Therapeutic Community
Therapeutic communities (TCs) are residential treatment programs or communities that provide intensive therapeutic interventions for individuals with mental health challenges, substance use disorders, or other complex issues. In a therapeutic community, residents actively participate in their recovery process, and peer support is often a central element of the treatment model. These communities aim to create a supportive and healing environment that fosters personal growth, self-awareness, and empowerment.
Therapeutic communities are predominantly found in the alcohol and other drugs sector; however, they can be found throughout the world, focusing on mental health conditions. In particular, certain therapeutic communities are focused purely on treating personality disorders or depression. They can contribute to the lived experience movement by promoting recovery, peer support, and consumer leadership.
The International Therapeutic Communities Association is a global organisation that connects and supports therapeutic community programs around the world, particularly those focused on mental health and substance use recovery.
It promotes best practice, training, research, and international collaboration, helping strengthen therapeutic communities as a model of care where the community itself is the primary agent of change.
International Therapeutic Communities Association
World Federation of Therapeutic Communities
The World Federation of Therapeutic Communities (WFTC) is the main global umbrella organisation for therapeutic communities worldwide, particularly those focused on substance use recovery. It connects national federations, sets standards, and supports international collaboration across the TC field.
Consortium of Therapeutic Communities
The Consortium of Therapeutic Communities is a United Kingdom–based organisation that brings together therapeutic communities across mental health, social care, and related sectors. It focuses on promoting best practice, providing training and accreditation, and supporting the development of therapeutic communities—particularly democratic and relational models—while strengthening collaboration across the field.
The Australasian Therapeutic Communities Association
(ATCA)
The Australasian Therapeutic Communities Association (ATCA) is a peak body representing therapeutic communities across Australia and New Zealand, particularly in the alcohol and other drug (AOD) sector. It supports member organisations through training, accreditation, research, and advocacy, promoting therapeutic communities as an effective, community-based model of recovery and helping strengthen the TC sector across the Australasian region.
Community of Communities
The Community of Communities is a United Kingdom–based quality improvement and accreditation network for therapeutic communities, hosted by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
It supports therapeutic communities by providing peer review, standards, and service development, helping ensure that community-based, relational models of care maintain high quality, safety, and fidelity to therapeutic community principles.
Plumtree Community
The Plumtree Community is a United Kingdom–based democratic therapeutic community that provides a structured, relational environment for people experiencing complex emotional and mental health challenges. It operates on principles of shared responsibility, group decision-making, and mutual support, where the community itself is the primary therapeutic agent and everyday interactions form the basis of healing and recovery.
The Henderson Hospital was a pioneering therapeutic community in the United Kingdom that specialised in treating people with severe personality and emotional difficulties using a democratic, group-based model of care. It was highly influential in the development of modern therapeutic communities, emphasising shared responsibility, flattened hierarchy, and the idea that the community itself is the primary agent of change, although it has since closed.
Henderson Hospital
Francis Dixon Lodge
The Francis Dixon Lodge is a United Kingdom–based residential therapeutic community that provides treatment for people with complex emotional and personality-related difficulties. It operates using a democratic, group-based model where residents and staff share responsibility, and the community itself becomes the primary therapeutic environment, supporting long-term recovery through relationships, reflection, and shared daily living.
Cassel Hospital
The Cassel Hospital is a United Kingdom–based specialist mental health service that uses a therapeutic community model to support people with complex emotional and personality-related difficulties. It combines psychodynamic therapy with a structured, relational community environment, where patients and staff work together in shared groups and daily activities, making the community itself a central part of the therapeutic process.
The Winterbourne Therapeutic Community is a United Kingdom–based democratic therapeutic community that provides residential treatment for people with complex emotional and personality-related difficulties. It operates on principles of shared responsibility, group decision-making, and mutual support, where residents and staff participate together in the life of the community, using relationships and daily interactions as the primary drivers of therapeutic change.
Winterbourne Therapeutic Community
The Main House Therapeutic Community is a United Kingdom–based residential therapeutic community that supports people with complex emotional and personality-related difficulties through a structured, relational environment. It operates on democratic principles, where residents and staff share responsibility and participate in group processes, using everyday interactions and community life as the primary means of therapeutic change and recovery.
Main House Therapeutic Community
Daleham Gardens
The Daleham Gardens is a United Kingdom–based residential therapeutic community that provides long-term, relational support for individuals with complex emotional and mental health challenges, operating on democratic principles where residents and staff share responsibility and engage in group-based processes, with the community itself serving as the primary therapeutic environment for recovery and personal growth.
Therapeutic Community at HMP Grendon
The Therapeutic Community at HMP Grendon is a United Kingdom–based prison that operates entirely on therapeutic community principles, where people in custody participate in structured group therapy, shared decision-making, and community living to address offending behaviour and underlying emotional difficulties, with the prison environment itself functioning as the primary agent of rehabilitation and psychological change.
Peper Harow Therapeutic Community
The Peper Harow Therapeutic Community is a United Kingdom–based residential therapeutic community for young people experiencing emotional and behavioural difficulties, operating on democratic and relational principles where residents and staff share responsibility, participate in group processes, and use the life of the community itself as the primary means of therapeutic change and development.
