THERAPEUTIC COMMUNITY

Pioneered in Alaska in the mid 1970's, Akeela House was the first treatment program in Alaska to use the Therapeutic Community modality as a means of addressing the self-destructive behavior of the severely addicted who were thought often to be beyond recovery. Akeela House, our long-term residential treatment program, is our oldest program and the anchor for all of our programs. It is a co-ed program.

What is a Therapeutic Community (TC)?

The primary goal of a Therapeutic Community is to foster individual change and positive growth.  This is accomplished by changing an individual’s life style through a community of concerned people working together to help themselves and each other.

Being part of something greater than oneself is an especially important factor in facilitating positive growth.  TC’s offer a holistic approach to treating the whole person and not just the addiction. Clients in a TC are members of a treatment family that in many ways replicates any family; they are not patients as one typically thinks of residents in a hospital or an institution. These “family” members play a significant role in managing the TC and acting as positive role models for their fellow treatment family members.

High expectations and high commitment from both TC family members and staff support this positive change.  Insight into one’s problems is gained through group and individual interaction, but learning through experience, failing and succeeding and experiencing the consequences, is considered to be the most potent influence toward achieving lasting change.

The goal of the TC is to help the residents gain the ability to return to society and live productive lives. While the milieu is the most potent force in a TC, the counselors assist and guide clients through group and individual counseling as well as interaction with the clients as they function as a part of the milieu. Added to the program in the last several years, has been an increased numbers of individuals who present with mental health issues as well as addiction problems. The result is an increased effort to address co-occurring issues.