Podcast 015: Faith and identity

Faith and identity
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Faith and identity

In this episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast ‘Faith and identity’ Aaron speaks with Dr. Julie Morsillo about her work focussing on youth identity development and what impact faith has on this.

Faith and identity

Julie grew up in Sydney, spent a year in Papua New Guinea with her parents  where she was an assistant primary school teacher and piano teacher. She went to the Bible College of South Australia in Victor Harbour. Then moving to Melbourne Julie has been involved in church leadership, a foster parent and cottage parent, she worked for the North-West One Stop Welfare Centre, Victoria Equal Opportunity Commission, Victorian Public Service Commissioner, International Commission of Jurists, International Red Cross and Whitley Theological College. Julie has also been an adjunct lecturer in psychology and community development at Victoria University, the counselling co-ordinator at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, researcher in the Public Interest team at Australian Psychological Society (APS) and has had her own private practice as a counselling psychologist and supervisor of provisional psychologists.


If you are wondering how to best implement what you hear on the podcast we think getting supervision is one of the best ways. Having the opportunity to critically reflect is the best tool for career longevity we know of. If you don’t currently have a supervisor who looks to grow you as a person and as a professional then its time to get an external supervisor. We can help with that!!!

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To share your thoughts:

To help out the show:

  • Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one.
  • Subscribe on iTunes.
  • Don’t forget to buy a copy of Youth Work Ethics

Aaron Garth

Aaron Garth is the Executive Director of Ultimate Youth Worker. Aaron has worked as a youth worker in a number of settings including local church, street drug and alcohol outreach, family services, residential care, local government and youth homelessness since 2003. Aaron is a regular speaker at camps, retreats, & youth work training events and is a dedicated to seeing a more professional youth sector in Australia. Aaron is a graduate of RMIT University and an alumnus of their youth work program. He lives in Melbourne with his wife Jennifer & their daughters Hope, Zoe, Esther, Niamh and son Ezra.

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Mental Health Resources

Youth Mental Health Resources

Mental Health Resources

There are so many youth mental health resources…

Where do you start when you need youth mental health resources?

We get asked all the time where the best resources are. Well finally we have created a resource just for youth workers. All the resources here have been check and tested by our team. These youth mental health resources are recommended by leading practitioners and organisations who work with young people from all over the world. We will continue to update this post so come back again and again to get more resources. All the links to the books take you directly to amazon so you can pick up a copy for yourself.


General resources

Carr-Gregg, M. (2010) When to Worry & What to Do about It. Camberwell, VIC, Australia. Penguin Books

Carr-Gregg, M. (2005) Surviving Adolescents: A Must Have Manual For All Parents. Camberwell, VIC, Australia. Penguin Books

Websites

www.beyondblue.org.au

www.headspace.org.au

www.youthinmind.info

www.reachout.com.au

www.parentingstrategies.net

www.nimh.nih.gov


Depression ResourcesDepression resources

Parker, G and Eyers, K (2009) Navigating Teenage Depression: A Guide for Parents and Professionals. Crows Nest, NSW, Australia. Allen and Unwin

Johnstone, M and Johnstone, A (2008) Living with a Black Dog: His Name Is Depression. Sydney, NSW, Australia. Pan Macmillan Australia

Purcell, R; Ryan, S; Scanlan, F; Morgan, A; Callahan, P, Allen, N and Jorm, A (2013) What works for depression in young people 2nd Ed. Melbourne, VIC, Australia. Beyondblue

Johnstone, M (2005) I Had a Black Dog.Sydney, NSW, Australia. Pan Macmillan Australia

Evans, DL and Andrews, LW (2005) If Your Adolescent Has Depression or Bipolar Disorder: An Essential Resource for Parents (Adolescent Mental Health Initiative). New York, NY, USA. Oxford University Press

Websites

www.youthbeyondblue.com


Anxiety ResourcesAnxiety resources

Foa, EB and Andrews, LW (2006) If Your Adolescent Has an Anxiety Disorder: An Essential Resource for Parents (Adolescent Mental Health Initiative). New York, NY, USA. Oxford University Press

