Finding a “Middle Place”
Milieu means “middle place” in French. OT takes it to tell the social environment that people engage in, where something occurs or develops. OT members’ middle place is both in their therapeutic milieu and in the experiential milieu of the rest of the world. This dual existence helps them develop the skills they need for tremendous success. Where a controlled group can be a safe container for people living with acute symptoms, those with more moderate chronic and episodic symptoms have likely already proven they can do well in that same container. Thus, a controlled environment will inherently impact an emerging adult’s development by limiting and managing their life experiences with rules governing group living. Where a control limits something, a structure carefully plans, organizes, and connects elements to form a greater whole. OT carefully crafts and cultivates a structured environment for its members to experience life, not a controlled one that would remove them from it.