The quintessence of a therapeutic environment

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the necessary primary emotional development experiences for healthy personality formation.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is a critical synthesis of psychoanalytic theory.

Findings

Five experiences are judged necessary for health “primary emotional development”: attachment, containment, communication, inclusion and agency. These can be deliberately recreated in therapeutic environments to form a structure for “secondary emotional development”.

Practical implications

The ways in which these qualities of a psychosocial environment can be produced are described.

Social implications

Failure to recognise the importance of these qualities of an environment can cause unhealthy, or frankly toxic, psychosocial environments in various settings.

Originality/value

This is the author's original work, and has relevance for all psychosocial environments.

Citation

Haigh, R. (2013), "The quintessence of a therapeutic environment", Therapeutic Communities: The International Journal of Therapeutic Communities, Vol. 34 No. 1, pp. 6-15. https://doi.org/10.1108/09641861311330464