Schlab, LM (2004) The Anxiety Workbook for Teens: Activities to Help You Deal with Anxiety and Worry. Oakland, CA, USA. New Harbinger Publications

Phillips, N (2005) The panic book. Concord West, NSW, Australia. Shrink-Rap Press

Wever, C and Phillips, N (2006) The secret problem. Concord West, NSW, Australia. Shrink-Rap Press

Websites

moodgym.anu.edu.au

www.whatworks4u.org

www.brave-online.com


Eating Disorder ResourcesEating Disorders resources

Walsh, BT and Cameron, VL (2005) If Your Adolescent Has an Eating Disorder: An Essential Resource for Parents (Adolescent Mental Health Initiative). New York, NY, USA. Oxford University Press

Costin, C; Schubert and Grabb, G (2011) 8 Keys to Recovery from an Eating Disorder: Effective Strategies from Therapeutic Practice and Personal Experience (8 Keys to Mental Health). New York, NY, USA. WW Norton and Company

Schmidt, U; Treasure, J and  Alexander, J (2015) Getting Better Bite by Bite: A Survival Kit for Sufferers of Bulimia Nervosa and Binge Eating Disorders. Abingdon, UK. Taylor and Francis.

Cooper, PJ (2006) Overcoming Bulimia Nervosa and Binge-Eating by Prof Peter Cooper (29-Oct-2009) Paperback. London, UK. Robinson Publishing.

Websites

www.thebutterflyfoundation.org.au

www.eatingdisorders.org.au

www.howfaristoofar.org.au

www.feedyourinstinct.com.au

www.b-eat.co.uk


Psychosis Resources

Psychosis resources

Crompton, MT and Broussard, B (2009) The First Episode of Psychosis: A Guide for Patients and Their Families. London, England. Oxford University Press

Gur, RE and Johnson, AB (2006) If Your Adolescent Has Schizophrenia: An Essential Resource for Parents (Adolescent Mental Health Initiative). New York, NY, USA. Oxford University Press

Eyers, K and Parker, G Eds. (2008) Mastering Bipolar Disorder: An Insider’s Guide to Managing Mood Swings and Finding Balance. Sydney, NSW, Australia. Allen and Unwin


Drug and Alcohol ResourcesDrug and Alcohol resources

Dillon, P (2009) Teenagers, Alcohol and Drugs: What Your Kids Really Want and Need to Know about Alcohol and Drugs. Sydney, NSW, Australia. Allen and Unwin

Websites

www.checkyourdrinking.net

www.theothertalk.org.au

www.yodda.org.au

www.adf.org.au

www.adin.com.au

www.reduceyouruse.org.au


Suicide Resources

Suicide resources

Websites

Apps

BeyondNow Convenient and confidential, the BeyondNow app puts your safety plan in your pocket so you can access and edit it at any time. You can also email a copy to trusted friends, family or your health professional so they can support you when you’re experiencing suicidal thoughts or heading towards a suicidal crisis.

BeyondNow is free to download from the Apple Store or Google Play. If you don’t have a smartphone or would prefer to use your desktop or laptop, BeyondNow is also available to use online.

Aaron Garth

Aaron Garth is the Executive Director of Ultimate Youth Worker. Aaron has worked as a youth worker in a number of settings including local church, street drug and alcohol outreach, family services, residential care, local government and youth homelessness since 2003. Aaron is a regular speaker at camps, retreats, & youth work training events and is a dedicated to seeing a more professional youth sector in Australia. Aaron is a graduate of RMIT University and an alumnus of their youth work program. He lives in Melbourne with his wife Jennifer & their daughters Hope, Zoe, Esther, Niamh and son Ezra.

