Written by Jill Banwell

In this essay I discuss how an Alexander Teacher Training course, particularly Anthony Kingsley’s Alexander Teacher Training School (ATTS), can be considered a Therapeutic Community.

Introduction

In 1999 I did some voluntary work in different kinds of services for drug users.  One of the places that I worked was a residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre called Crescent House in London, a concept-based therapeutic community where people recovering from drug and/or alcohol addiction lived together, supporting each other to remain drug-free and to take the next steps forward in their lives.

I had no idea what a therapeutic community was, however I observed that people who had been there for longer, the more senior residents, would often guide and supervise the more junior residents and new arrivals.  This was overseen by the staff, many of whom, if not all, were themselves in recovery from serious addictions.  As residents progressed through the program they were given greater freedom, together with more responsibility to contribute to the daily running of the community.  However the main achievement for any resident was to tolerate staying there, remaining drug-free and engaged for the duration of their program.

Twenty years later I began an Alexander Technique (AT) Teacher Training course at the ATTS in London.  From the beginning I observed the senior students guiding and nurturing newer students, under the supervision of the Head of Training and other trainers, and I began to notice parallels with the Therapeutic Community model.  Then when I was introduced to regarding patterns of reactivity as addictions by Anthony Kingsley in talks that he gave, as well as in his Introduction to the Use of the Self, the parallels became even more apparent.

MindBody States as Addictions

People entered the therapeutic community of a residential rehabilitation program to recover from drug and/or addiction.  Students enter the community of an AT Teacher Training course to work on their addictions to end-gaining, mind-wandering, over-concentration and relaxing in a state of collapse, whether or not they realise that this is the purpose of their training at enrolment.  .  As each student progresses through the course, mostly just by being there and continuing to practice AT, their habits and reactions are gradually tamed.  Both of these processes happen in communities, and so I felt inspired to explore the connection.

As Anthony Kingsley describes in his Introduction to the latest edition of ‘The Use of the Self’ by FM Alexander, our postural habits and adaptations can be considered addictions.  As FM Alexander himself discovered in his own explorations, detailed in his above mentioned book, it is not enough to point out to someone how they can use themselves in a more mechanically advantageous way, because force of habit dominates cognitive knowledge.  There is a whole process to go through in order to modify a habitual pattern, because there were very good reasons why that pattern was adopted in the first place, be it a heroin dependence, known as ‘a habit’ on the street, or a tendency to react psychophysically by collapsing, bracing, end-gaining, over-concentrating or mind wandering.Recovering from Addictions

As we come off of our mindbody habits (also known as patterns of reactive adaptation) uncomfortable memories, emotions and realisations may begin to surface.  We need to be contained in a safe enough space in order to avoid escaping back to the comfort of the habitual way of being.  The habits have carved deep grooves, becoming hard-wired into our neural pathways.  Choosing the road less travelled is not at all obvious, the familiar exerts a seductive pull.  To move from the known to the unknown is a great challenge.  It is important to be in an environment where we aren’t criticised, judged or shamed for our inevitable relapses.  At ATTS we are supported in our Alexander journeys in a non-judgemental and empathic way.

In a rehabilitation centre the ultimate relapse into drug or alcohol use cannot be tolerated, as to function as safe space it must be a substance-free environment.  However relapses into psychophysical states contrary to the values of the abstinence-based program were noted as ‘old behaviour’ and were regarded as critical moments to be worked with if possible.  

At ATTS we are working with critical moments of potential reactions to stimuli all the time, while being supported by those around us to develop inhibition and liberate direction.  When we are struggling habits that compromise our use of the self we are made to feel as if we are failing.  Everyone in that environment has been, and continues to be, on their own personal journey, and they understand how challenging it is.  Under the guidance of our Head of Training we are encouraged to view our own psychophysical habits, and those of others, with compassion and understanding.  The number one rule of the ATTS community is not to excite the fear reflexes as no learning of any value can take place if the fear reflexes are excited.  

The work is to keep finding our way back to an embodied present, against the currents of habitual patterns of reaction.  A standard AT teacher training is 1600 hours because it takes so long to soften these habitual currents.  Perhaps it takes decades to actually change them.  For those in recovery from substance misuse it will also take a long time for the allure of the old coping strategies to fade.  The rehabilitation centre I volunteered at took people on 3 or 6 month residential places, followed by supported aftercare.  The risk of relapse is greatly magnified under any kind of external or internal pressure.  Acceptance of the support of the ‘in recovery’ community, most commonly in the form of 12-step groups and sponsors, is regarded as vital by most.  

