The Clubhouse Model in the UK: a Personal Overview
| Published date | 01 June 1998 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/13619322199700016 |
| Date | 01 June 1998 |
| Pages | 25-29 |
| Author | Colin MacLean |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
The Mental Health Review 2:2 ©Pavilion Publishing (Brighton) 1997 25
to provide a successful alternative for many whose
needs are not being met by the current range of
available options. I would like to see the Clubhouse
approach being available to a far larger number of
people, as partof a range of community-based services.
Ihave also come to appreciate that many of the criticisms
of the model can be distilled into two factors: misunder-
standing and fear.
The Clubhouse model approach
The principle behind the model is central to under-
standing how the jigsaw of components fits together.
Instead of defining people by their mental illness, or
by what they have been told that they cannot do, the
model focuses on what they can do, by designating
people as contributors to, as opposed to recipients of,
the work of running the Clubhouse. Members are
made to feel valued by organising all aspects of the
Clubhouse operation such that they cannot be done
without significant participation from the Clubhouse
members. Staffare required to engage the Clubhouse
membership, and work together in whatever is
required. That can be anything from organising the
Club's finances to arranging trips for the weekend
social programme. ‘Member’ status, as opposed to
‘client’ status, helps to foster a sense of responsibility
—if you are a member of something you have some say
in its operation and of belonging. Social and vocational
needs arefurther met by:
The Clubhouse Model in the UK:
aPersonal Overview
FOCUS ON…
Colin MacLean, Manager
HILLSIDE HOUSE
A
sacommunity based-model of rehabilitation
for adults with mental health problems, the
Clubhouse model is nothing new. It has its
origins in Fountain House in New York, which is almost
fifty years old. Although already well established in the
USA and other countries around the world, it was only
in 1990 that the first Clubhouse in this country, Hillside
House, opened its doors. But since then, the numbers
have mushroomed to the extent that the UK has the
fastest growth rate in the world. At the time of writing,
there are around 25 Clubhouses in the UK that are
open or areat an advanced stage of preparation, mostly
in the south east.
The Clubhouse model itself is relatively simple,
but like all simple concepts, it is relatively easy to
misunderstand. After giving a talk to a group of staff at
alarge psychiatric hospital, I was dismayed to hear the
wardmanager conclude that the Clubhouse was pretty
much what they offered. This misunderstanding might
have been attributed to my public speaking skills were
it not for the fact that I had shown a thirty-minute
video as well.
The model has its fans and its critics and I must
make plain at the outset on which side of the fence
Istand. Having worked in Clubhouses for morethan
nine years, both in England and in the USA, I have
come to appreciate that it is not a panacea: it is not a
model that will suit all of the people all of the time.
At the same time, it is a sufficiently distinctive model
T
he Clubhouse model is described, from the perspective of an early innovator. Some of the strengths of
the model, as one component of a comprehensive local service, and potential weaknesses arising from
incomplete replication, are highlighted.
ABSTRACT
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