Principles/Values of Therapeutic Communities

About a month ago, my supervisor at Odyssey House (a residential treatment facility utilizing therapeutic milieu) requested that we as Support Staff come up with ideas on how we might be able to revamp the rules and/or find a way to more uniformly enforce the rules so that there could be more consistency from shift to shift. The problem that has arisen is that rules are often enforced based on the personal interpretation of the staff on shift. This varies widely however due to differences in experience and personality which can lead to a great deal of tension among residents. As I contemplated this I thought about utilizing a collaborative process to construct a core set of Principles or Values that everyone can agree on and rely on when evaluating rules and enforcement of these rules.

Ideally this would be a process involving all clients and staff. To get the ball rolling I thought I'd come up with my own list which I think would likely be helpful in any therapeutic milieu.

Responsibility
Self-Control
Safety & Health
Awareness
Compassion
Respect

My (brief) reasoning:

Responsibility includes recognizing Consequences and Accountability
Self-Control involves Self-efficacy, and Behavior management
Safety & Health promotes security and peace for everyone.
Awareness promotes insight, understanding, and knowledge
Compassion balances out responsibility and control with Human Connection and Healing.
Respect promotes mutual support, dignity, and harmony.

I believe these are essential components to a therapeutic community. If we find that we are taking an action that can not be linked to one of these principles then it should be a clear signal that we should either re-think the action or re-think the principles and values.