The Camden and Islington Therapeutic Community is a United Kingdom–based NHS service that provides a non-residential therapeutic community program for people with complex emotional and personality-related difficulties, using group-based therapy, shared decision-making, and relational processes where the community itself becomes the primary environment for psychological change and recovery.
Camden and Islington Therapeutic Community
The Ash Eton Therapeutic Community is a United Kingdom–based residential therapeutic community that supports individuals with complex emotional and personality-related difficulties through a structured, relational environment, operating on democratic principles where residents and staff share responsibility, engage in group processes, and use community life as the primary means of therapeutic change and recovery.
The Ashburn Clinic is a United Kingdom–based specialist mental health service that incorporates therapeutic community principles in supporting individuals with complex emotional and personality-related difficulties, using group-based therapy, shared responsibility, and relational approaches where the therapeutic environment and community interactions play a central role in recovery.
Ashburn Clinic
The Athma Shakti Vidyalaya Society (ASV) is an India-based organisation that operates therapeutic community–style programs for people experiencing mental health challenges, focusing on recovery through structured community living, shared responsibility, and meaningful daily activity. It integrates therapeutic community principles with local cultural and social practices, using relationships, routine, and community participation as the foundation for healing and personal development.
The Brenchley Unit is a United Kingdom–based NHS therapeutic community service that provides structured, group-based treatment for individuals with complex emotional and personality-related difficulties, using a relational, democratic approach where staff and participants engage together in shared decision-making and community processes, with the therapeutic environment itself acting as the primary driver of psychological change and recovery.
The Iris Centre is a United Kingdom–based therapeutic community service that provides group-based, relational support for individuals with complex emotional and personality-related difficulties, operating on principles of shared responsibility, collaboration, and reflective practice, where the community environment and interactions between members form the core of the therapeutic process.
The Lighthouse Recovery Support is a United Kingdom–based therapeutic community–style service that provides structured, relational support for individuals with complex emotional and mental health challenges, using group-based processes, shared responsibility, and community participation as the foundation for recovery, where the relationships and daily life within the community act as the primary drivers of change.
The Lothlorien Therapeutic Community is a United Kingdom–based residential therapeutic community that provides long-term, holistic support for individuals experiencing mental health challenges, operating on democratic and relational principles where residents and staff share responsibility, engage in group processes, and use community living, meaningful activity, and relationships as the primary means of therapeutic change and recovery.
The New Oakwood Lodge is a United Kingdom–based residential therapeutic community that provides structured, relational support for individuals with complex emotional and personality-related difficulties, operating on democratic principles where residents and staff share responsibility, participate in group processes, and use the life of the community as the primary means of therapeutic change and recovery.
The Oxford Therapeutic Community is a United Kingdom–based community-focused therapeutic service that provides group-based, relational support for individuals with complex emotional and personality-related difficulties, operating on democratic principles where participants and staff share responsibility and engage in reflective group processes, with the community itself acting as the primary environment for psychological change and recovery.
Chestnut Lodge
The Chestnut Lodge was a United States–based private psychiatric hospital in Maryland that became internationally renowned for its psychodynamic and therapeutic community–influenced approach to treating severe mental health conditions, particularly schizophrenia. It emphasised intensive psychotherapy, long-term relational care, and a deep exploration of patients’ inner experiences, becoming one of the most influential institutions in the history of psychotherapy and therapeutic communities before closing in 2001.
The Austen Riggs Center
The Austen Riggs Center is a United States–based residential psychiatric treatment centre in Massachusetts that operates on therapeutic community principles, providing intensive, psychodynamic, and relational care for individuals with complex emotional and mental health challenges. It emphasises patient autonomy, shared responsibility, and deep exploration of personal meaning, where everyday life within the community—relationships, work, and group processes—forms a central part of the therapeutic process and long-term recovery.
CooperRiis Healing Community
The CooperRiis Healing Community is a United States–based residential therapeutic community that provides holistic, recovery-oriented support for individuals with mental health challenges through structured community living, meaningful work, and relational engagement. It combines therapeutic community principles with wellness practices—such as farming, mindfulness, and creative activity—where the shared life of the community, daily routines, and relationships act as the primary drivers of healing and long-term recovery
The Soteria House is a small, community-based residential program originally developed in the United States as an alternative to psychiatric hospitalisation, particularly for people experiencing early psychosis. It operates on therapeutic community–like principles, providing a calm, home-like environment with minimal use of medication, where support is relational and non-hierarchical, and the focus is on understanding and working through experiences rather than suppressing symptoms.
Soteria House
Windhorse Community Services
The Windhorse Community Services is a United States–based community mental health service that provides relational, home-based support for individuals experiencing extreme states such as psychosis, using a therapeutic community–like model grounded in mindfulness and everyday life. It focuses on creating a stable, supportive living environment through consistent relationships, shared daily routines, and gentle, non-intrusive care, where healing emerges through connection, presence, and participation in ordinary life rather than clinical intervention.