Similarly AT teachers cannot be complacent.  As Head of Training, Anthony Kingsley, has said, some reach their peak at graduation, the level of their work going downhill from there.  To continue to maintain, evolve and deepen our connection with the technique post-graduation, we must continue to practice and be around those who are also engaged in this particular way of cultivating embodied self-awareness, our own AT ‘sangha’ if you will.  As those in a 12-step program might be inspired to be around those with decades of sobriety behind them, recent graduates might be inspired to regularly continue to be around those who’ve been consistently engaging with the technique for most of their lives in order to be touched and affected by their deep levels of embodied wisdom.

A key element of any 12-step program is surrendering to a higher power.  In AT we might consider this higher power to be the innate flow of direction within the self, or the right thing that does itself.  We do not know how the liberation of direction through the inhibition of reaction will change a person, nor do we know who the recovering addict will become when their addiction is no longer the focal point of their life and their being.  In both cases the courage to ‘move from the known to the unknown’ is required.

Seven Defining Characteristic of a Therapeutic Community

Now I will look at the seven defining characteristics of a Therapeutic Community according to the work of David Kennard and discuss how the ATTS Community fits in with them:

1. A group of people who live together or meet together regularly and participate together in a range of purposeful tasks.  At ATTS we meet four times per week during term time and participate together in the educational activities of giving and receiving hands on AT work, as well as theoretical group discussions.
   
2. May have intimate , informal, non-hierarchical relationships.  At ATTS we do have intimate relationships as we work with each other through the medium of touch.  It is indeed an informal environment where everyone has equal value, although responsibilities will vary according to how long a student has been attending the school.
   
3. May have regular and frequent sharing of information between all members of the group.  We meet twice a week as a group to share theoretical information.  Announcements are also made in the class and via a WhatApp group that everyone can participate in.
   
4. A shared commitment to the goal of learning, from the experience of living and/or working together.  At the ATTS we very much share a commitment to learning together through the hands on work that we do in school.  As the African proverb says “It takes a village to raise a child,” perhaps we can also say that it takes a village to produce an AT Teacher.  The Head of Training for any AT student is hugely influential, along with their other trainers, but then there are all of the additional people who support, guide and advise.  Graduates of the school who come in for visits, some of the visiting teachers, other students in the school, all have an influence.  It is not always more senior students who help the most.  Being asked questions by those who are in earlier terms can lead to clarification, or more questioning, of one’s own process.  Guiding them in their own exploration of hands on work again deepens one’s own understanding of what we are practising and why we have been taught to practice in the way that we have.
   
5. A shared commitment to open examination and resolution of problems, tensions and conflicts.  In ATTS we are not as focussed on our interpersonal relationships with each other as in a traditional Therapeutic Community, however we do share a deep commitment to openly examine how Use of the Self affects Use of the Self in a relational dynamic between two or three people as we work with each other in dyads or triads.  Our training is all about examining and refining the teacher-pupil relationship so that the influence of the more refined Use of Self of the teacher is communicated to the pupil.  We indeed resolve problems, tensions and conflicts that might be interfering with this communication.
   
6. Theoretically informed by bringing a psychodynamic awareness of individual and group process to bear on this.  In the ATTS we are primarily informed by an awareness of the AT, and how use of self affects use of self in a system of co-regulation.  Our understanding of the work that we do is much more grounded in poly-vagal and AT theory than in psychodynamic theory.  However as our Head of Training is a psychotherapist he does sometimes speak about how psychodynamics might play out in the group and in our one-to-one work in the form of different projections, transferences and counter-transferences.  Occasionally he will invite us to understand that we may unconsciously interact with our peers as siblings and our trainers as parents or other authority figures.  Personally I have found this psychoanalytic understanding to be very helpful at times to understand the interpersonal dynamics that can be playing out within the group.
   
7. Clear set of boundaries concerning time, place and roles within which the above can take place.  The environment of a Therapeutic Community establishes a set of relationships and meeting that provides a safe emotional container for distress.  At ATTS there are indeed very clear boundaries of term dates, and the days and times that we meet.  We also have a stable place where we meet.  All of this provides continuity and a feeling of safety.  Each member of the community has a role as Head of Training, Trainer, Visiting Graduates, senior students, junior students and new students.  Some of these roles change progressively as we move up through the school in a clear and systematic way.    As an emotionally-literate and trauma-informed school, students are welcome to bring significant psychological and emotional issues to be held by the community, as the Head of Training has a particularly strong commitment to the psychophysical practice of AT in it’s fullness.

Common Attributes of Therapeutic Communities

Now I will look at the Common Attributes of Therapeutic Communities according to David Kennard, examining their parallels with ATTS:

1. An informal and communal atmosphere, things are happening out in the open where anyone can see and even join in, this may include arguments, tears and laughter.  In ATTS we are all working in a large room, everyone’s work is happening out in the open, we can all observe each other any time.  Laughter, tears and arguments are all possible and are contained in the room, though privacy is possible if required.
   
