MODULE 2

INTRODUCTION TO THERAPEUTIC COMMUNITY PROGRAM IN THE PHILIPPINES

Effectiveness of Therapeutic Community Modality Program

The Philippine prison system adopted two approaches for treatment of offenders. These
are the institutional- based treatment program and the community-based treatment programs.
These programs aimed towards the improvement of offender’s attitude and philosophy of life.
Reformation and rehabilitation of inmates as well as preparation for the reintegration in
community are the ultimate goals of the programs. Prison inmates are some of the most
disturbed and unstable people in society. Most of the inmates have had too little discipline or too
much come from broken homes and have no self-esteem. They are very insecure and are at
war with themselves as well with society. Most inmates did not learn moral values or learn to
follow everyday norms. In order to rehabilitate criminals we must do more than just send them to
prison (Manwong, 2006).

For instance, this program could give them a chance to acquire job skills which will
improve the chances that inmates will become productive citizen upon release. The programs
must aim to change those want to change. Those who are taught to produce useful goods and
to be productive are likely to develop the self-esteem essential to a normal integrated
personality. This kind of program would provide many useful skills and habits and replace the
sense of hopelessness that many inmates have.
European Journal of Research in Social Sciences Vol. 3 No. 4, 20
Important for a prisoner is to have a will to change himself and then giving him support to
improve. Many of them do not know how to start a new life such therapeutic Community
Programs are the way, and they can enlighten their future life. The Bureau of Jail Management
and Penology (BJMP) has adopted Therapeutic Community Modality Program” or TCMP as a
new approach to inmate management that requires new glossary of terms relative to felons and
introduction of a new way of life in confinement As set by the BJMP, the Therapeutic
Community is a self-help social learning treatment model used to client with problems of drug
abuse and other behavioural problems such as alcoholism, stealing and other anti-social
tendencies as well as working with special group of individual like those in jails. As a treatment
model, it includes four categories, namely behavior management, intellectual and spiritual
aspects, emotional and psychological aspects and vocational or survival aspects.

Therapeutic Community defined conceptually

It utilizes the “community” as a vehicle to foster behavioral and attitudinal change. In this
model, the client receives the information and impetus to change from being part of the
community. The expectation that the community places on its individual members reflects not
only the needs of individual, but also the social and support needs of the community. This
community mode provides social expectations, which are parallel to the social demands that the
clients will confront upon discharge to their home community.

Historically, the term "therapeutic community" (TC) has been used for several different
forms of treatment - sanctuaries, residential group homes and even special schools - and for
several different conditions, including mental illness, drug abuse and alcoholism. For example,
the British TC emerged primarily as a process for treating military veterans as they returned
from World War II with serious neurotic conditions from their experiences in combat and as
prisoners of war. The term was coined when Thomas Main pioneered a therapeutic model
combining community therapy with ongoing psychoanalytic psychotherapy in 1946. This was a
modification of therapeutic work developed about the same time by Maxwell Jones and several
others.

Therapeutic Community (Defined by the Bureau of Correction)

The Therapeutic Community (TC) Program represents an effective, highly structured

environment with defined boundaries, both moral and ethical. The primary goal is to foster
personal growth. This is accomplished by reshaping an individual’s behavior and attitudes
through the inmates’ community working together to help themselves and each other, restoring
self-confidence, and preparing them for their re-integration into their families and friends as
productive members of the community. In Batangas City Jail, Therapeutic Community Modality
is being implemented and includes all the programs being exercised inside the jail such as
education, sport, religion and livelihood skill training. They give medical services to monitor the
inmates’ health condition especially those who have health problems. They also offered
alternative learning system in elementary and high school level. And every fourth Sunday of the
month, they have a regular mass. All those programs are being implemented to change the
inmates’ vision in life.

Bureau of Jail Management and Penology Implementation of the Therapeutic Community

Modality Program

The criminal justice in the Philippines recognizes the significance of rehabilitation and
reintegration of convicted felons in the community.

