Westcare Power Structure

themselves and hold each other accountable), clients hold a substantial amount of power when it comes to their own treatment. Clients elect Head of House members who are in charge of running meetings, assigning jobs, making sure the jobs are completed and assigning punishments for minor infractions, like not making your bed or being late to group. Each morning, the clients hold a “Committee” which is basically a trial for those who have been caught by their peers doing something that is not part of the program. They are read their charges, allowed to defend themselves and then possibly given a punishment, which could be picking up trash or having an extra job function for that day.
This power structure has been shown to work with the addicted population who tends to be anti-authority so they are agreeable to being governed by their peers. The most obvious shared belief among everyone in the agency is that addiction is a disease that cannot be …show more content…
They see it as a shameful thing to be admitted into an inpatient facility because the general population believes that those who become addicted to drugs are weak individuals or criminals. All of the staff I have come across are very supportive and understanding of what the clients and their families are going through. They realize how hard it is to overcome an addiction and all the environmental and biological forces that are acting against the client. They believe that addiction is a sign of something else going on, maybe a mental disorder or a past trauma, so the whole person and their environment is addressed during treatment. The staff believe in respect and empathy and do not judge clients when they relapse or make a mistake. They understand the human spirit is powerful yet flawed, therefore relapse is very often part of the recovery