Adolescents who turn to service providers for guidance: the perspectives of informal sources of support

ABSTRACT

Research suggests that youth rarely seek formal help for their problems and tend to turn for assistance to those with whom they interact regularly. The current investigations examined the help-seeking patterns of teenagers in their relationships with service providers from the service providers’ perspectives. A preliminary quantitative study (Study 1), based on responses of 424 service providers, examined service providers' view of adolescents’ approach to them. It maps the expectations, considerations, and difficulties that characterise adolescents’ help-seeking efforts as perceived by these professionals. Furthermore, a qualitative study (Study 2), based on 20 semi-structured interviews of hairdressers and driving instructors, enabled a deeper understanding of adolescents’ help-seeking patterns, including the facilitating or constraining aspects of adolescents’ relationships with these service providers.

KEYWORDS:

• Adolescents` help-seeking
• service providers
• hairdressers
• driving instructors
• informal sources of support

Almost thirty years ago, Hendry et al. (1992) examined adolescents’ perceptions of significant individuals in their lives (family and non-family figures). Hendry and his colleagues identified the qualities of those individuals who occupy significant roles in adolescents’ lives, acting as teachers, supporters, role models, and mentors to adolescents seeking help or advice (see also Kesler & Tatar, 2007; Tatar, 1998). In general, help-seeking behaviour is the attempt of the individual to cope with a problem through the use of sources of support (formal or informal) aimed at mitigating the intensity of the problem or resolving it (Bender et al., 2018; Fernet et al., 2019; Tatar, 2009).

Several studies concerning barriers to help-seeking behaviour have indicated that a perceived threat to self-esteem can hinder help-seeking and that seeking help is often viewed as an indication of personal weakness (Nadler, 2015; Vogel et al., 2011). Among other reported potential barriers are the need for control and self-reliance (Mansfield et al., 2005), difficulty identifying or expressing concerns and difficulty accessing help (Salaheddin & Mason, 2016), concern about costs (Mojtabai, 2009), a fear of social stigma (Clement et al., 2015; Shechtman et al., 2018), distrust towards health professionals, negative past experiences with mental health services, and skepticism about the usefulness of the treatment (Aguirre Velasco et al., 2020).

The process of help-seeking can be either formal or informal: 1) Formal or professional help-seeking involves turning to credentialed health and mental health professionals (e.g. doctors, psychiatrists, counsellors, and psychologists), as well as professionals whose work involves assisting young adults (e.g. teachers and youth workers); 2) Informal help-seeking involves turning to unofficial helpers, such as family, friends, and members of the community (Farrelly, 2008; Grinstein-Weiss et al., 2005).

Many studies have reported that people of all genders and ages (including teenagers) prefer to seek informal help rather than formal help (Carter & Forsyth, 2010; Rickwood et al., 2005). Moreover, it was reported that almost 70% percent of adults and teenagers seek the help from at least one informal helper for assistance (Hagler et al., 2018). A recent review found that informal sources of help, mainly friends and family, are central and essential agents in helping young people improve their quality of life, through listening, guidance and providing information (Lynch et al., 2022). Informal helpers also play an essential role in the recognition of symptoms and in assisting and encouraging young people to access formal mental health services (Eigenhuis et al., 2021; Medlow et al., 2010). Our focus is on a unique potential source of help – a varied set of service providers that could serve as sources of informal help for people in general and adolescents in particular. In their work, these service providers come into contact with various individuals within the community, often providing them with support and emotional assistance. However, they are not formally qualified to do so in most cases and are not affiliated with any formal health or mental health service. Help-seekers’ preference for informal rather than formal social interactions allows the informal helper to be in a better position to detect (“diagnose”) problems (Florio & Raschko, 1998; Sarason et al., 1991). Cowen (1982) found that the problems shared with service providers were similar to those shared with formal help providers, such as psychologists, family doctors, and social workers. The study was aimed at investigating the perceptions of adolescent’s help-seeking behaviour by informal helpers from the perspective of the service providers themselves. Since we assume that service providers might comprise a meaningful legitimate address to which adolescents, actually turn for help, understanding the dynamics of these interactions from their perspectives, might help to prepare and to assist them appropriately for this objective.

