Staff and patients evaluate their therapeutic community.

A committee of staff and patients conducted an informal evaluation of a therapeutic community on a 16-bed psychiatric unit. The committee reviewed the history, original intent, current purpose, and effectiveness of meetings held on the unit; when problems were identified, suggestions for change were formulated. The evaluation served to increase the efficiency of meetings and to counteract what the authors termed the "drift phenomenon," or the tendency of the original purpose or structure of a meeting to change over time. The process also fostered an atmosphere of mutual respect and an enhanced sense of purpose among the patients and staff who worked on the committee.