Mutual aid based social work with groups of young people

Abstract

The goal of the article is to reveal mutual aid model in social work with groups of young people from the viewpoint of the group workers and participants. The semi-structured interview was used during which the participants could express their experience with the regard to researched phenomenon. Two groups of participants were selected: the first group of the participants – 6 social workers working with groups of young people, the second group – 4 adolescents (15 – 17 years old) attending groups. The research was held in two cities of Lithuania in four organizations. The research shows that all nine principals of mutual were observed in 5 groups. Mutual aid helps young people recognize their strengths, gain more self-esteem, help one another in various ways: share relevant information, encourage and support each other, motivate group members to solve individual problems. Through the interaction process in the group young people discover that peers have similar problems and they are not alone, can see themselves in more objective ways and break stereotypes.