2. Central place of group meetings in the therapeutic program.  We are constantly meeting each other in the ATTS: in pairs, in a triad of two students with a teacher, in a large group with everyone present for book club and modules, in social groups at ‘tea time’.  As in a therapeutic community, these meetings build a sense of cohesion and togetherness and maximise the sharing of information.  They are also opportunities for giving feedback, within clear boundaries, and they are a vehicle for community members to affect each other.
   
3. Sharing the work of maintaining and running the community.  Participation in the daily tasks of ATTS community, such as setting up and closing the room, helps member to feel part of the community.  Contributing to the upkeep of the community is one way to be recognised as a valuable member.  It is interesting to see how new members of the ATTS do not contribute to set up and closing in the beginning as they are unsure about what to do.  Gradually, without any request, they begin to involve themselves.  There are also designated roles in the running of the community such as ‘librarian’ and ‘banker’ that people are requested to volunteer for as they progress through the school.
   
4. Therapeutic role of patients and residents.  In a therapeutic community there is a recognition of the residents as auxiliary therapists, influencing each other and deliberate use is made of the effectiveness of this informal source of influence.  Student colleagues at ATTS are all progressively building up their inhibition to reduce reactivity to stimuli and liberate innate direction, while recognising the influence of faulty sensory appreciation.  We are all working to neutralise the same basic reactions of mind-wandering, end-gaining, bracing, over-concentration and relax-collapse, and the processing of underlying emotions that have led to these reactions, so we have some understanding of the common issues that we have in our AT journeys.  As well as being a therapeutic role within the community, the experience of taking on the role of teacher for other students helps to develop self-confidence and experience as a teacher.  It is not unusual for two students to work as a pair, one in the role of teacher and one in the role of student, swapping half way through. 
   
5. Sharing Authority.  In a therapeutic community there is some shared authority.  In ATTS the authority is shared to some extent. As long as the essential principles are respected, there are so many ways in which AT can be taught and ATTS particularly embraces this as there is a diverse group of trainers employed by the school, each sharing their own unique way with the students.  The Head of Training, Anthony Kingsley, has a certain dominant authority as he is consistently present, but he does not seek to create clones of himself and actively encourages each of his students to develop their own style of teaching AT in harmony with who they are.
   
6. Values & Beliefs. 
   6.1. Therapy is essentially a learning process.  The Alexander Technique can be regarded as an education with therapeutic benefits (Kingsley, 2011).  In the therapeutic community the learning is about knowledge of oneself and others, of course this is also true on an AT training course.  In both settings skills of how to relate to others are taught, though in an AT course this is in the specific context of relating to others through the vehicle of the AT.
   6.2. There is a recognition of the basic equality of all members of a therapeutic community.  There is a human equality of treating others as we would like to be treated and not exploiting others or unduly restricting their freedom.  Then there is also a sense of psychological equality, the recognition that all members of a therapeutic community, whatever their role, share the same psychological processes, in the same way that everyone engaging with the AT is dealing with the reactivity of their nervous system, no matter if they have been working with the technique for days or decades.  Teachers haven’t reached nirvana, and in the ATTS it is safe for them to share this with the students. 
   
7. Strong moral or ideological aspect.  In a therapeutic community this is an asset because it contributes to a sense of hope and purpose that life substance-free will be better than a life dependent on intoxicants. 
   In his book ‘Man’s Supreme Inheritance’ FM Alexander wrote that less reactive humans are better humans, to the extent that he said that engaging with the technique was the next step in the evolution of man.  There is a risk that this can slip into idealisation of the community and a refusal to listen to criticism or acknowledge limitations.  There is a risk of becoming ‘Messianic’ and seeing ourselves as guardians of the ‘Truth’. 
   We can certainly see this as being the case in the AT world which is often fractured with many different people having different ideas about what the most important aspect of the work is.  As a leader a Director of Training needs to have a strong position regarding their own understanding. 
   FM Alexander’s technique evolved, so it is possible to find passages from FM Alexander’s writing to support many different understandings of the main emphasis of the work.  And of course in 2024 people do not always feel obliged to link their own understanding of the work so closely with FM’s. 
   In a training school there needs to be a good balance between the clarity of the Director of Training’s own understanding of the work and the ability to impart that to their students, together with an openness to examining and accessing the work from other points of view to give a broad and well-rounded impression of the Technique to their students.  At ATTS this is facilitated by welcoming Visiting Teachers who have graduated from other schools, and from attending large AT gatherings where work and ideas are exchanged.
   In a therapeutic community there is a clear view of right living there are explicit values that guide how individuals relate to others, these are integrated into the educational process.  It is the same in ATTS, we clearly have objectives to reduce reactivity to stimuli, by increasing the capacity for inhibition which liberates the innate flow of direction.  These goals are integrated in to the teaching methods of the school. 
   In both settings, ATTS and a therapeutic community, showing an altruistic concern for others is a value.  Interaction is encouraged and in ATTS we actively make the effort to include everyone in giving or receiving hands-on work as much as possible.