Two examples of the unique interaction between service providers and their clients can be seen through barroom therapy and salon therapy. Studies examining barroom therapy focused on bartenders as providers of informal help and as potential “gatekeepers” for formal help providers. In their study, Cowen et al. (1981) found that a large percentage of customers tend to raise serious problems when talking to bartenders, ranging from work, money, and personal problems. The bartenders mentioned they felt comfortable listening to these problems and usually responded by active listening and being relaxed and optimistic with the customer. Anderson et al. (2010) examined bartenders’ ability to help military veterans who presented symptoms of mental illness. They found that most of these bartenders had worked at the same bar for several years, thus facilitating a close relationship with the veterans.

Additional studies have found that clients often share their fears and most intimate problems with their hairdressers. The idea of ⁣⁣hairdressers as help-providers has become widely accepted in society and is expressed in various articles under the name salon therapy (Cassutt, 2008; Schaeffer, 2007). Several early studies found that clients turned to hairdressers regarding personal problems, relationship issues, and health and financial difficulties (Cowen et al., 1979). However, unsurprisingly, some mental health professionals have reservations about the help provided by hairdressers and beauticians, arguing that, despite the service providers’ sharp intuition, they lack the appropriate tools to help their customers cope with their difficulties. These mental health professionals noted that a beneficial approach by the service providers might be to offer their customers an empathetic ear with no pretensions to solve their problems (Koren, 2010).

Study 1

As adolescents tend to turn to informal sources of help, it is crucial to examine the nature of this informal help-seeking process. Whereas adolescents approach service providers who are close to their world and interact with them regularly, only scant research has examined this phenomenon. Four groups of service providers were examined in Study 1: 1. hairdressers and beauticians, who are in regular contact with adolescents. Studies have shown that customers often share various problems with these service providers (Anderson et al., 2009; Cowen et al., 1979; Moreno et al., 2003), and the discussed problems were similar to those raised with formal help providers (Cowen, 1982); 2. non-pedagogic (non-teaching) school staff, which includes secretaries, librarians, and aide instructors who interact regularly with adolescents at school and may also provide assistance and emotional support; 3. driving instructors; and 4. youth group leaders, who provide information and support that influence adolescents in light of their close relationship and the adolescents’ appreciation and admiration of their group leaders (Hofferth & Jankuniene, 2001)

Method

Participants

The sample comprised of 424 Israeli participants. It included 122 hairdressers and beauticians (28.8%), 75 non-teaching school staff (17.7%), 101 driving instructors (23.8%), and 126 youth group leaders (29.7%). Most of the participants (285, 67.2%) resided in Jerusalem and its environs. Most participants (358, 84.4%) were native-born Israelis. The participants’ age ranged from 15 to 70 (X_age = 35.11, SD = 15.32 years). Of the participants, 52.8% (224) were men, 47.2% (200) women. Half of the participants (211, 49.8%) were married, 40.5% (172) were single, 9.7% (41) were divorced. Of the participants, 36.8% (156) had a high school education, 33.3% (141) had a professional certificate, 17.2% (73) had a primary school education, 10.4% (44) held a bachelor’s degree, and 2.1% (9) a master’s degree (1 missing).

Instrument

The brief self-report questionnaire was administered in two sections. In the first section, participants recorded their personal and demographic backgrounds. In the second section, the participants responded to several open-ended questions: Do adolescent customers consult with you?; Who initiates the consultation, the adolescent or yourself; What are the issues that arise? What are, in your opinion, the adolescent’s expectations when turning to you for help?; Why do adolescents turn to you? How do you assist with issues raised by the adolescents?; What traits do you have that prompt youngsters to turn to you? And finally, what do you feel you lack in order to provide fuller assistance or help? Participants were encouraged to supplement their responses with comments regarding their thoughts and experiences.

Procedure

Service providers were recruited using a snowball sampling technique. The participants were informed of the purpose of the study and completed the questionnaire voluntarily. They were not offered compensation of any kind. Also, it was explained that the questionnaire was confidential and that no identifying information would be reported. Questionnaires were completed in writing by the service providers at their workplace, averaging 15 min for completion.

Main results

The service providers reported that about half of the adolescents with whom they come into contact in their work consult with them regarding various issues. In about one-third of these cases, the adolescents are the initiators of the consultation, and in more than 60% of the cases, the consultation is initiated by the customer and service provider alike. The main consultation issues presented were, in descending order, interpersonal issues (23%; regarding difficulties with friends, family, and relationships), instrumental issues (23%; regarding school, work, and military service), leisure activities (18%), and personal matters (15%; regarding self-image, identity, religious beliefs, and health).

