The  Clubhouse Model

Module One: The Clubhouse Model of Psychiatric Rehabilitation

Introduction to Module One

Stephen Dougherty 

Clubhouse International

Overview

This module introduces basic terms and concepts that characterize the Clubhouse model. The Clubhouse Model is a community mental health model that helps people with a history of serious mental illness rejoin society and maintain their place in it. The Clubhouse builds on people's strengths and encourages mutual support among Clubhouse members and staff. The original concept for the Clubhouse was created by Fountain House in New York City in 1948 and has its roots in a support group called The WANA Society formed by former patients of Rockland Psychiatric Center in New York. WANA was the acronym for We Are Not Alone.  As patients were discharged from the Center they continued to meet informally at the New York Public Library and conducted “reach out” visits to friends still hospitalized. With the help of a few wealthy volunteers, they eventually formalized their group with the purchase of a townhouse in Manhattan with a lovely fountain in the rear garden that became known as "Fountain House". The original Clubhouse was to become the first community-based psychiatric rehabilitation center of its kind in the United States. As the organization continued to evolve with the onset of deinstitutionalization, the fledgling organization acknowledged the need for additional administrative and management staff and so they hired professional and executive staff for the first time in 1955.

The Clubhouse Model is founded on the concept of empowerment, dignity, and mutual support from "peers” and colleagues. The Clubhouse is framed by the belief that every individual has the potential to sufficiently recover from the effects of mental illness and to lead a personally satisfying life as an integrated member of society. Clubhouses form communities of people who are dedicated to one another’s success, no matter how long it takes or how difficult it is. The intent is to help prevent isolation and the stigmatization of mental illness by allowing Clubhouse members to have a sense of community and a useful purpose within the association through their active involvement in the day-to-day operations of the Clubhouse. The underlying belief is that work, and work-mediated relationships, are restorative and provide a firm foundation for growth and important individual achievement.

Accredited Clubhouses are organized around a set of best practice standards that serve as the guidelines and rules with which the Clubhouse organizes its daily operations and pursues its goals. The fidelity of an individual Clubhouse is evaluated and accredited by Clubhouse International, an international membership organization based in New York and composed of Accredited Clubhouses, advocates, and supporters.

Clubhouses are built upon the belief that every member has the potential to sufficiently recover from the effects of mental illness to lead a personally satisfying life as an integrated member of society. Clubhouses are communities of people dedicated to one another’s success, no matter how long it takes or how difficult it is. Clubhouses are organized around a belief that work, and work-mediated relationships, are restorative and provide a firm foundation for growth and important individual achievement (Beard, Propst, Malamud, 1982), and the belief that normalized social and recreational opportunities are an important part of a person’s path to recovery.

Learning Objectives: 

1.     Understand the historical context of the Clubhouse Movement.

2.     Identify the cultural values that characterize the Clubhouse, e.g. being needed, wanted, and appreciated. 

3.     Explore the concept of Clubhouse Membership through the stories of Clubhouse members and staff.

4.     Appreciate the differences between Membership vs. patient or client.

Study Questions 

Clubhouse Membership:

1.     What were the cultural values and social policies that fostered deinstitutionalization and influenced the early development of the Clubhouse model?

2.     How does the voluntary nature of the Clubhouse and participation help people in recovery?

3.     Why is it so important that Clubhouse membership be lifetime?

4.     How can the Clubhouse operate effectively if everything is voluntary?

5.     Why is it important that the Clubhouse membership is open to anyone with a history of mental illness?

Essential Readings:

• "The History of The Clubhouse Movement: A Chronology"

• "Beyond These Walls: Can Psychosocial Clubhouses Promote the Social Integration of Adults With Serious Mental Illness in the Community?" Gumber, S., Stein, C. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal. (2018) Vol. 41, No. 1, 29 –38.

• The Fountain House Model of Psychiatric Rehabilitation. Beard, J., Propst, R. & Malamud, T. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal. 1982. 5 (1), 47-53

NEED PDF of Beard Article

• "The Fountain House movement, an alternative rehabilitation model for people with mental health problems, members’ descriptions of what works." Norman, Christina. Nordic School of Public Health, Goteborg, Sweden

• "The clubhouse model of community support for adults with mental illness: an emerging opportunity for social work education." Jackson, R., Purnell, D., Anderson, S. Journal of Social Work Education, Spring/Summer 96. 

Supplemental Readings: 

Video: "Historical Tour of State Psychiatric Hospitals and Practices"

>>>>>Click Here<<<<<

Video: "18 Abandoned Psychiatric Hospitals, and Why They Were Left Behind"

>>>>>>Click Here<<<<<<<

• "In Remembrance John Henderson Beard- June 12,1923-December 9, 1982."

Videos:

• The Clubhouse Model: "We Are Not Alone.....The Story of Fountain House and The Clubhouse Model", by Mark Glickman

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• • "Healthy Minds" - Public Broadcasting Stations / Joel Corcoran, Executive Director and CEO Clubhouse International

• • Psychosocial Rehabilitation: The Clubhouse Model 

Optional Discussion: 

To join the Module One Discussion, <<<<<<CLICK HERE>>>>>>

Optional Zoom Seminar:

To access the Module One Zoom Seminar, contact the Site Administrator for available dates, times,  and Zoom Link using the contact information below:  

Steve Dougherty

Clubhouse Learning and Education Resource Site Administrator

doughertystephenj@gmail.com

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Self-Directed Clubhouse Training - Zoom Seminar Module One

Topic: The Clubhouse Model

Time: Apr 19, 2024 / 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

To Join Zoom Meeting:

<<<<<<<<<<<Click Here>>>>>>>>>

Meeting ID: 843 4240 4849

Passcode: 547960