What is so special about young people? Views from practitioners

Abstract

This study seeks to advance knowledge and understanding about the day-to-day experience of working with young people who misuse substances. This is an area where there are very few empirical research studies suggesting that there is little available evidence about practitioner views and experiences of working with these young people. A framework of service evaluation was employed. Six semi-structured interviews and one focus group with staff in a Tier 3 and 4 young people's addiction service were conducted as a way to explore practitioner views and experiences. All data were imported to NVivo for thematic analysis. The themes that were common to all seven data sources were: connectedness between services; drug and alcohol use; young people's involvement in their own care and/or services; and needs. Common to six of the data sources were the themes of service improvement and development ideas; outcomes for young people; engagement with services; service gaps and limitations; family therapy, and ‘chaotic’. The study highlighted the different and sometimes conflicting agendas of those who commission services compared with those working on the front line. An appreciation of the very particular needs of this population of young people seemed to be a core attribute amongst practitioners, and was combined with a high commitment to supporting young people to create more positive futures for themselves. Areas for improvement included making it easier to navigate through services and ensuring that outcomes were salient to the real experiences of these young people.

Keywords:

• complexity
• practitioners
• substance misuse services
• young people