Social Therapy – Quality of life for adults
The concept social therapy encompasses a broad spectrum of possibilities for persons with disability of any kind; living in community, sheltered employment, shared accommodation, supervised living or living under constant care, adult education programs and so on.
The aim is always to enable the individual human being to experience a fulfilled existence in a social environment with others, to develop personally, and to be able to make a meaningful contribution to his/her community and to society as a whole – in other words, to live and experience a full biography.
In the face of the guiding principles of normalisation, integration and autonomy, institutions have the responsibility of ensuring an individual guidance through life that facilitates the greatest possible amount of independence, but at the same time offers a protected social environment that allows the persons to continue their development and education.
The degree of care, assistance and supervision appropriate for each individual is determined by his or her needs.
Social Therapy has the task of establishing a framework of existence that allows the individual to develop socially, in the work sphere, and in his or her cultural and spiritual life. In addition, it must provide a program of therapies and individual care.
The challenge of social therapy
"We must create the conditions that will allow the person with disability to structure their own work and living environment, and not assume at the outset that we know better what his needs are."" (Karl König)