Additional Points of Similarity

1. Confidence Training

Senior residents in a therapeutic community will receive social confidence training to prepare them for the outside world.  In ATTS we work with visitors, members of the public who have sometimes never had a lesson, in order to build our confidence to explain our work and practice to someone new.  Additionally in our final year of training we may be allocated our own pupils to have the experience of giving private one-to-one lessons under the supervision of the Head of Training.  This structured, yet individually paced, progression through the school prepares the student in a step by step way for graduation and independently working with members of the public.  In a concept-based therapeutic community senior residents will progressively be given more and more freedom to interact with the outside world, while still living in the community, in order to prepare them to move on.  

2. Focus on the Quality of Relationships and Communication

Kennard, D. (1998) describes the therapeutic community impulse as being a focus on the quality of relationships and communication between people as the essential working material of treatment.  In an ATTS, through the practice of giving and receiving hands-on work with each other, the on-going focus is very much on refining the quality of the relationship and the communication of the use of the self.  The communication of the Use of the Self of the Teacher to the pupil is seen as primary, above and beyond any ‘technique’.  It is through a quality of use of the self that the teacher co-regulates with the pupil enabling them to build up their own capacity for self-regulation over time.

3. Hierarchical Work Structure

In the concept based therapeutic community there is a hierarchical work structure of duties carried out by the residents.  The enables a relatively small number of staff to manage the community, and their job is not to provide all of the therapeutic relationships by themselves, but to maintain the culture of the community at it’s optimum.  In a school like ATTS, where the vast majority of the week is spent giving or receiving hands-on work, it is not possible that only the designated trainers give hands on work, so in the style of a therapeutic community, non-professional members of the community also work. 
There is a hierarchy of the newest members of the community only receiving hands-on work from the professional trainers, visiting graduates and senior students.  After a couple of terms they will begin to practice their own hands on work under the supervision of a professional trainer.  As they progress through the school they will have permission to practice their hands-on work, somewhat unsupervised, on students who are more senior to them, and these senior students may offer helpful feedback and guidance at times. 
When it is their ‘turn’ they will continue to receive work from the professional trainers.  Sometimes they will receive a turn for themselves, and at other times the trainers might work with them by taking their hands on another student, or the trainer might suggest to them that they put their hands and practice on the trainer, for the purpose of receiving more feedback so they can keep in refining their hands on work. 
As the student becomes more senior, he is permitted to work on more junior students and even complete beginners.  All of these interactions happen out in the open in a large room under the supervision of the Director of Training and other trainers.  The Director of Training vigilantly keeps a watchful eye on what is happening in the room and may choose to intervene if a student teacher is reinforcing the reactive patterns of the student rather than preventing them. 
In a concept-based therapeutic community staff also have a swift response to deviant behaviour in order to keep the community running well and maintain the therapeutic atmosphere.  In both cases it is an important demonstration of sincerity and interest that the Director of Training at ATTS, or staff members in a traditional therapeutic community, do intervene. 

In the concept-based therapeutic community staff and residents form a continuous hierarchy, and staff are often qualified for their work by having been a resident in such a community themselves.  This is comparable with an Alexander Teacher Training course.  There is a clear hierarchy of new students who are not putting hands on others, junior students who can put hands on others with the supervision of a trainer, junior students who can independently put hands on senior students, senior students who can put hands on anyone, followed by graduates, trainers and the Head of Training.  Every trainer has had their own personal experience of graduating from a course similar to the one that they are teaching on.

4. Apprenticeship Model  

There is an Apprenticeship model involved in a patient progressing through a therapeutic community.  This can be seen to be similar in the apprenticeship of a student putting their hands on as they progress through the ATTS.  It is interesting to note that as a STAT-affiliated school ATTS is very much training through apprenticeship, a domain that is more often associated with another governing body, Alexander Technique International (ATI).

Conclusion

In conclusion there are many points of similarity between ATTS and a therapeutic community, to the extent that ATTS could be regarded as a therapeutic, as well as educational, community, or perhaps as a ‘Therapeutic Educational Community’ or an ‘Educational Therapeutic Community’.

References:

Alexander, FM The Use of the Self (1936)

Alexander, FM Man’s Supreme Inheritance (1910)

Dana, D The Poly Vagal Theory in Therapy (2018)

Kennard, D An Introduction to Therapeutic Communities (1998)

Kingsley, A Introduction to The Use of the Self (2018)

Kingsley, A The Alexander Technique: Education or Therapy? (2011)