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Posted Oct.
2000. Last Updated April 2014 This paper
was written around 1979-80 and published in the International Journal of
Therapeutic Communities, Vol. 1 (1), 1980, p.64. Correspondence:
From the
Outback Dear Sir, Since
A. W. Clark and I produced the monograph 'Fraser House' in 1969, I have moved
to private practice in Cairns, North-East Australia. This is an isolated area
for this country, but is rapidly becoming an intercultural front door to
Melanesia and Asia. 'Up
North' the therapeutic community model has extended into humanitarian mutual
help for social change. Two of the small cities in this region have self-help
houses based on Fraser House (eds., Mackay & Cairns). An Aboriginal
Alcohol and Drug hostel is moving in the same direction, as are other bodies.
These
are facilitated by a network called UN-Inma, the second work of
which is aboriginal for Oneness. Actually, aborigines have discussed offering
one of the Palm Island group off the North Queensland coast as a model
therapeutic community prison. The
Director of the Australian Institute of Criminology has the support of the
United Nations Secretary-General for the idea of an international island
haven for otherwised condemned political prisoners. Our proposal is an
application and extension, in which the Institute Director is 'extremely
interested.' The
main conditions sought by the indigenous group are that selected aborigines
in Australian prisons also be permitted to complete their sentences on such
islands; and that therapeutic self-management with conjugal rights be the
administrative model. One
of our major next steps is to bring together a psychosocial evaluative
research team to monitor the development of this regional community movement.
Such may take some time as social scientists are fairly uncommon in the area (eds.
such a research team was set up by Dr Yeomans and others in the early 90's
and findings are emerging - refer Laceweb
Home Page.
Some
years ago, I arranged a cost-benefit analysis of Fraser House, compared first with traditional
Admission unit in another psychiatric hospital, and second with a newly
constructed Admission unit which some felt might be a pseudo therapeutic
community. Somewhat
to my surprise Fraser House was not only more effective but cost less than
the other two. The traditional unit was next cost-effective and the 'pseudo'
unit least. Unfortunately this report was never publically circulated. Until
recently I was unable to locate a copy. One has now been found and it seems I
may soon have a manuscript. Neville Yeomans
101 Woodward Street Links to other Laceweb sites: Community
Ways for Healing the World An
Example of Enabling Indigenous Wellbeing |