Rose Hill Center
The Rose Hill Center is a United States–based residential treatment program that operates with therapeutic community principles to support adults with serious mental health challenges, particularly schizophrenia and other persistent conditions. It provides a structured, supportive environment where residents engage in work, education, and community life, using relationships, responsibility, and meaningful activity as the foundation for recovery and long-term stability.
Spring Lake Ranch
The Spring Lake Ranch is a United States–based residential therapeutic community in Vermont that provides long-term support for individuals with mental health challenges through a farm-based, work-oriented model. It operates on therapeutic community principles, where residents and staff live and work together in a shared environment, using meaningful activity, relationships, and daily routines as the foundation for recovery, personal growth, and reintegration into community life.
The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt
The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt is a United States–based residential mental health program that incorporates therapeutic community principles to support individuals with complex emotional and psychiatric challenges. It provides an intensive, structured environment combining group therapy, individual therapy, and shared community living, where relationships, daily interactions, and reflective group processes play a central role in recovery and psychological change.
The Trieste Mental Health Services is an Italy-based public mental health system internationally recognised for its community-based, non-institutional approach, replacing psychiatric hospitals with open, local services embedded within the community. While not formally labelled a therapeutic community, it operates on closely aligned principles—emphasising relationships, social inclusion, shared responsibility, and everyday life as the foundation of care—making it one of the most influential models of community-based mental health reform in the world.
Trieste Mental Health Services –
Soteria Berne
The Soteria Berne is a Switzerland-based residential therapeutic community–style service that provides an alternative to psychiatric hospitalisation for people experiencing early psychosis, operating in a small, home-like environment with minimal use of medication. It focuses on relational, non-hierarchical support, where staff and residents live and work together, using everyday interactions, calm surroundings, and meaningful engagement as the primary means of understanding experiences and supporting recovery.
The Soteria Finland is a Finland-based residential, Soteria-style service that provides an alternative to psychiatric hospitalisation for people experiencing early psychosis, operating in a small, home-like environment with minimal reliance on medication. It emphasises relational, non-hierarchical support where staff and residents share daily life, using calm surroundings, continuity of care, and meaningful interactions to support recovery—closely aligning with both therapeutic community principles and Finland’s broader Open Dialogue context.
Soteria Finland
The Haven Foundation
The Haven Foundation is an Australia-based organisation that provides supported housing and community-based mental health services using therapeutic community–informed principles, helping people with severe mental health challenges live independently within a supportive environment. It focuses on recovery, social inclusion, and stable housing, where residents are supported through relationships, shared community living, and access to clinical and peer supports, creating a structured yet community-oriented pathway to long-term wellbeing.
The Sanctuary Melbourne is an Australia-based residential therapeutic community that offers a holistic, non-clinical alternative for people experiencing mental health challenges, particularly those seeking recovery outside traditional psychiatric systems. It operates on therapeutic community principles, with a strong emphasis on shared living, meaningful work, spirituality, and personal development, where the community environment and daily life are central to healing, growth, and long-term recovery.
The Sanctuary Melbourne
South Eastern Private Hospital Therapeutic Community Program
The South Eastern Private Hospital Therapeutic Community Program is an Australia-based inpatient mental health program that applies therapeutic community principles within a hospital setting, supporting individuals with complex emotional and personality-related difficulties. It uses structured group therapy, shared responsibility, and relational processes, where patients and staff engage together in the life of the community, making the therapeutic environment itself a key driver of psychological change and recovery.
L'Arche
The L'Arche is an international network of intentional communities where people with and without intellectual disabilities live, work, and share life together in a spirit of mutual care and inclusion. While not a clinical therapeutic community, it operates on closely aligned principles—emphasising relationships, shared living, dignity, and belonging—where the community itself becomes a powerful environment for personal growth, healing, and social connection.
The Phoenix House is an international organisation that operates therapeutic community–based programs primarily for substance use recovery, providing residential and outpatient services grounded in community living, accountability, and personal development. It uses the therapeutic community model where peers support one another through structured daily routines, shared responsibility, and group processes, making the community itself the primary driver of behavioural change and long-term recovery.
Phoenix House
Daytop Village
The Daytop Village is a United States–based organisation that pioneered the therapeutic community model for substance use recovery, providing residential and outpatient programs centred on peer support, accountability, and personal growth. It operates on the principle that “the community is the method,” using structured daily routines, shared responsibility, and group processes to support behavioural change, recovery, and reintegration into society.
Therapeutic communities represent a unique method of care delivered within residential and community-based settings, where the environment itself becomes the primary agent of change through relationships, shared responsibility, and daily life. The Lived Experience Hub has mapped 42 therapeutic communities globally; however, this captures only a small proportion of organisations adopting the model, many of which operate under different names or are embedded within broader systems.
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While therapeutic communities are supported by regulatory and accreditation bodies, they have not yet achieved true global integration or standardisation at scale. This presents a significant opportunity for future development—where therapeutic communities could be further standardised, connected, and expanded into a coordinated global network, enabling the model to operate as a truly global system of relational, community-based care.
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