Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

This chapter will explore the therapeutic uses of place within the intentional space of purposively created community. By tracing the history of the Northern Michigan Asylum from mental hospital, to its closing and recent adaptive-reuse as neo-traditional community, the chapter will present a detailed case of the intentional use of place for therapeutic purposes in community settings. Built during a period of sweeping social, cultural and structural changes in late 19th century America, the Asylum was founded on the reformist “moral” or “milieu” treatment approach of Thomas Kirkbride. Kirkbride espoused creating self-sustaining communities where the built environment together with a …

Research has demonstrated the significant negative impact of ongoing inter-parental conflict on children (PR Amato, ‘The Consequences of Divorce for Adults and Children’ (2000) 62(4) Journal of Marriage and the Family 1269; B Rodgers and J Pryor, Divorce and separation: The outcomes for children (Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 1998); J Wallerstein and S Blakeslee, The unexpected legacy of divorce (Hyperion, 2000)). In addition to the harm they may be causing their children, ‘high conflict’ separated and divorced parents have frustrated attorneys and created additional workloads for the courts. In reaction to these issues, courts and state legislatures have often turned to …