Almost half of the service providers believed that the adolescents’ main expectation when approaching them for help was to receive direct guidance (e.g. providing practical guidance and offering solutions and coping strategies; 42%). Other expectations of the service providers were active listening (i.e. offering a sympathetic ear; 18%), receiving knowledge derived from the service providers’ experience (16%), and emotional support (referring to a sense of understanding, caring, and encouragement, 10%).

Service providers reported that adolescents sought their help for several reasons: They believed in the service provider’s ability to help them (26%), felt the service providers were acquainted with their world (17%), valued the service providers’ knowledge and experience (13%), and felt an emotional bond with the service providers (6%). About one-third of the service providers reported that the youngsters felt encouraged to turn to them for help due to the service providers’ experience. Other participants contended that they were approached due to their accepting style and sensitivity (21%), and 10% attributed being approached because of other traits (e.g. maturity, openness, reliability, charm, charisma, and a pleasant personality).

In the service providers’ view, during the encounter between them and their adolescent customers, they provided direct guidance (30%), helped them by sharing their personal experience (20%), used active listening (15%), and referred the help-seeking adolescents to formal help providers (12%). Furthermore, one-third of the service providers noted certain limitations that kept them from being more helpful to their adolescent clients: They lack appropriate education, training, and professional tools (30%), their lack of time (12%), their lack of experience (9%), with 10% indicating they lacked nothing. Beyond the various service providers, half of the adolescents whom service providers contact during their work consult with them regarding various issues.

Discussion

These findings align with the existing data that adolescents prefer to seek help from informal sources (Schonert-Reichl et al., 2013; Zuckerman & Kaim, 2011). More specifically, this finding points to the potentially important role of service providers as an authentic source of informal help. The data also revealed that in many cases, the adolescents and/or the service providers initiated the consultations. Thus, it seems that in most cases, both the service provider and adolescent are motivated to engage in this type of interaction. The adolescents’ motivation to initiate a consultation with the service provider may derive from a preference to approach an informal help provider rather than a formal professional help provider, as the former entails a lesser degree of threat and stigma (Gilat, 1993; Sears, 2004). In about one-third of the cases, the service providers thought that adolescents turn to them because they believed in their ability to help. As noted, other reasons for adolescents turning to service providers for help were the proximity of the service provider to the adolescents’ world, valuing the knowledge and experience of the service provider, and sensing an emotional closeness between them. These findings emphasise that, in the view of the service providers, adolescents perceive them as experienced and trustworthy adult figures. Adolescents are known to prefer to seek help from sources characterised by trust and confidentiality (Zuckerman & Kaim, 2011). Study 1 indicated that many adolescents perceive service providers as having the capacity to help them, especially regarding interpersonal issues (such as problems with friends, family, and relationships) as perceived by the service providers themselves. These findings align with similar findings in the literature (Barker et al., 2005; de Bruin, 2011; Gould et al., 2002).

Perhaps the adolescents’ attraction to the service providers could be attributed to the unique nature of these service providers’ work, placing them in constant interpersonal contact with others while providing a service for which advice-giving is inherent, such as giving expert guidance in areas such as aesthetics, hairstyling, and road safety. Another interesting finding emerging from the data was that half of the service providers believed that adolescents expected them to provide direct guidance when being approached for help. Although the majority of the service providers believed in their ability to assist adolescents that approach them for help, about one-third of the service providers felt they lacked the education and professional skills to better help them. Service providers believed that their personal experience can facilitate helping the adolescents despite their various shortcomings. Relying on their personal experience may compensate for their lack of professional mental health skills felt by some of the service providers. This finding is consistent with findings in the literature where service providers, such as hairdressers who provide informal help to their customers, felt the need to acquire additional training to upgrade their ability to help their customers (Anderson et al., 2009).

A valuable insight emerging from the Study 1 that differentiated among the four groups of service providers was their particular work settings. Interactions of hairdressers and beauticians with their customers transpired at their salons, usually on a regular basis. Similarly, customer interactions with driving instructors also transpired regularly for a defined period (in Israel, typically for 28 sessions) in the unique and intimate setting of a vehicle. Interactions with the non-pedagogic school staff occurred on the school premises and were sporadic. Interactions between adolescents and their youth group leaders took place at the groups’ meeting sites. The roles of the setting are very important when providing formal and informal assistance. Traditional psychological theories see the setting as providing the ground rules that define the space and manner in which therapy is conducted. They stress the importance of therapeutic setting for establishing a stable ground, unambiguous, consistent and reliable therapeutic relationship, and see it as a strong facet of the healing force of psychotherapy. Pertinent to this, they state that formal psychotherapy should be carried out in a soundproof consulting room, in a private office in a professional building (Jordan & Marshall, 2010).

