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ABSTRACT
This study explores the influence of client constructions of “drug treatment” on their expectations and participation in a prison-based therapeutic community program. Initial investigation into client attrition revealed that those clients who prematurely left the program frequently did so under the assumption that they had never received treatment. Indeed, clients who dropped out of the program overwhelming believed that “treatment” consists of a passive, hierarchical relationship with a counselor in which activities are tailored to respond to the uniqueness of the individual's life experiences. The therapeutic community modality de-emphasizes individually tailored treatment in favor of peer-group counseling and role modeling. In light of a treatment modality that deviated from their expectations, clients defined the program as “punishment” and dropped out. Of those clients who remained in the program to graduate, many maintained similar notions'of an ideal type of treatment, but these changed to accommodate the therapeutic community modality over time. This study explores the significance of constructions of treatment on residents' experiences in the program and examines the processes that lead some clients to reject the TC modality, while others are able to successfully embrace il. Suggestions for reducing client attrition in group therapy programs are drawn from the analysis.
