COURSE

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Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology *

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C4352

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Communications

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May 19, 2024

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docx

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COURSE- Certificate IV in Youth Work Considering youth culture in actions and decisions When it comes to decision making, often young people don’t feel they have the skill or the podium to speak about their concerns, and the outcomes that they would want. One of the greatest tools you have as a youth worker is the ability to advocate for children and young people. It is important however to note that you won’t always be able to give a young person the response they’re looking for. Working within legal frameworks In a broader sense, all children and young people up to the age of 18, sit under child protection legislation. Legal obligations Young people should be reminded however, that this is because ensuring safety for young people means that others need to know, and that by keeping this information from being passed on, the young person is potentially placed at greater risk. Confidentiality as a youth worker is incredibly important, this includes the high level of confidentiality including: sharing stories from your work in your personal life. From a child protection perspective, anyone engaged in the care of children and young people are designated as 'mandatory reporters'. Mandatory reporters are required by law to report any child or young person considered to be at risk of significant harm, to a designated party through the appropriate State Child Protection Service Types of abuse and neglect to be reported: -physical and sexual abuse must be reported -when a mandated reporter has a reasonable belief of abuse -reports of situations where the designated abuse has not yet occurred but is suspected to be likely to in the future. Different aspects to be aware of when communicating with young people: -Matching communication styles -Respectful and non-judgmental communication - empathic listening -cultural communication Working within legal frameworks Although you may have shared some of the challenges that young people themselves have, and this can look like a valuable way to build relationships with young people, you must be careful to maintain a professional relationship in this role. Establishing boundaries and limitations on your relationship is a vital step in the early stages of building your relationship. The information that you choose to share in this instance can greatly impact how you’re perceived by young people. The aim is to be someone who can demonstrate a strong understanding of the hardships and challenges faced by young people, without taking ownership over those challenges through personal reflections and experiences.

If you appear too closely linked to the challenges of young people, your ability to offer support and guidance can be impaired. While it sometimes sounds clinical, there is greater value in appearing professional as a carer, than a friend. Young people in need of support will generally have access to many people with shared experiences, but less people with a strong working knowledge of how to support them through these hardships. Maintain contact with your manager or supervisor around the dynamics of your relationships with young people you’re working with. If there are aspects of your relationship with a young person you would feel more comfortable not disclosing to your supervisor, it likely suggests that appropriate boundaries are not quite in place. The following guidelines will help you determine if you are exercising healthy boundaries: 1. I am comfortable disclosing details of my relationships with young people with my supervisor. 2. I am able to recognise what is appropriate and inappropriate to share with young people from my own experience. 3. I have the same relationship boundaries with each young person I work with. 4. My attachment with a young person is the same as other youth workers have with young people. 5. The strategies I use to support a young person are the same as other youth workers, and I am happy discussing these openly. 6. I believe that the best way to support a young person is to empower them to rely on themselves, rather than on me. 7. I am confident in being able to tell a young person that there are some details I am not comfortable sharing with them. (If you find yourself challenged by the above statements when engaged in youth work, there would be value in speaking with your supervisor/manager) It is not uncommon to find yourself building a particular closeness to individual young people, but it is important to be able to reference check these feelings to ensure you are operating professionally. Communication across the team of youth workers is highly valuable to ensure that a consistent care environment is available to all young people. Establishing rapport with young people Rapport is often defined as a mutual understanding between two people that allows for communication and support to exist without difficulty. Building rapport takes time and commitment, and often starts with showing that you understand someone else’s perspective. Once this rapport is established, it becomes the medium through which to deliver support.

Keeping the young person at the centre of your focus means responding to young people within social, historical, economic, legal and political contexts, all the while showing understanding of their individual development and needs in these areas. Understanding the context for working with individuals Establishing rapport and working with individuals are all aspects of a person-centred approach. This means holding the individual, in this case the young person, at the core of decision-making and support. The aim here is to gain an understanding into what the young person wants and needs, to be able to access the things that are important to them. Knowing what works for one young person, doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for another. Likewise, what helps a young person at one point in time may not be very useful in a different situation. Being able to provide flexible support means you’re more valuable to a young person. In supporting young people as individuals, it is important to be aware of potential stressors, and the best practice strategies for helping them navigate through this. It is important to keep in mind that many young people will have varied competencies across a range of aspects of their life – their ability to manage their personal care and hygiene may be age appropriate, but their academic ability, or social ability may be vastly different. Some important practices to employ when communicating cross culturally are: -To gather information around other cultural practices -Be mindful of making assumptions when you have knowledge of someone’s culture -Respect cultures in different settings -Speak clearly and concisely -Check for understanding -Be aware of non-verbal communication Focusing on a person-centred approach means that youth workers become skilled in understanding the changing contexts for young people and build a collection of resources available to them to provide support in the best way possible. Understanding the world of the young person Similarly, it is wise to not draw comparisons between the young persons’ world today, and the world of the youth worker when they were young. This has the potential to illustrate a lack of empathic understanding. Different aspects and issues young people today are facing: Relationships -Friendships- making and keeping friends and what this means to me -Determining what safe relationships look like and the balance needed -Sexual relationships, and the context around this i.e. sexual health, pregnancy -Learning how to manage conflict in relationships and mediate differences -Navigating and even ending difficult or unsafe relationships

Culture and society -Expectations from myself and others -What value I hold to my community and society -Societal pressures around behaviours and choices i.e. drug use, violence, illegal activity, work, education, employment -The impact of technology and how this impacts life -My knowledge of my culture and the cultures around me Personal -Personal identity and what this means. How do I identify to myself and others? -Determining who I am and what is important to me -What are my goals and where do I want to be? What do I want? Physical and emotional -Navigating physical changes i.e. puberty, weight changes, etc. -Learning about responses in themselves and others to situations -General physical and emotional wellbeing and having to communicate these As a youth worker, it can be quite confronting to a young person to ask them questions about the above aspects directly, think about ways you could find out this information more indirectly. Even just starting with some basic questions about a young person’s preferences can be a good way to ease in to exploring their world. Taking the time to remember the pieces of information they’ve chosen to share goes a long way. Using appropriate communication styles As a youth worker in the community services sector, you need to draw on a range of communication skills and apply the most appropriate skill to each situation. It is essential to: -demonstrate a non-judgmental attitude -listen carefully and show empathy -give relevant and timely feedback -provide basic counselling -facilitate agreement between others -show cultural sensitivity -resolve conflicts using appropriate strategies -interpret situations correctly -negotiate solutions Youth workers must develop these skills and use them in their workplace interactions with clients, colleagues and others. Assessing and responding to the needs of young people The aim of youth work is to be able to provide children and young people with the support and opportunity that allows them to progress and develop. It is important however to view this as a continuum, rather than a static state. A static view of supports sees a young person experience the same assistance over a period of time, whereas a continuum view of supports sees the care adapt and develop with the young person.

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