Evidently, Correction, being one of the pillars of Philippine Criminal Justice System
(PCJS) adopted various rehabilitation programs such as the following:

(a) Moral and Spiritual Program

(b) Education and Training Program
(c) Work and Livelihood Program
(d) Sports and Recreation Program
(e) Health and Welfare Program
(f) Behaviour Modification Program

Philippine Correctional pillar is composed of various institutions. The Bureau of Jail

Management and Penology (BJMP) is one among the correctional bodies which exercises
supervision and control over all district, city and municipal jails. The Bureau envisions itself as a
dynamic institution highly regarded for its sustained humane safekeeping and development of
inmates (Section 2, BJMP Manual 2015). Of this, it incorporated Therapeutic Community and
Modality Program (TCMP) as a model in the implementation of Inmates Welfare and
Development.

Therapeutic Community (Defined by the Philippine Department of Justice)

Philippine Department of Justice defined TC as an environment that helps people get

help while helping others. It is a treatment environment: the interactions of its members are
designed to be therapeutic within the context of the norms that require for each to play the dual
role of client-therapist.

TC helps promote change specifically on relational or behavior management; affective,

emotional, or psychological; cognitive, intellectual, or spiritual and psychomotor or vocational-
survival skills. The correction-based therapeutic community (TC) is a widely described treatment
modality for (originally on substance abusing) offenders.

Its origins can be traced back to two major independent traditions: the American drug-
free hierarchical concept-based TC and the British democratic Maxwell Jones-type TC (De
Leon, 2000; Kennard, 1998). De Leon (2010) and Sacks, Chaple, Sacks, McKendrick, &
Cleland (2012) said that TC focuses on changing negative patterns of thought and behavior and
on building self-efficacy so participants learn to think of themselves as the primary drivers of
their own change process.

TC participants are encouraged to be accountable for their behaviors and to set goals for
their own personal well-being, positive participation in the broader community, and life after
leaving treatment. An important therapeutic goal is to help people identify, express, and manage
their feelings in appropriate and positive ways. In group activities, participants focus on
behaving in ways that are acceptable in the TC community rather than how they behaved in the
past. TC is a tool that the Parole and Probation Administration uses to prepare the client for
reintegration to the community as a reformed, rehabilitated, productive, drug-free and law
abiding person.

Some prisons have incorporated therapeutic communities modified for the special needs
of offenders, and a growing number of community TC programs are providing aftercare for
people released from prison. TCs for offenders differ from other TCs in several ways. As with all
offenders, inmates participating in a TC must work during their incarceration. However, they
also spend 4 to 5 hours each weekday in treatment, with an emphasis placed on living honestly,
developing self-reliance, learning to manage their strong emotions (e.g., anger), and accepting
responsibility for their actions. Hence, in-prison TCs emphasize role models to show "right
living" and use peer influence to reinforce changes in attitudes and behavior.

A study on Therapeutic Community (TC)

The used of TC in correctional facility for treatment of convicted offenders has proven to
be capable of producing positive changes for inmates.

A study of 715 male inmates in California randomly assigned either to a TC or to no

treatment found generally high rates of re-incarceration within 5 years after prison release, but
re-incarceration rates were lower among those who received TC treatment (76 percent)
compared with no in-prison therapy (83 percent). The study found no differences in heavy drug
use or employment rates. Further analysis indicated that men who completed an aftercare TC
program after release from prison showed lower rates of re-incarceration (42 percent) and
higher rates of past-year employment (72 percent) compared with those who completed in-
prison treatment but did not participate in aftercare (86 percent re-incarcerated and 56 percent
past-year employment, respectively).

In a Colorado study, male inmates randomly assigned to a 12-month TC designed for

inmates with co-occurring disorders (some of whom chose to continue community-based TC
treatment upon release) had lower rates of re-incarceration (9 percent) compared with those
who received mental health treatment while in prison (33 percent), as well as greater declines in
alcohol and drug use. Offenders who participated in both in-prison TC and aftercare
demonstrated lower rates of re-incarceration, any criminal activity, and substance-related
criminal activity than those who received mental health treatment. Men who relapsed during the
year after prison release were four times more likely to re-offend compared with those who
maintained abstinence from alcohol and drugs, 49 percent versus 19 percent, respectively.

