Sociotherapy is a social science and form of social work, and sociology that involves the study of groups of people, its constituent individuals and their behavior, using learned information in case and care management towards holistic life enrichment or improvement of social and life conditions.
The professional practitioner of the field, who may be called a sociotherapist or life enrichment therapist, sometimes called a clinical sociologist, is usually concurrently a member of another relevant profession: medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist, nurse, social worker, sociologist, criminologist, activity and recreational professionals, among others. Clinical sociotherapy usually targets groups of children, youths or elderly, employed in various settings such as treatment facilities or lifecare communities like nursing homes and are directly involved in case management and care planning.
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Still in its infancy as a social science and profession, sociotherapy is ill-defined and thus takes many forms, according to the respective definitions created by the individual therapists, firms and institutions that employ sociotherapists and life enrichment therapists.[1] The Society for the Furtherance of Sociotherapy defines sociotherapy as "the methodical management of the living environment of a group of clients, directed towards reaching the treatment targets of this group—and conceived as a means of achieving the treatment targets of the individual client—within a functional unit, usually in a clinical treatment setting." [2] This definition is most accepted especially in lifecare communities such as nursing homes.
The Sociotherapy Association in the United States describes sociotherapy as "the practice of promoting healthy growth and living by facilitating therapeutic communities, personal relationships and positive peer culture," and states that the field is best known as "relationship therapy."[3] The Society for the Furtherance of Sociotherapy says: "Sociotherapy operates through a holistic vision of mankind. That is to say that the human being is seen as a somatic, psychic, social and spiritual unity, which is unique because of his own history of growth." [4]
Definition of sociotherapy as a social science and profession is also based on regional dicta. For example, the public health insurance system of Germany offered a uniquely German definition in order to subsidize treatment by sociotherapeutic professionals. It said that sociotherapy "designates non-medical, social, and work-related components of the care process." [1] At other times, it is defined according to the specific population targeted. A criminal justice addiction services firm offered its definition, "Sociological counseling or sociotherapy is the practice of positive social change methods or modalities for treatment of ineffective human behavior." [5] There are others that share that definition but would rather not focus on "ineffective human behavior" but rather all behavior.
Sociotherapy has been used in the treatment and education of adolescents at Kanner Academy and Community Schools in Sarasota Florida USA. In These settings the working definition of sociotherapy is the practice of promoting healthy growth and living by facilitating therapeutic communities, personal relationships and positive peer culture. It is better known as the "relationship therapy."[6]
In the United States, sociotherapists or life enrichment therapists are required to have at least a bachelor's degree in the social sciences and have work experience studying individuals; most are credentialed beyond this minimum requirement. In other parts of the world, especially in Europe, sociotherapists are board certified by professional bodies and hold college and university professional degrees beyond the master's degree.
Sociotherapists are constantly involved in creating and refining theories in group and socialization dynamics. For example, a sociotherapist in a nursing home may experiment on the various methods one might employ to lure an introverted resident to activities and thus reduce the resident's risk of social isolation, which may be linked to the continued progression of that resident's dementia. In this example, the sociotherapist would also use activities like games and exercises to monitor an individual's mental health and use interaction with other residents as a tool to improve that mental health.