To better understand the unique and non-traditional service providers’ setting in the adolescent-service provider transactions, an in-depth examination is needed. Our study also sought to address this vital issue.

Study 2

Data for Study 2 derived from semi-structured interviews with hairdressers and driving instructors, extending the main findings from the preliminary study. This study focuses on driving instructors and hairdressers, given the permanence of the setting (the driving instructors’ vehicle and the hairdressers’ salon); these are specific different settings that might allow a very unique proximity between the service providers and the adolescents’ world, placing them on a one-to-one direct contact. Non-teaching school staff and youth group leaders work in settings with several adolescents in the surroundings so that a personal interaction will be much more difficult to attain. As most driving instructors in Israel are men, and to control for gender, we included only male service-provider participants.

Method

Participants

Twenty male service providers were interviewed: 10 hairdressers and 10 driving instructors working in the Jerusalem area in Israel. The average age for the total sample of service providers was 41.35 (SD = 10.34); the hairdressers’ average age was 34.10 (SD = 7.50), and the driving instructors’ average age was 48.60 (SD = 7.26). Of the hairdressers, seven were married, two were single, and one was divorced. All driving instructors were married. Seven of the hairdressers had children, and all of the driving instructors had children. Most of the hairdressers (90%) had earned a vocational certificate, and the remaining had a middle school education (8th/9th grade). Half of the driving instructors (50%) had a vocational certificate, 30% had a bachelor’s degree, and the rest had a high school education (10%) or a master’s degree (10%). The average seniority in the profession was 18.10 years (SD = 7.34); the hairdressers’ seniority was 17 years (SD = 8.12), and the driving instructors’ seniority was 19.2 years (SD = 6.71).

Instrument

Semi-structured interviews were conducted. This method was chosen as semi-structured interviews allow flexibility and spontaneity (Schensul et al., 1999). The interview consisted of four main sections: Section 1 included questions relating to the service providers’ personal and professional backgrounds. Sections 2–4 comprised three main themes garnered from Study 1 that we sought to expand: 1) questions relating to the physical space in which the service was provided (setting); 2) issues relating to the continuity of the therapeutic process; and 3) topics concerning the interaction between the service provider and adolescents, highlighting the service providers’ self-disclosure and perceived image.

Procedure

A new sample of 20 service providers was recruited randomly through an internet search, using the terms “hairdressers” and “driving instructors”. A snowball technique, where participating service providers recommended other service providers, was also employed. All interviewed service providers were male, living in Jerusalem and the surrounding areas. Six interviews with driving instructors were conducted in a public library, and the remainder were conducted by phone. Hairdressers’ interviews were conducted in their workplaces. The first author conducted all interviews. The average interview length was 25 min (SD = 11.99). The interviews were recorded with the consent of the interviewees and transcribed. All service providers were apprised of the interview aims by phone ahead of the interview encounter. Participation was voluntary, and no compensation was offered. In our report, the names of the service providers were changed to ensure confidentiality, and participants were assured that no identifying information would be reported.

Main results and discussion

Four major themes emerged from the interviews:

1. Factors impeding or facilitating conversations between the service provider and adolescents

2. The service providers’ self-disclosure and its role as a facilitating condition

3. The meaning of continuity of the “therapeutic” (helping) relationship

4. The service providers’ view of how the adolescents perceived them

Theme 1: factors impeding or facilitating conversations between service providers and adolescents

The interviewed service providers identified several factors that hinder or facilitate conversations with adolescents. A key factor was the setting – the space and conditions – of the encounters. Many of the service providers in our study cited the space as a significant element contributing to the nature of their dialogue with the adolescents.

Specifically, the presence of other clients in the area where the conversation was transpiring was regarded as a hindrance to the conversation. Most service providers believed that the presence of other clients affected the content of the conversation and even interfered with it: “To benefit from the conversation, there should be fewer people around, or else there should be enough distance between the haircutting area and where other customers are waiting” (Ariel, hairdresser, 10 years experience); “If you talk about something personal, then someone comes in, the person will stop talking about what he was talking about and will move to a topic he feels is safer okay to talk about in front of others” (Michael, hairdresser, 10 years experience).

