Origins of a Jungian-Oriented Therapeutic Community for Schizophrenic Patients

The author believes that rapid hospital turnover of psychiatric patients and heavy reliance on psychotropic drugs often interfere with recovery, especially for many psychotic patients who need a retreat where they might be helped to heal themselves. He describes the origins and operation of a Jungian-ortented therapeutic community for schizophrenic patients in a Veterans Administration hospital; the community is based partly on his earlier work with therapeutic communities and his belief that clear lines of authority must be maintained as well as his experiences with videotherapy and art therapy. The community relies heavily on art therapy in which patients are encouraged to make abstract paintings of their delusions, visions, hallucinations, dreams, and fantasies and to interpret the paintings themselves.