Social work with youth in social withdrawal: in-home and beyond-home intervention modalities

Abstract

This article discusses the characteristics and the process of in-home and beyond-home social work intervention with young people suffering from social withdrawal in the form of chronic self-seclusion at home. These young people are characterized by their socially avoidant behaviour and are deprived of the enjoyment of legitimate social status as a student, worker or trainee. As a way of confronting this problem, ‘start where the client is’ – an age-old social work intervention principle – can be read in a literal sense, i.e. taking home as a secure place for rapport-building and initial intervention with the clients to pave the way for further intervention beyond the home setting, both online and offline. Drawing on qualitative interviews with youth clients and social workers, it is argued that adopting a flexible, informal and tailor-made approach to working with youth in silent and invisible disengagement from the rest of society has to take into consideration spatial, relational and organizational dimensions of intervention modalities and possibilities if the goal of youth reengagement is to be achieved.

论文旨在讨论社会工作的介入模式如何兼顾青年人所身处的家居环境及其以外之空间，以解决社会隐蔽问题对青年造成的困扰。这些青年人长期困于家中，无法享有具社会认受性的社会身份，如学生、雇员或受训者。社会工作其中一个重要原则就是从案主出发，此亦可阅读为从案主身处的环境中出发，与案主建立初步信任和工作关系，并以此为基础，在家居以外的网上及网下空间推展介入工作。论文的质性资料来自于与相关青年案主及社工员的深入访谈。鉴于这群青年人以无声无迹的方式抽离于社会，若要达到青年重新参与社会的目标，社会工作的介入必须同时考量其空间、人际及机构面向，以开发更具弹性、非正规性及依据案主特性而设的模式及方案。

Keywords::

• social withdrawal
• hikikomori
• in-home intervention
• beyond-home intervention
• youth
• informality

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge the support of two research grants: the General Research Fund of the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong (#GRF/244707) and the Faculty Research Gant of Hong Kong Baptist University (#FRG/05-06/I-01).