A study by Rosenbloom et al. (2007) examined the effect of having another person in the car during an official driving test. Their findings supported social facilitation theory, which argues that the presence of another person affects how individuals behave and their performance in any task (Zajonc, 1965). Another study examined the interaction between service providers and their customers in beauty salons, indicating that some customers did not want to talk about personal matters when physically close to other customers and staff. In such cases, the service providers moved an secluded room in the salon so the customer would feel comfortable talking (Brown, 2013). The theory of imaginary audience may also explain the reluctance of adolescents to speak in the proximity of others, sensing that those around them are watching and criticising their actions, though, in reality, this is unlikely (Galanaki, 2012). Another reason for the lack of desire of adolescents to speak in the presence of others might be their fear of the negative stigma associated with help-seeking (Corrigan, 2004).

In some cases, the presence of another client may not interfere and can even facilitate the discourse: “Then there’s another one (student) in the back with precisely the same dilemma, so they share with one another” (Eric, driving instructor, seven years experience). Other cases were reported in which the adolescent was not disturbed by the presence of other customers: “Even when there are other people here, say, lots of people, when a client’s talking, it’s as if he makes them disappear” (Eyal, hairdresser, 20 years experience).

The driving instructors and hairdressers expressed different perspectives regarding the significance of the setting. Many of the hairdressers reported that their hair salon setting permits less intimacy due to the presence of others. They felt that having more space in their physical setting would facilitate a more intimate discourse. In contrast, the driving instructors seemed to feel that the setting in the vehicle made it easier for them to have intimate discourse due to the proximity between the driving instructor and the student. “We’re in the car for 40 min at a time … when it’s just me and one student, then, it’s an intimate situation, and people feel comfortable to open up and talk” (Moses, driving instructor, 14 years experience).

The present findings can be linked to the proximity effect, reflecting individuals’ inclination to develop interpersonal relationships with those they encounter regularly (Ryan, 2007). Teens tend to seek help from people they know and in places where they feel comfortable (Walcott & Music, 2012). The relationship that develops between hairdressers and their clients includes the physical contact that facilitates a sense of closeness. Also, for driving instructors and their clients, sitting together in the vehicle in close proximity affects nonverbal behaviour (e.g. body language, physical proximity, eye contact, body inclination), creating psychological closeness (Coker & Burgoon, 1987). Studies have found a direct and strong link between physical closeness and psychological intimacy, and that physical proximity facilitates psychological closeness. Moreover, physical intimacy between people promotes a sense of reciprocity, common ground, and a link between people, leading to higher levels of trust and influence (Krauss et al., 1995).

Another element of the therapeutic setting is the aesthetics of the surroundings of the encounter. Some of the hairdressers highlighted the importance of the appearance of their working space as a factor in creating an intimate and inviting atmosphere: “We worked a lot on the organisation and aesthetics of the place, much thought went into it, and I think the place feels beautiful and comfortable; people need to feel comfortable when they come here” (Solomon, hairdresser, 24 years experience).

Studies have found that the aesthetics of the area characterising the therapeutic space affects the patient’s display of positive feelings (Wikström et al., 2012); it also affects the patient’s general feeling of stress (Miwa & Hanyu, 2006). A comfortable and inviting space can also help create an atmosphere that encourages sharing of sensitive information (Saari, 2002; Winnicott, 1986).

Another factor facilitating dialogue between the service providers and their adolescent clients is their acquaintance over time. The service providers seemed to think that previous acquaintance with the service provider helps the adolescent to open up and share their thoughts: “Before you get to know each other, it doesn’t feel so comfortable; … most of the students warm up after about 4–5 lessons” (Lavi, driving instructor, 14 years experience). Research has shown a link between adolescents’ acquaintance with informal help providers and the prospect of adolescents turning to those help providers when seeking help (Rickwood et al., 2005). It has been demonstrated that prior acquaintance reduces fears related to help-seeking (Yogo-Gefen, 2003) and affects the perception of the help provider as one having the capacity to help (Newman & Goldin, 1990).