Delaware’s correctional system has a work-release program in which offenders receive a

paying job in the community about 6 months prior to their release dates but must return to a
work-release facility (or prison) when not at work; compared with ex-offenders who received
standard supervision during work-release, those who participated in a transitional TC for 3
months prior to 3 months in the work-release program showed higher rates of abstinence from
drugs and employment. During the 5-year period after prison release, offenders who
participated in the transitional TC relapsed in an average of 28.8 months compared with 13.2
months among those who received standard supervision. The Delaware study has now
extended the follow-up to 18 years after prison release, finding a persistent and strong reduction
in new arrests among TC participants. Research indicates that TC-based aftercare can improve
the outcomes of offenders who have re-entered the community, even when they have not
participated in an in-prison TC. TCs can provide aftercare for ex-offenders in residential or
outpatient modalities, and both have been shown to be equally beneficial. Lower rates of re-
incarceration are linked with longer duration (more than 90 days) of TC treatment SacksTC
could be functional if all constructive programs for inmate rehabilitation and reintegration are
deeply considered. All activities and interpersonal and social interactions are considered
important opportunities to facilitate personal change. Positive peer communications in a mutual-
help environment also may be an important part of the therapeutic process. A key element of
living in a TC and the mutual-help process is the development of social networks through
positive social interactions and bonding that can offer support during treatment and after an
individual leaves the formal treatment environment. Because TCs emphasize social learning,
participants form a hierarchy within the group. Those who have made progress in changing their
attitudes and behaviors serve as role models for "right living" and help others who are in earlier
stages of recovery.

The Philippines is responsive to development especially to inmates or prisoners. In fact,

the BJMP issued a memorandum/policy in 2010, regarding the implementation of the
Therapeutic Community Modality Training Program (TCMP) and established the National TC
Center and its regional counterparts, with a goal that TC projects or activities are well-planned,
feasible and supervised towards the rehabilitation and eventual reintegration of inmates to the
society.

MAJOR REHABILITATION PROGRAMS of PPA

A. RESTORATIVE JUSTICE (RJ) is a philosophy and a process whereby stakeholders in a

specific offense resolve collectively how to deal with the aftermath of the offense and its
implications for the future. It is a victim-centered response to crime that provides opportunity
for those directly affected by the crime - the victim, the offender, their families and the
community - to be directly involved in responding to the harm caused by the crime. Its
ultimate objective is to restore the broken relationships among stakeholders.

The Restorative Justice process provides a healing opportunity for affected parties to
facilitate the recovery of the concerned parties and allow them to move on with their lives.

B. THERAPEUTIC COMMUNITY (TC) is a self-help social learning treatment model used in

the rehabilitation of drug offenders and other clients with behavioral problems. TC adheres
to precepts of “right living” - Responsible Love and Concern; Truth and Honesty; the Here
 and Now; Personal Responsibility for Destiny; Social Responsibility (brother’s keeper); Moral
Code; Work Ethics and Pride in Quality.

C. VOLUNTEER PROBATION AIDE (VPA) PROGRAM is a strategy by which the Parole and
Probation Administration may be able to generate maximum citizen participation or
community involvement. Citizens of good standing in the community may volunteer to assist
the probation and parole officers in the supervision of a number of probationers, parolees
and conditional pardonees in their respective communities. Since they reside in the same
community as the client, they are able to usher the reformation and rehabilitation of the
clients hands-on.

In collaboration with the PPO, the VPA helps pave the way for the offender, victim and
community to each heal from the harm resulting from the crime done. They can initiate a
circle of support for clients and victims to prevent further crimes, thereby be participants in
nation-building.

Therapeutic Community (Defined by Parole and Probation Administration)

The Therapeutic Community (TC) is an environment that helps people get help while
helping others. It is a treatment environment: the interactions of its members are designed to be
therapeutic within the context of the norms that require for each to play the dual role of client-
therapist. At a given moment, one may be in a client role when receiving help or support from
others because of a problem behavior or when experiencing distress. At another time, the same
person assumes a therapist role when assisting or supporting another person in trouble.

It operates in a similar fashion to a functional family with a hierarchical structure of older

and younger members. Each member has a defined role and responsibilities for sustaining the
proper functioning of the TC. There are sets of rules and community norms that members
commit to live by and uphold upon entry. The primary “therapist” and teacher is the community
itself, consisting of peers, staff/probation and parole officers and even Volunteer Probation
Aides (VPA), who, as role models of successful personal change, serve as guides in the
recovery process.
 The Therapeutic Community (TC) Program represents an effective, highly structured
environment with defined boundaries, both moral and ethical. The primary goal is to foster
personal growth. This is accomplished by re-shaping an individual’s behavior and attitudes
through the inmates, community working together to help themselves and each other, restoring
self-confidence, and preparing them for their re-integration into their families and friends as
productive members of the community.

