpublished reports and is new published research of interest to trainers in the fields of mental health and experiential learning.