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Surrender2018

Hey there amazing youth worker,

Thanks for listening to me speak today. I really appreciated finding out a bit about your course and where you hope to go in your careers. At Ultimate Youth Worker we want to see every youth worker become the best they can be. Youth work can be hard, but it can also be extremely rewarding. The journey can be a difficult one without the right support. Here are a few of our most used tools for you to use as you need.

  • Our Core Values Audit is a simple tool to help you begin to work through your values. As youth workers we need to have a good understanding of what makes us tick. Our young people will learn what ticks us off very quickly. If we know ourselves then we will be less likely to snap when they push our buttons.
  • This Skills Audit makes you think about your future. Have a look at a couple of job descriptions for the roles you would like to have in five years time. Use the audit to find out what you need to do to get the job you want.
  • Qualifications_Depth and Breath is a tool to help you map out your career needs. Knowing what qualifications you have and what you need to do the job you want give you a clear path for education.

Great website resources

YACVic YERP: This is one of the best resources for practically doing youth participation work done by a bunch of experts from Victoria.

Detached Youth Work – Learning from the Street: James Ballantyne is a youth worker in the north of England who is very much on the coal face of Christian Youth Work. James helps Christian youth ministers understand the nuance of doing detached youth work.

Get a book

 


If you haven’t joined our facebook community yet get on board. It is one of the largest and most active youth work groups on the internet.

Check out the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast for the most up to date research, tools and practice wisdom from the youth sector. Subscribe and get a fortnightly cast straight to your iTunes account, and if you like it give us a good rating.

Take care,

Aaron Garth

 

Aaron Garth

Aaron Garth is the Executive Director of Ultimate Youth Worker. Aaron has worked as a youth worker in a number of settings including local church, street drug and alcohol outreach, family services, residential care, local government and youth homelessness since 2003. Aaron is a regular speaker at camps, retreats, & youth work training events and is a dedicated to seeing a more professional youth sector in Australia. Aaron is a graduate of RMIT University and an alumnus of their youth work program. He lives in Melbourne with his wife Jennifer & their daughters Hope, Zoe, Esther, Niamh and son Ezra.

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Podcast 014: Youth Work Ethics

Youth Work Ethics
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Youth Work Ethics

In this episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast ‘Youth Work Ethics’ Aaron speaks with Professor Howard Sercombe about his over two decade looking at and developing Youth Work Ethics documents.

Howard Sercombe is a leading youth work academic and practitioner.  He has been a pioneer internationally in thinking about professional ethics for youth workers, and was involved in drafting codes of ethics for youth workers across Australia and in Scotland, England, South Africa, Zambia and New Zealand.  His book, Youth Work Ethics has been widely influential.  He has also published widely on the sociology of youth, including the construction of youth in the media and the emerging influence of neuroscience.  He and his partner, broadcaster Helen Wolfenden, have just relocated to Sydney after ten years in Glasgow. He currently holds an honorary Professorship in Education with the University of Glasgow, and is doing primary parenting for Oscar, 4 and Timothy, nearly 2.

Youth Work Ethics with Howard Sercombe

In todays episode Aaron and Howard speak about the development of the Fairbridge code of ethics used by many youth work associations worldwide. How did the code come in to being? Why do youth workers need to think about ethics? How can youth workers think ethically in their day to day practice?

Professional youth workers must think about the concept of ethical practice every day. Codes of Ethics are a significant way for the young people we serve to know what we can and cannot do. They also give youth workers a great framework for ethical decision making, professional supervision and reflective practice.

You can find more information about Howard on LinkedIn.

Today’s resources

Here are links to some of Howard’s latest articles that have bearing on todays podcast.

Thanks for Listening!

To support the podcast, donate here

To share your thoughts:

To help out the show:

  • Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one.
  • Subscribe on iTunes.
  • Don’t forget to buy a copy of Youth Work Ethics

Aaron Garth

Aaron Garth is the Executive Director of Ultimate Youth Worker. Aaron has worked as a youth worker in a number of settings including local church, street drug and alcohol outreach, family services, residential care, local government and youth homelessness since 2003. Aaron is a regular speaker at camps, retreats, & youth work training events and is a dedicated to seeing a more professional youth sector in Australia. Aaron is a graduate of RMIT University and an alumnus of their youth work program. He lives in Melbourne with his wife Jennifer & their daughters Hope, Zoe, Esther, Niamh and son Ezra.

