Who should join

We offer membership to all therapeutic communities, or services who are developing a therapeutic culture, who are committed to working with the CofC service standards and engage with other members in the sharing of ideas, achievements and challenges.

Membership is at the level of the therapeutic community participating in the review cycle rather than at the parent organization or NHS Trust.

Membership options

The Community of Communities (CofC) offers three ways of becoming a member of the network:

1. Developmental Membership
2. Full Membership
3. Accredited Membership

Developmental Membership*

Developmental Members will receive:

• A self-review workbook based on the relevant Service Standards
• A local report summarising self-review with action planning template
• Opportunity to participate in the peer-review of another service 
• Support and guidance from the CofC team
• Certificate of Associated Membership 
• What is not included:
• A peer-review visit from another service  to ratify self-review and share learning
• A detailed local report detailing the findings of self- and peer-review
• Use of logo for demonstrating participation in an externally validated quality improvement process
• Access to an online Resource Library (coming soon)

* Available for one year only before transferring to Full Membership with the exception of TCs abroad unable to participate in the Full Membership peer-review process

Full Membership

Full Members will receive:

• A review workbook based on the relevant Service Standards
• A facilitated peer-review visit from another service  to ratify self-review and share learning
• A detailed local report summarising self- and peer-review scores and comments and identifying areas of achievement and areas for improvement and an action planning template
• Participation in a peer-review of another service 
• Support and guidance from the CofC team
• Certificate of Community of Communities Membership 
• Use of membership logo for demonstrating quality
• What is not included:
• Accreditation Standards and Process
• Access to an online Resource Library (coming soon)

Accredited Membership (currently applicable to NHS, Children’s and Addiction TCs)

Accredited membership lasts for three years.  Members will receive all advantages of Full Membership plus:

• Standards for Accreditation
• An Accreditation review workbook
• A facilitated Accreditation peer-review visit from another service accompanied by a TC specialist
• Submission of reports to the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Therapeutic Community Accreditation Panel (TCAP) for an Accreditation decision
• A comprehensive report detailing performance against the standards, areas for improvement and areas of achievement as well as feedback from TCAP
• Participation in an accreditation review visit for another service 
• Training for one senior person as TC specialist
• Certificate of Accreditation  
• Use of “Accredited TC” logo for demonstrating quality
• Evidence of adherence to critical standards for the commissioning of services

All Members Receive:

• Membership of a strong network of supportive relationships and TC knowledge
• Opportunity to demonstrate the quality of therapeutic practice using internationally agreed Service Standards
• 1 set of Service Standards for Therapeutic Communities specific to the following types: Adult Democratic, Addictions, Children and Young People, Learning Disability, Commissioning Standards for NHS TCs
• Opportunity to participate in review and revision of Service Standards
• Opportunity for suitable staff/clients to train as TC experts or Lead Reviewers
• 1 National Report
• Access to email discussion forum
• Discounted rates for workshops and events

What is expected?

• Provide a link person to liaise with the CofC team
• Involve all community members in the CofC process as far as possible
• Ensure community members are kept up-to-date with the CofC network and encourage involvement e.g. disseminating information from the discussion, publicising reviews and events, etc.
• Provide at least 3 community members including client members, where appropriate, to attend peer-review/accreditation visits and authorise accompanying travel costs (Full and Accreditation Members only)
• Provide a senior person for TC specialist (Accreditation Members only)
• Provide at least one person to train as a Lead Reviewer (Full and Accredited Members only)
• Take responsibility for inviting key stakeholders from both internal and external agencies (e.g. senior managers, referrers, statutory inspectors etc.) to attend the communities’ peer-review/accreditation visit (if applicable)
• Take responsibility for assisting CofC in disseminating important information to members e.g. tell us about policy changes, relevant articles etc.
• Commit to returning all necessary correspondence to the CofC team in a timely manner
  

Fees

Annual membership fees are calculated based on the level of membership applied for, the size of your community, and the sector in which you operate. Click here to download our current fee calculator.

If you wish to sign up multiple communities, The Project Team may be able to organise bespoke packages for your team or Trust by finding the best variation on our membership options to suit your service.

Members of CCQI quality networks in the NHS who have a surplus at the end of the financial year can use this opportunity to extend their membership – either by signing up additional services or by paying in advance for multiple years of membership.

We invoice members from April.

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