 | Brochure has been produced by
Youth Public Association "The Real World" with the support of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Belarus and UNICEF's project "Young People's Health and Development".
Writers:
Yuri Butyrin (Director),
Tatiana Yushprakh (Psichologist),
Aleksander Piskuov (Translator) |
Treatment centres, or communes, for drug-dependent individuals first appeared in Europe in the 1960s. There is now a wide range of such communes, numbering over 500, designed to accommodate a patient and provide him with treatment. The treatment commune of the Youth Public Association "The Real World" is one of them.
Initially, the process of social and psychological recovery within the "The Real World" commune was modelled on Poland's Monar network of treatment programmes. With time, changes were introduced, and treatment practices were upgraded and improved in order to reflect the most progressive features and tools applied by other known programmes, such as Dayton Village, Phoenix House, Getaway House and the House of the Family Rosetta.
The treatment programme is based on the fundamental principle that changes in individual behaviour are achieved through mutual help and self-help in an environment where staff and patients live together.
This is a long-term programme by definition, where patients are required to stay for periods of 12 to 18 months. With such long durations of treatment, the daily routine and the way of life become important therapeutic tools. Many patients have not lived normal lives for years, and are relearning the essential life skills that they will need to function properly within society. In addition, drug abuse leads has multiple and serious consequences, and successful reformation of an individual cannot take place without a change in many aspects of his personality, including behaviour, skills, orientations and values.
The most crucial component of the Commune's ideology is treating each patient as a human being, not a drug addict. Communal living makes this happen automatically, while creating and maintaining a high degree of motivation.
Life in the treatment commune is a transition from rehabilitation to normal life. This transition will be more successful if rules within the treatment commune are upheld and observed. These are based on a set of moral guidelines and a positive view of life. The values that are encouraged are truth, honesty, willingness to work, reliability, honest sympathy, responsible care, and readiness to abide by social norms and contribute to the life of the society.
Abidance by the norms and faith in the programme are cornerstones of the programme's efficiency and lead the patient to the goal which he committed himself to accomplish by joining the commune - to break away from drug dependence.
Yuri Butyrin
| ...In 1999, the youth association "The Real World" launched an independent initiative to create the nation's first treatment commune, known as the centre for social and psychological rehabilitation for drug-dependent individuals... |  |
 | ...This initiative was supported by the United Nations Children's Fund in Belarus, which continues to provide help to the treatment commune. The Commune's work today builds on the principles of openness, transparency and flexibility. Its rules equally apply to all its members - staff as well as patients... |
| ...After the prospective member's motivation and readiness to meet the rules have been assessed, he becomes eligible for formal admission into the commune by a general meeting of its members... |  |
 | ...Patients apply to join the commune independently or at the referral of a medical professional. After completing a course of detoxication treatment, they are expected to meet a number of basic conditions before a formal admission procedure can be initiated. Privacy and confidentiality are fully guaranteed... |
| ...The commune's general meetings provide a forum for planning future activities and addressing organizational and work-related issues. They are the tools that reinforce the principles of self-help, the feelings of compassion, and the spirit of community. They also provide a means for patients to effectively confront past habits and increase motivation to change behaviour... |  |
 | ...Group therapy is an important part of living within the commune. The self-expression group teaches the important tools to express emotions - positive as well as negative, and enables its participants to rediscover the feelings of closeness to family and neighbours. The 'static group' provides a means to express the difficulties of the past and present, share one's life experiences, develop sympathy for one's neighbour and build a will and determination to change one's behaviour... |
| ...Members are expected to support and look after themselves and contribute to the commune's upkeep. Living under the same roof means sharing all types of household chores, such as cooking, cleaning and washing... |  |
 | ..Another important aspect of living in the commune is constant activity. Of different types of such activity, household chores are among the most important... |
| ...Jobs are assigned depending on the patient's place in the commune's hierarchy, reflecting the patient's clinical progress, productivity and individual capabilities... |  |
 | ...Members of the commune also contribute to work on improving the premises and the surrounding territory. They perform various types of construction, wood and metal work. They also carry out a wide range of jobs in the garden, such as weeding, harvesting and looking after farm animals... |
| ...Decisions on promotion are made at the commune's general meeting. This arrangement reflects a fundamental principle of the rehabilitation approach, which treats work as a learning opportunity and a rehabilitation tool... |  |
 | ...New members are assigned routine jobs with lower degrees of responsibility. As they progress, they are promoted to more responsible positions in all sectors of the commune... |
| ...They encourage young members to interact positively with their peers and manage their time. They also help maintain the morale within the commune, and strengthen the member's commitment to rehabilitation... |  |
 | ...Art therapy, leisure, educational and cultural activities, games and sporting events are all designed to help the commune's members change their past behaviours and reintegrate in society... |
| The skills acquired during the rehabilitation process will long remain of relevance to the patient and help him continue on his life's journey... |  |
 | ...Life within the rehabilitation centre and the experience gained in it are an essential step in the young person's rehabilitation, whose success depends greatly on the degree of commitment, involvement and participation. |
| ...The graduation ceremony is a recognition of that person's re-entry into society and a testament to his ability to find adequate solutions to problems as they arise. However, graduation is only a stage in the long process of recovery that will continue for years ahead... |  |
 | ...Graduation is a special event in honour of those who have completed the programme. It celebrates a person's success in regaining the social skills, ethical values and moral qualities that he will need to effectively function in society... |