Who initiates the conversation? In Study 1, service providers reported that the adolescents initiated the consultation in one-third of the cases, whereas two-thirds were initiated by the service provider and customer alike. Indeed, Study 2 revealed that service providers reported interest in creating a dialogue with their teen customers: “I love to talk with whoever is sitting on the chair … I like to get to know my clients” (Gabi, hairdresser, 23 years of experience); “It’s good you [the interviewer] came to me, you’re in luck. Not every [driving] instructor likes to develop conversations with students … I love to create relationships. Really, really love it” (Eric, driving instructor, seven years experience). However, the participants in Study 2 seemed to believe that a productive conversation was up to the adolescents. The service providers did not initiate a conversation if it appeared to them that the adolescent did not wish to talk: “If he wants to talk, then he’ll start it and be more open … only if he initiates it (the conversation) in the beginning” (Eli, hairdresser, 12 years experience); “There are lots of students who aren’t talkative. They come, drive, and it comes down to ‘hello’ when they enter the car and ‘goodbye’ when they leave” (Eyal, driving instructor, 21 years experience).

In her research, Brown (2013) referred to a method beauty salon workers use to gain their customers’ trust. Brown noted how they initiated a conversation, asking questions about customer’s health or about an issue raised at their previous meeting. Another way included continuing a flowing conversation and inserting some of the worker’s personal information.

Theme 2: service providers’ self-disclosure and its role as a facilitating condition

When service providers were asked about the extent of their self-disclosure while interacting with adolescents, half reported that they reveal personal details: “Yes, yes, definitely, they know all about me, they know what I do, what my hobbies are, what I like” (Nati, driving instructor, 15 years of experience);

“I reveal stuff about myself, but I see it as a way of helping myself, because, with all due respect, even though I like trying to help other people, I have my own problems, so somehow it softens me a little. Helping other people makes me want to talk about myself a little” (Gabi, hairdresser, 23 years experience).

The other half of the interviewees reported that they avoid revealing personal information; “People come here to talk about their troubles; they don’t need to hear about my problems. They’re children, it’s not appropriate” (Dor, hairdresser, 10 years experience);

“No. I don’t consult with them … because I don’t think it’s right. What advice can they give me? I’m much older than they are, much more experienced. If I need advice, I’d go to someone older, someone with a better understanding, a friend or my wife or my brothers, someone with experience” (David, driving instructor, 25 years experience).

Therapist self-disclosure was once perceived as conduct to be avoided out of concern that boundaries would be blurred, possibly shifting the focus from the patient to the therapist (Farber, 2006). A more recent view of therapist self-disclosure is that it can facilitate patient sharing during treatment while promoting openness, trust, intimacy, self-awareness, and change and allowing the therapist to validate the patient’s feelings as natural and human (Smith, 2009). A previous study found that service providers at beauty salons did not hesitate to reveal personal information to their customers. Engaging in self-disclosure fostered emotional closeness with their customers (Brown, 2013).

The current study’s data revealed that more hairdressers shared personal information than driving instructors. The difference between the professions may explain this disparity. Physical closeness with the client is inherent in the hairdresser’s work, whereas the relationship between the driving instructor and student is not characterised by close physical contact. Some of these distinctions are reflected in the following statements: “There is a psychological impact when you’re a hairdresser, and you touch the clients head. It’s difficult to explain, only someone involved in it knows there is some kind of impact” (Dror, hairdresser, 23 years experience); “There is no such thing in the car, of course, [like] touches or hugs” (Arik, driving instructor, seven years experience).

Another factor distinguishing between the two examined professions is that the relationship between hairdresser and client can span many years. In contrast, the duration of the driving instructor-student relationship is usually briefer and more intense, usually lasting up to a few months. The interviews indicated that the readiness of service providers to disclose personal information about themselves and their lives might also facilitate conversations with adolescents: “Sometimes I consult with them … It strengthens their self-esteem; “he wants to know what I think?” … You can see them straighten up in the chair, and that’s the goal” (Gabi, hairdresser, 23 years experience); “I share information about myself to break the ice. Not just to get him to take my advice … it’s like when you go to the hairdresser, and he’s interested and nice, it’s part of the deal” (Avi, driving instructor, 18 years experience). One may conclude that the service providers’ self-disclosure is presented deliberately, given their belief that it may facilitate the adolescents’ self-disclosure.

