Social Psychiatry
	Moral Treatment
	Social Legacy of Trauma
	Maxwell Jones
	Community of Communities study
	Special Issue of Psychiatric Quarterly on the Therapeutic Community

From Beyond the Therapeutic Community, by Maxwell Jones, 1968 ....

"Social learning describes the little understood process of change which may result from interpersonal interaction, when some conflict or crisis is analyzed in a group situation, using whatever psychodynamic skills are available. The concept of social learning implies social interaction around some problem area. It may take considerable skill on the part of a leader to create a group climate in which latent feelings may become manifest. People often lack the motivation to examine their feelings, let alone share them with others. In our competitive and insecure world it is hard to find a group climate where there is a sense of security without fear of reprisal. To achieve such a group climate requires a social structure where the sanctions are positive and there is no threat from the abuse of authority. Such a climate is difficult to achieve in a therapeutic group, and even more so in staff meetings, training programs, family groups, or group situations in the community.

In other words, the social milieu in which social learning can occur is as important as the skills required to analyze interpersonal interactions with in the group, to uncover latent content, and to examine the various solutions to problems raised in such a group. Social learning is used to cover this set of circumstances, and the terms "living-learning situation" and "crisis situations" are used in a very arbitrary way to refer mainly to the amount of feeling inherent in the situation.

In both crisis situations and living-learning situations, the term "confrontation" is used to convey the brining together which makes social interaction, the expression of feeling, and social learning possible. The confrontation may or may not succeed in its purpose of resolving a conflict or achieving a learning situation. The outcome of the confrontation depends on the inherent skills of the participants, the motivation of the individuals concerned and the nature and complexity of the conflict or crisis."

Objectives of the Commitment to Social Learning

• •To create a “learning organization”
• •To use “dialogue” rather than “discussion” – finding shared meaning
• •To increase staff awareness about the various forms of decision making and which style is appropriate for which kind of problem.
• •To discuss the ways in which self-fulfilling prophecies sabotage social learning, provide illustrations for how this occurs, and offer alternative strategies.
• •To explore the dynamics behind and remedies for traumatic reenactment
• •To explore what teamwork really means .
• •To promote better decision making and critical judgment in staff and children
• •To enable staff to help children deal with loss.

   

	Mental Models
	Sanctuary Model of Organizational Change
	Components of the Sanctuary Model
	Trauma Theory
	Seven Commitments of Sanctuary