Articles About The Centre

Polly Newton

THIS weekend, some of the most eminent names in psychotherapy will gather to mark the 25th anniversary of a project which few in the profession believed would stand the test of time.
Speakers at the Regent's Park conference on Paranoia and Persecution will include Brian Keenan, the former Beirut hostage, and Helen Bamber, the director of the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture.
The organisation with such remarkable pulling power is by no means a household name, even locally, but it's two centres in Crouch End and Muswell Hill have offered a lifeline to hundreds of people in emotional trouble.
Arbours, which provides both crisis care and long-term accommodation, was founded in 1970 by Dr Joseph Berke and Morton Schatzman.
Their work was influenced by controversial psychiatrist R.D. Laing, whose belief that mental disturbance is a reaction to external stress - rather than the result of any biological condition - had already drawn much criticism from "mainstream" psychiatrists.
The application of Laing's theory at Arbours put Berke and Schatzman in the firing line.
"We encountered tremendous hostility, particularly from professionals," Dr Berke said.

He believes now that this antipathy had a positive effect, by helping those involved in the project to develop "group solidarity".

Arbours - which took its name from the temporary homes made by the Israelites in the wilderness after the exodus from Egypt operates on the premise-that people are damaged by institutions, so those who come to the centres are treated as guests rather than patients.
As Dr Berke and two of his colleagues explain in the introduction to a new book about the project, the aim of the crisis centre is "not simply to stop bizarre or disruptive experience or behaviour, but to contain it and make sense of it".
Dr Berke, of Shepherd's Close, Highgate, said: We feel that when people get emotionally upset, it can be an opportunity for breakdown or an opportunity for growth and development.
"Too often psychiatrists see it as a sickness
He said people began to take Arbours seriously when they saw the effect it had on "hopeless" cases. "We gradually began to break down barriers."
Dr Berke estimates that three quarters of referrals to Arbours are from the London area, although "guests" come from all over the country.
Eight out of 10 go home after a short stay in the crisis centre; others stay on for months or return regularly for psychotherapy.
Visitors were amazed by the atmosphere in the houses, Dr Berke said. "They expect violence and anger and shouting, but it's just quiet."
· Sanctuary: the Arbours Experience of Alternative Community Care is published by Process Press, 26 Freegrove Road, London N7 9RQ. For information about Arbours, telephone 0181-340 7646.