Young people’s experiences of multiple professionals in their life : what are the components of effective practice among multiple service systems?

Abstract

The nature of adolescence itself, a period of intense and rapid development, augmented with risky and challenging behaviour due to distressing or traumatising experiences, demands coherent and unified professional interventions. This study sought to understand how young people with complex needs experience the concurrent support of multiple professionals. Secondly, the study also explores the professionals’ perspectives of collaborating with one another in helping a common service user with complex needs. For this study an inductive qualitative descriptive design was used, and eight adolescents were interviewed using a semi-structured interview method, which was conducive to learning about their experiences of being in contact with multiple professionals. Two focus groups with five professionals in each group discussed the factors that contribute to, or deter interprofessional work. Data from the individual interviews, as well as that from the focus groups was transcribed and analysed thematically. The findings highlight the need for the young persons to be listened to and understood, to have the opportunity to engage with a friendly worker, to feel respected rather than being treated in an authoritarian manner, to be included in their own decisions and for the workers to be united. Other findings yielded the need for professionals to be taught how to build and foster sound working relationships, emphasising that often, the lack of clear direction and scarce communication result in a backlash to effective practice. It was suggested that a written agreement of cooperation amongst professionals from different agencies, designed with the involvement of the adolescent can help to establish and maintain an effective working relationship. However, a core responsibility remains within the different organisations, to create the right conditions for professionals to work in tandem, to maximise the opportunities that are available to support the young person in the best way possible.