A concept of therapeutic community, emphasizing the milieu as a factor next to the other types of treatment is presented. This new kind of psychiatric inpatient care takes advantage of various types of interpersonal relationships within the hospital. They are a sort of temporary friendships, capable of strenghtening the capacity of the patient in this respect. As such it is a very important factor in the therapeutic process. Attention for the possibilities of such a plan in the psychiatric units of the general hospital is stressed.