ABSTRACT
Parkneuk and Camphill were very different as far as relationships with the external environment were concerned. Although the external environment of the day hospital had undoubtedly had some impact on therapeutic work in the unit, there was none of the clustering of redefinitional work around certain staff roles and certain parts of the programme that was evident at Faswells. Amongst both staff and residents there was a feeling that the small groups occupied a particularly important place in the therapeutic work of the unit. During the fieldwork in Faswells, for example, a number of residents were in the process of leaving the community and all, without exception, expressed a preference to continue attending their small groups on a day patient basis. Like their counterparts at Faswells, staff at Ravenscroft often commented critically on their location within a hospital.
