Sociotherapy, profession and professional code

• definition of Sociotherapie
• general methods of approach of Sociotherapy
• theoretical lines of approach in Sociotherapy
• arrangement of sociotherapeutic interventions
  • first strategy level
  • second strategy level
  • third strategy level
• task areas
• the sociotherapeutic quality of treatment
• professional code for sociotherapists
• literature and organizations

Theoretical lines of approach in Sociotherapy

Arrangement of sociotherapeutic interventions

The Sociotherapy Committee wrote a thorough report on Sociotherapy (1981) for which it drew inspiration from the points of view of the group dynamics (Stemerding, 1975) and the residential orthopedagogic work as formulated by Kok (1973). The points of view of Kok, although originally developed for orthopedagogy, are of good use in Sociotherapy.
Kok arranges the aspects of therapy in a clinical environment by distinguishing three levels of strategy; strategies that give the sociotherapists a hold for their interventions.
Each strategy is, as it were, a whole of interventions. The three levels of strategy cannot exist without each other in the clinical environment and should not be conflicting.

Kok distinguishes the following strategies:

1. the first strategy level entails the creation and maintenance of (conditions for) the social environment (static and dynamic) in which the clients can hold their own and/or develop themselves.
    
2. the second strategy level concerns the methodical group work
    
3. the third strategy level aims at applying the first and second strategies as appropriate to each individual client

This arrangement of strategies is suitable to give form to and to describe a therapeutic environment. Desired changes within the therapeutic environment can be made clearly visible through such a description.

The first strategy level

Here the static and dynamic environments are distinguished. The static environment refers to such things as the building, architecture, fittings and furnishings.
The suitability of the building (spaces, division, etc), the fitting out of the building (furniture, fabrics, provisions, etc), and the possibility to decide for oneself what methods to put into practice (with regard to maintenance, housekeeping, nutrition, etc), all have a significance for the clients well-being and development opportunities that is not to be underestimated. Having a say in these matters is necessary for both clients and sociotherapists. In this respect, one can think of participation in building and decorating committees and having control of the 'inventory and maintenance budget'.
The mutual contact and interaction between the members of the community and the members of staff and the exchanges between these two groups determine the dynamics of the environment. The exchange on norms and values at community level, or discussing the possibilities and limitations of the clients and staff members, is very important in a sociotherapeutic environment. This exchange of information, this gaining insight into one's interaction with others, can lead the clients to develop new psycho social skills.

The first degree strategy is the primary answer to the shared requests for help of the client group. This entails that the clients' request for help must not be too divergent.

All the information that is of importance for the therapeutic interventions, is discussed on level of the first strategy. Thus, the information gathered by the sociotherapists in the second and third level strategies (the methodical group work and the individual approach) is also fed-back during these discussions. Attention is paid to the possible significance of this information with regard to the therapeutic interventions and particularly to the significance hereof for the interventions on the first strategy level.
This form of attuning is necessary to prevent the occurrence of contradictions in the interventions. As bearers of information from the first degree strategy, sociotherapists make an important contribution to this attunement.

If the sociotherapists do not succeed in giving a for the client meaningful form to the 'living together', 'working together' and 'employing free time together' factors within the clinical setting, then clinical admission almost always has negative consequences for the client, and the other specific therapies are also of little use or profit.

Index 
Copy this text