Therapeutic Community In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

In the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey two of the main characters, Dr. Spivey and Nurse Ratched, have different opinions on the Therapeutic Community of the mental asylum where they work. The Therapeutic Community at the hospital, named the Combine by its patients, is supposed to make the ward a democratic place that puts its patients concerns and requests into consideration. Dr. Spivey uses the Therapeutic Community as a way to make the patients feel like they have more of a say in the way the asylum is run and wants them to feel comfortable. However, Nurse Ratched uses this free environment as a way to show her authority and force confessions out of her patients. Dr. Spivey wants the mental institute patients to benefit from a Therapeutic

She has the highest authority in the hospital and wants to run the asylum as a dictatorship. She will do anything to get the patients to do what she wants, whether she needs to turn them against each other or put them in the fog to maintain order in the institute. Unlike Dr. Spivey, Nurse Ratched uses the Therapeutic Community for her own benefit, rather than the benefit of its patients. She forces confessions out of people and when no one confesses anything she goes through a log book pointing out each patient's history. By forcing the patients to confess she is able to turn everyone against each other, which promotes isolation in the asylum. If no one is friends and everyone is against each other that means there is no way for the patients to come together to rebel against the Nurse. Not only does her power to force out confessions intimidate the patients, but it also secures her authority in the asylum. The Nurse takes advantage of the Therapeutic Community and puts the patients in an uncomfortable situation when it’s supposed to be doing the opposite and making the asylum experience beneficial and