Theme 3: continuity of the therapeutic relationship

All but one of the service providers highlighted the importance of continuity from one meeting to the next regarding the topics discussed with the adolescents: “She would continue from where we stopped last time” (Nir, hairdresser, 12 years experience).

This aspect of continuity is significant due to its parallel with formal therapy relationships. Brown (2013) emphasised the importance of discussing the same issues from session to session. Regarding the relationship between beauticians and their customers, Gimlin (1996) stressed the importance of listening and remembering intimate details about their customers’ lives. Bar Sade (2009) emphasised the importance of continuity in therapy sessions, providing the patient with a holding environment, essential for his needs. Thus, the conversation’s continuity from one meeting to the next may also be linked to the teen’s acquaintance with the service provider; Garzaniti et al. (2011) found that long-standing customers, compared with new customers, discussed more issues with the service providers.

Theme 4: service providers’ perceptions of how the adolescents view them

When service providers were asked what image of them did the adolescents have. Most responses included the image of friend, adult figure (older brother/father), and therapist. All the hairdressers and most of the driving instructors viewed the relationships with their adolescent clients as one of friendship, despite the age difference. We also found that about one-third of all the service providers considered the relationship “therapeutic”. The main difference in the responses between hairdressers driving instructors was the image of “a mature figure”; only one-third of the hairdressers thought adolescents saw them as an adult figure, compared with about two-thirds of driving instructors. This finding may be explained by the age differences between the service providers – the driving instructors were older than the hairdressers. Another possible explanation may lie in the difference between the ages of the two groups’ offspring: The driving instructors’ age and the fact that many of them had adolescent-aged children may have affected how the adolescents’ viewed the driving instructors and how the latter viewed themselves.

General discussion

The present research aimed to examine service providers’ perceptions of adolescents’ help-seeking behaviour towards them in their efforts to provide informal guidance and support in the context of their job.

The general discussion will focus on two main aspects that emerged from the studies. These include the setting and the various features of the adolescent-service provider encounters:

1 . The setting in which interaction between service providers and adolescents transpire

The setting includes the physical space where the conversation transpires and the people who share this space. The current findings, aligning with the cited literature, highlight the significance of the setting in which these encounters take place. The emergence of environmental psychology some sixty years ago brought about increased awareness of the interaction between people and their surroundings, and with it the understanding that people affect and are affected by their physical environment (Bell et al., 2001). It was also found that the physical environment in which therapy sessions take place affects the patient’s perception of the therapist in terms of their abilities, sociability, and quality of the analysis (Nasar & Devlin, 2011).

Alongside the classical conception of the therapeutic setting, Studies 1 and 2 highlight the prospect that even a hair salon and driving instruction vehicle could function as a “therapeutic setting”. The aesthetics of the space and the absence of other customers are acknowledged as factors enabling closeness and intimate conversation. A formal therapeutic space, where patient and therapist are alone in an intimate setting, creates an intimate and open dialogue. This principle notwithstanding, the service providers maintained that this intimacy can also be achieved in informal alternative spaces. Thus, a counselling space can be created to address some of the needs of adolescents.

2 . Features of formal and informal consultations:

An important topic seems to be the perceived image of the service providers by their clients. Previous studies addressed several considerations that facilitate seeking professional help, such as the consultant’s credibility (Levin, 2006), the consultant’s accessibility and availability (Hofmann et al., 2009; Strosahl, 1997), their professionalism and expertise (Sullivan et al., 2002), and the consultant’s empathy and openness (Tatar, 2010). Amram (2012) described seeking help from rabbis as sharing some features with seeking professional help. In her study, the compared service providers are perceived by applicants as “reliable, expert, responsible, honest, sensitive, and empathetic”. In a similar vein, the current findings show that service providers believe that adolescents turn to them for several reasons: they trust their ability to help, feel the service providers are close to their world, they feel emotionally close to them, are knowledgeable, experienced, accessible, and available. Therefore, it can be observed that several of the considerations that adolescents apply for turning to service providers are parallel to those relevant to seeking formal help and are perceived as having the same qualities that facilitate approaching them.

A further similarity between the formal and informal therapeutic frameworks relates to the theme of self-disclosure. The interviewed service providers were equally divided between those who reveal personal information about themselves and those who eschew doing so. The explanations given for supporting or eschewing service provider self-disclosure are similar to those found in the clinical literature regarding therapists’ use of self-disclosure (Bloomgarden & Mennuti, 2009; Henretty & Levitt, 2010; Smith, 2009).