Patterned after Daytop TC, New York which is the base of the Therapeutic Community
movement in the world, the BuCor TC program was adopted as part of the Bureau's holistic
approach towards inmate rehabilitation. It is implemented primarily but not limited to drug
dependents.

The TC approach has been continuously proven worldwide as an effective treatment and
rehabilitation modality among drug dependents, and have been noted to be effective in many
prisons. By immersing a drug offender in the TC environment, he learns why he had developed
his destructive habits, which led him to substance abuse. The program modifies negative
behavior and or attitudes while restoring self confidence, and prepares inmates for their re-
integration into their families and friends as productive members of the community. This
behavioral modification program gradually re-shapes or re-structures the inmate within a family-
like environment, wherein every member acts as his brother’s keeper.

As TC family members go on with their daily activities, a strong sense of responsibility and
concern for each other’s welfare are developed. They are constantly being monitored for their
progress and are regularly being evaluated by the TC-trained staff. The TC process allows for
genuine introspection, cultivation of self-worth and positive rationalization that move the
individual towards assuming a greater sense of personal and moral responsibility.

The efforts of the Bureau of Corrections to rehabilitate Drug dependents under its care
using the TC approach is in line with its commitment to create a Drug-Free Prison. Worldwide
developments in the treatment and rehabilitation of drug offenders using.

How Does TC Look Like?

The operation of the community itself is the task of the residents, working under staff
supervision. Work assignments, called “job functions” are arranged in a hierarchy, according to
seniority, individual progress and productivity. These include conducting all house services,
such as cooking, cleaning, kitchen service, minor repair, serving as apprentices and running all
departments, conducting meetings and peer encounter groups.

The TC operates in a similar fashion to a functional family with a hierarchical structure of older
and younger members. Each member has a defined role and responsibilities for sustaining the
proper functioning of the TC. There are sets of rules and community norms that members upon
entry commit to live by and uphold.

Correction and Rehabilitation of Penitent Offenders

Objectives:
To effect the rehabilitation and reintegration of probationers, parolees, pardonees, and first-time
minor drug offenders as productive, law-abiding and socially responsible members of the
community through:

1. well-planned supervision programs for probationers, parolees, pardonees, and first-time

minor drug offenders which are aligned to national program thrusts of the government, such as,
the Sariling-Sikap, Jail Decongestion, etc.

2. establishment of innovative and financially and technically feasible projects for the moral,
spiritual and economic upliftment of probationers, parolees, pardonees, and first-time minor
drug offenders utilizing available community resources.

Scope and Beneficiaries:

All offenders granted probation, parole, pardon and suspended sentence.

The Administration has adopted a harmonized and integrated treatment program for
these clients to effect their rehabilitation. This harmonized and integrated program involves (1)
The Therapeutic Community Modality (2) The Restorative Justice Principles and Concepts and
(3) the Use of Volunteer Probation Aides (VPAs).

The Therapeutic Community Modality is a self-help social learning treatment model used
for clients with problems of drug abuse and other behavioral problems such as alcoholism,
stealing, and other anti-social tendencies. As a treatment model, it includes four (4) categories,
namely, behavior management, intellectual/spiritual aspect, emotional and social aspects, and
vocational/survival aspects.

In this regard, the Therapeutic Community Modality provides a well-defined structure for
a synchronized and focused implementation of the various intervention strategies/activities
undertaken by the Agency such as:

1. Individual and group counseling

This activity intends to assist the clients in trying to sort out their problems, identify
solutions, reconcile conflicts and help resolve them. This could be done either by
individual or group interaction with the officers of the Agency.

2. Moral, Spiritual, Values Formation

Seminars, lectures or trainings offered or arranged by the Agency comprise these

rehabilitation activities. Active NGOs, schools, civic and religious organizations are
tapped to facilitate the activities.

