T.C. Philosophy 
"My past is something I don't want to relive.  I must take action and build strength within myself.  When life gets tough, I will be able to work my way up. I'm tired of an empty heart and a negative life.  With it I will not go on.  With change, hope, love courage, friends, and a higher power, I will live just for today.  Change my brothers, don't relive the past.  The heart is filled with life."

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                                 Recovery The T.C. Way

T.C. stands for the Therapeutic Community. Recovery as defined in the T.C. is not only abstinence from alcohol and drugs, but the gradual building or rebuilding of a new life. 

The above reading is considered the T.C. Philosophy at Texas House and must be recited by all clients within the first 30 days. Change in a T.C. results in changes in thinking, feeling, values, behavior, and self-identity.   

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                                  The View of Right Living

Honesty in Word and Deed.  Honest expressions of emotions and reactions reveal residents true self-identities to others and to themselves.

Responsible Concern for others: By challenging and supporting others, residents show that they care for others and for themselves.

Work Ethic: Self reliance, excellence, earned rewards, pride, and commitment enable residents to become productive members of society.

Active and continuous learning: learning about themselves and the world strengthens residents' ability to maintain recovery.   



                       
                                                    



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                                    Basic Components of T.C.

Community Separateness T.C.
The programs are located in a setting that allows residents to disconnect from networks of drug using friends and relate to new drug-free peers.

Community Environment
Common areas for holding group actvities, dining room, group rooms, displays include daily schedule, displays of chain of command, structure, seniority and job function promote sense of community. 

Staff as Community Members
Staff is considered the rational authority in the community and as such commands respect at all times by residents through role modeling T.C. expectations.  Staff often directs residents back to the community to increase problem solving skills and promote leadership.

Peers as Role Models
The strength and integrity of the community as an arena for social learning depends on the quantity and quality of its peers as role models.  

A Structured Day 
Order, routine activities, and a rigid schedule counter the characteristically disordered lives of residents and leave little time for negative thinking and boredom-factors that often contribute to relapse.

Treatment Phases
Four major stages (Orientation, Primary, Transition, Work phase). Reflects the developement and view of change as a process.

Work as Therapy and Education
Work offers residents an opportunity for self-examination, to contribute to the community, gain responsibility, coordinate job functions, gain new skills and improve adaptibility by promotion. 

Repetition of T.C. Concepts
T.C. concepts increase values and belief system which are antidotes to the values and beliefs of drug and prison subcultures.

Peer Encounter Groups
The peer confrontation group is the main therapeutic group format.  Although others groups are used in the T.C., the encounter group is used to heighten residents' awareness of attitudes and behavior to be changed.

Emotional Growth
Residents learn to identify feelings, express them appropriately, and increase emotional intelligence.  Emotional intelligence in a T.C. refers to living consciously without repeated violations that has been the norm in the drug subculture.

Long-Term Maintenance After T.C.
Often volunteers and community support members, sponsors and family members remain connected and invested to the community as a means of continued growth and support.