An introduction to research on the social impact of the therapeutic community for addiction

An introduction to the issue of research on the social impact of the Therapeutic Community for Addiction (TC) is presented. The TC is argued to originate in 1957 in the California utopian community of Synanon, although earlier antecedents are recognised. The direct scientific influence on the development of Synanon is documented and traced to the discipline of sociology and the social research tradition. The breaking with the authoritarian style of Synanon is seen as a key process in the evolution of the TC. Social innovations created by the TC movement include interracial and interethnic living groups as well as the instilling of democracy in the relations of caring in the state institutions and the civil society. The issues of after-care and the re-entry phase of the TC client to society are seen as the point where the social impact of the TC can begin to be traced. The integration of the TC into larger treatment systems is discussed, both in its positive and negative consequences to the social movement. Historical research needs to be extended beyond familiar sources into the 'grey literature' of TCs and their umbrella organisations. Also, the need to go beyond research that provides an understanding of the past history of the TC is acknowledged. A call for present-oriented sociological research on the impact of the TC on the social networks of clients in re-entry and on socially excluded segments of society that would revitalise the movement is concluded.