The Discursive Configuration of the Therapeutic Community for Substance Users: Positioning and Ethnopsychological Processes Concerning Entry

Therapeutic communities face high drop-out rates and general distrust of their effectiveness among substance users. Actively involving users early in treatment promotes greater compliance with the treatment and is predictive of better outcomes. However, users often occupy a passive and subordinate role, exacerbated by the lack of research that explores their perspectives, beliefs, and experiences. This study examined the discourses of 57 consumers who were part of a community for less than 15 days, investigating the meanings attributed to service entry and treatment. A protocol of four written open-ended questions was employed and analysed through discourse analysis and positioning theory. The results indicate that participants configure the community as a place symbolically and spatially distinct from the rest of the world, where they isolate themselves to seek support during times of extreme difficulty. However, what they are seeking is a solution to acute distress caused by substance use, intertwined with social, economic, and relational issues. The concept of treatment is built on the image of the substance user as an individual making a weak request for help, attributing the problem solely to drugs and exhibiting reduced agency in addressing their issues. The collected texts provide a better understanding of the experiences of new users, highlighting the importance of co-constructing personalised projects that empower consumers to feel actively involved in their own change, exploring their theories and definitions of self to structure pathways based strictly on their needs.