Many may not see their practice as ‘therapeutic’, seeing what they do as ‘ordinary devoted’ or ‘good-enough’ parenting or ‘healing’. Definitions matter.
NCERCC has a tool Defining, monitoring and evaluating TCC’ that supports homes understand what is involved with TCC and where they are in their development of it.
NCERCC understands TCC as an ‘approach’ rather than a ‘thing’. It is a specific practice that is true to well-informed principles rather than the programmatic meticulously implemented detail of a care curriculum. As a professional stance it can be found within a variety of environments across care, education and health settings enabling environments, psychologically informed environments, psychologically informed planned environments, therapeutic communities
Whittaker et al (1995) have offered a contemporary definition of TCC
‘TRC involves the planful use of a purposefully constructed, multi-dimensional living environment designed to enhance or provide treatment, education, socialization, support, and protection to children and young people with identified mental health or behavioural needs in partnership with their families and in collaboration with a full spectrum of community-based formal and informal helping resources.’