In conclusion, several significant similarities were revealed between adolescent encounters with an informal service provider and formal therapy frameworks. These parallels strengthen our understanding of service providers providing genuine and legitimate help (Amram, 2012).

Theoretical and practical implications of the research

The current study examined service providers’ perceptions regarding the help-seeking behaviour of adolescents with whom they interact while working. The study also facilitated an examination of parallels between formal therapeutic sessions and the informal dialogues that transpire between service providers and adolescents. The findings strengthen the notion that a consultative dialogue may indeed take place in the context of the described informal framework. Thus, the present study highlights that service providers comprise a meaningful legitimate address to which adolescents turn for help. These informal services providers can grant direct counselling or serve as gatekeepers by referring teens to formal help providers.

In light of these findings, it becomes vital to train service providers regarding various aspects of assistance to adolescents, thereby upgrading their helping skills and helping them identify cases requiring referral to formal frameworks. Previous studies have stressed the value of raining service providers to identify problematic situations (Florio & Raschko, 1998) and encourage adolescents to turn to formal helpers in the face of adolescents’ reluctance to seek formal help due to their negative perceptions (Cartmill et al., 2009). These studies and others demonstrate the importance of providing basic training to service providers to equip them with essential tools to help them deal with problems raised by adolescents. These skills would enable them to provide reliable and appropriate emotional support and learn of relevant mental health providers in the community.

Limitations and suggestions for further research

Among possible limitations of the current study, the samples of the studies are not representative of all service providers due to the small sample size and their area of residence (mostly Jerusalem residents). Therefore, one cannot generalise this study’s findings to all service providers in Israel. For instance, it might be that the Israeli penchant for giving advice freely may not characterise other national populations. Future studies may want to create a broader network of participants in terms of gender, nationality and cultural background.

In addition, the interviews examined various issues as viewed solely through the lens of male service providers. The study did not address possible gender differences regarding the various examined aspects of informal helping. The perspective of male service providers might be more focused and goal-oriented than that of women who provide the same services. Further study of the examined variables could incorporate the perspective of women service providers who come into frequent contact with adolescents as part of their work. For instance, would female service providers perceive their helping differently? Or is a matched dyad (male vs. male or female vs. female) more productive help-wise than a mixed gender dyad in these rather informal interactions? Another limitation concerns the study sample: The current studies focused on how service providers viewed adolescents’ help-seeking behaviour but did not tap into the adolescents’ perspective. Future research should examine adolescents’ perspectives to compare their perception with that of service providers regarding the help-seeking process.

Authors’ notes

The authors thank Benny A. Benjamin on his helpful comments on an earlier version of this article. The Morton L. Mandel Chair of the second author supported the research. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Moshe Tatar, The Seymour Fox School of Education, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem 9190501, ISRAEL.

Data availability statement

Further information about the brief open-ended questionnaire (Study 1) and the transcript of the interviews (Study 2) (both in Hebrew) might be obtained from the corresponding author.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Maayan Cohen Goldstein

Maayan Cohen Goldstein, holds a MA degree from the Division of Educational Counselling at the Seymour Fox School of Education, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She works as a Parenting Consultant, specializing in children and teens with special needs

Moshe Tatar

Prof. Moshe Tatar, PhD, held the Morton L. Mandel Chair for the Director of the Seymour Fox School of Education at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Former Director of Education of “Revivim” – the Honors Program for the Training of Jewish Studies Teachers. He is the recipient of the Michael Milken Award for Continuing Excellence in Teaching and was nominated Honorary Professor at the Department of Psychology of the Catholic University, Lima, Peru. His teaching and research areas include: school counseling and psychology, multicultural education and counseling (with an emphasis on immigrants and minority groups), adolescents’ and teachers’ help-seeking behaviours and attitudes, and parental perceptions of schools.

Sima Amram Vaknin

Sima Amram Vaknin, PhD, clinical psychologist, senior lecturer and Head of the Educational Counseling Division at the Seymour Fox School of Education, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. Her primary teaching areas include therapeutic processes in individual intervention; parenthood-development and change; and crisis intervention in families and individuals. Her main research areas include coping with traumatic and non-traumatic stressful events; adolescent help-seeking and coping strategies in the context of terror attacks; and formal and informal help-seeking among young adults (e.g. turning to mystics, religious authorities, and service providers within the community).