Therapeutic communities for people with intellectual disability and complex needs

The purpose of this paper is to describe the use and value of therapeutic communties (TCs) in services for people with intellectual disabilities (IDs) and complex needs.

A structured literature review of TC in ID services.

TCs have been used in a range of in-patient services for people with IDs. Although outcome studies are scarce, those that exist offer promising indications of such service designs.

TCs have seen a recent increase of interest in ID services. This paper provides an overview of these services and outlines the benefits that such a residential culture can offer for both service users and staff members.