What aspects of the successful relationships with professional helpers enhance the lives of young people facing significant disadvantage?

Abstract

A recent study (Sandu, under review) has identified a new set of characteristics of young people facing severe and multiple disadvantage and highlighted the role of emotions in the disconnection from support, which opened up unexplored avenues for intervention with this population. This study documented the ways in which professional helpers (n = 35) from 16 support organisations (United Kingdom = 11; United States = 5) built relationships with young people (n = 30) in these circumstances. Thematic analysis of the semi-structured interviews indicated that relationships in this context resembled family relationships, where the focus was on building a bond rather than dealing with risks or resolving conditions. Micro-processes characteristic of initiating, developing, and cementing these relationships have been described. Relating in this context demanded a different support approach from the workers who used personal ethics to maintain healthy boundaries in the relationships, not the guidance of professional organisations. The findings brought to the fore the role of social connection with its implications for policy and practice as a primary form of response to young people in great difficulty.