3. Work or Job Placement/Referral

Categorized as an informal program wherein a client is referred for work or job

placement through the officer’s own personal effort, contact or information.
4. Vocational/Livelihood and Skills Training

The program includes the setting up of seminars and skills training classes like food
preservation and processing, candle making, novelty items and handicrafts making, etc.,
to help the clients earn extra income. Likewise, vocational and technical trade classes
are availed of such as refrigeration, automotive mechanic, radio/television and
electronics repairs, tailoring, dressmaking, basic computer training, etc. through
coordination with local barangays, parish centers, schools and civic organizations.

5. Health, Mental and Medical Services

To address some of the basic needs of clients and their families, medical missions are
organized to provide various forms of medical and health services including physical
examination and treatment, free medicines and vitamins, dental examination and
treatment, drug dependency test and laboratory examination.

Psychological testing and evaluation as well as psychiatric treatment are likewise

provided for by the Agency’s Clinical Services Division and if not possible by reason of
distance, referrals are made to other government accredited institutions.

6. Literacy and Education

In coordination with LGU programs, adult education classes are availed of to help clients
learn basic writing, reading and arithmetic. Likewise, literacy teach-ins during any
sessions conducted for clients become part of the module. This is particularly intended
for clients who are “no read, no write” to help them become functionally literate.

Likewise, linkages with educational Foundation, other GOs and NGOs are regularly
done for free school supplies, bags and uniform for client’s children and relatives.

7. Community Service

This program refers to the services in the community rendered by clients for the benefit
of society. It includes tree planting, beautification drives, cleaning and greening of
surroundings, maintenance of public parks and places, garbage collection, blood
donation and similar socio-civic activities.

8. Client Self-Help Organization

This program takes the form of cooperatives and client associations wherein the clients
form cooperatives and associations as an economic group to venture on small-scale
projects. Similarly, client associations serve another purpose by providing some
structure to the lives of clients where they re-learn the basics of working within a group
with hierarchy, authority and responsibility much like in the bigger society.

9. Payment of Civil Liability

The payment of civil liability or indemnification to victims of offenders are pursued

despite the economic status of clients. Payment of obligations to the victims instills in the
 minds of the clients their responsibility and the consequences of the harm they inflicted
to others.

10. Environment and Ecology

To instil awareness and concern in preserving ecological balance and environmental

health, seminars/lectures are conducted wherein clients participate. These
seminars/lectures tackle anti-smoke belching campaign, organic farming, waste
management, segregation and disposal and proper care of the environment.

11. Sports and Physical Fitness

Activities that provide physical exertion like sports, games and group play are conducted
to enhance the physical well being of clients. Friendly competition of clients from the
various offices of the sectors, together with the officers, provide an enjoyable and
healthful respite.

The success of the Therapeutic Community treatment model is also anchored on the
implementation of restorative justice. To highlight the principles of restorative justice, offenders
are recognized to indemnify victims and render community services to facilitate the healing of
the broken relationship caused by offending the concerned parties. Mediation and conferencing
are also utilized in special cases to mend and/or restore clients’ relationship with their victim and
the community.

Considering that it is in the community that the rehabilitation of clients takes place, the
utilization of therapeutic community treatment model coupled with the principles of restorative
justice would be further energized with the recruitment, training and deployment of Volunteer
Probation Aides (VPAs). The VPA program is a strategy to generate maximum participation of
the citizens in the community-based program of probation and parole. Through the VPAs, the
substance of restorative justice is pursued with deeper meaning since the VPAs are residents of
the same community where the clients they supervise reside. Thus, it is practicable for the
volunteers to solicit support for clients’ needs and assist the field officers in supervising the
probationers, parolees, and pardonees.

The Therapeutic Community treatment modality, Restorative Justice paradigm and

deployment of VPAs integrated into one rehabilitation program have yielded tremendous
outcome in the rehabilitation and reformation of probationers, parolees, pardonees, and first-
time minor drug offenders.

Furthermore, the Agency believes that the client’s family is a major part or support in the
rehabilitation process, thus the Administration adopts the Integrated Allied Social Services
program to address the needs of the children and other minor dependent of the clients. Under
the said program, interventions relative to the growth and development of the minor dependents
are done to help them become productive, law abiding and effective individual.