About Us

David Wills

David Wills’ (1903-1981) lifelong focus was young people who were troublesome to others, or to themselves, or both. He was the first British person to train as a psychiatric social worker (in the States).

He played a key part in several experimental therapeutic communities, and wrote a number of books describing his experiences and his developing ideas. In his early career, he worked in a number of hostels for maladjusted boys, and in the Settlement Houses sponsored by Welsh Quakers.

David Clark

David Clark (1920-2010) was born in London into a high-achieving family. David's parents rejected religious belief but brought up their four children with a Quakerly emphasis on social justice. David became part of a network of psychiatrists developing liberal regimes in their hospitals, including TP Rees and Maxwell Jones. His capacity to inspire through his lectures and writing also made him an international figure in the therapeutic community movement. In 1972, David helped to found the Association of Therapeutic Communities and was its first chairman.

Geoffrey Brogden

Probation officer Geoffrey Brogden (1939-2021) saw the need for such an institution through his work and raised the question with other Friends. Psychiatrist David Clark was busy changing the local hospital’s way of working, opening locked doors, and empowering staff and patients. He could see the power of “living and learning” together, and enjoying leisure activities together. Educationalist David Wills had much first-hand experience of therapeutic communities in practice.