Collectiveness and group activity form an integral part of the treatment of forensic psychiatry patients. Community treatment consciously utilises the community for the purpose of realising treatment and rehabilitation objectives. The objective of the treatment community is to function as a “depository” for the patients’ experiences. Regular community meetings held once or twice a week and various tasks related to everyday activities, such as maintenance of the hospital’s environs and the common facilities of the ward, form the central framework for the implementation of community treatment at the Niuvanniemi Hospital.
Community meetings are organised for the purpose of discussing topical events and sentiments, planning ward activities and organising introductory lectures on subjects of importance to the patients, such as pharmacological treatment and violent behaviour. Specifically-assigned small groups are in turn each appointed certain tasks that need to be performed on the ward. Supporting the patients’ healthy behaviour reduces the occurrence of disruptive behaviour and teaches the patients improved social operating models. On rehabilitative treatment wards community treatment is developed by studying the content and atmosphere of the community treatment meetings.