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Podcast 013: Youth Work and Power

Youth Work and Power
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Podcast #13: Youth Work and Power

In this episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast Aaron speaks with Ben Lohmeyer from Tabor College of Higher Education about his research into youth work and power.

Ben Lohmeyer is a critical youth sociologist and youth worker. He is a PhD candidate at Flinders University and the Program Coordinator of the Bachelor of Applied Social Sciences (Youth Work) at Tabor. Ben’s research interests include: youth, governance, violence (personal, structural and neoliberal) and youth work practice.

Youth Work and Power with Ben Lohmeyer

Ben has worked across a range of youth work settings including alternative education, alternative accommodation and peace building. He has experience facilitating restorative justice processes, designing and facilitating peace building programs as well as grant and policy writing. Ben has is currently completing his PhD in Sociology at Flinders University focussing on youth and neoliberal violence.

In todays episode Aaron and Ben speak about youth work and power. How do youth workers recognise power issues? How do youth workers identify and manage power inequalities in the professional relationship? What can youth workers do when power is imposed by neoliberal structures? How can youth workers show genuine concern in the face of power imbalances? Youth workers must wrestle with the concept of power as it is a significant issue for the young people we serve and in doing youth work with integrity.

You can find more information about Ben’s publications at someyouthfulthoughts.wordpress.com or follow him on twitter @LohmeyerBen

Today’s resources

Here are links to some of Ben’s latest articles that have bearing on todays podcast.

Thanks for Listening!

To support the podcast, donate here!

To share your thoughts:

To help out the show:

  • Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one.
  • Subscribe on iTunes.
  • Buy a book

Aaron Garth

Aaron Garth is the Executive Director of Ultimate Youth Worker. Aaron has worked as a youth worker in a number of settings including local church, street drug and alcohol outreach, family services, residential care, local government and youth homelessness since 2003. Aaron is a regular speaker at camps, retreats, & youth work training events and is a dedicated to seeing a more professional youth sector in Australia. Aaron is a graduate of RMIT University and an alumnus of their youth work program. He lives in Melbourne with his wife Jennifer & their daughters Hope, Zoe, Esther, Niamh and son Ezra.

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Youth work with a criminal record

Criminal record and youth work

Dealing with a criminal record

Back in 2013 we wrote a post that dealt with how to approach youth work when you have a criminal record. You can read the original article here: Police records and public perception: Youth work with conviction. We had just had a number of students who had struggled to find placements due to their criminal record. These students were questioning if they had made a huge mistake. Basically they asked something like, “Aaron, will I ever be able to get a job in the sector or should I just quit now?” The unfortunate answer to this is it depends.

This week the Australian Community Workers Association wrote a post titled “Pursuing community work when you have a criminal record“. In the post, which we think is fantastic, the crew at ACWA have reiterated all the points we made almost five years ago. First, they cover what a security check reveals about you. Second, how employers will determine your suitability. Finally, how to handle your history during a job search. This article brings together some really great thoughts, particularly the final section. Being open and honest about your criminal record and what you have done to restore your community standing is a really important step. It helps employers to understand you and to make informed decisions as to your suitability for employment.

Unfortunately, there will always be people and organisations who see a criminal record and take that to mean you are unsuitable. These people and organisations will judge you without the opportunity for explanation or recourse. Don’t let this stop you. As a judge once told me, “we need youth workers who have experienced the other side and have come back from the edge”. These youth workers show that it is possible to restore community perception and make a great life for yourself.

ACWA end this very important piece by stating, “At the end of the day, we all make mistakes and deserve a chance to put our past behind us. The community services sector supports people to reach their potential and this is as true for aspiring workers as it is for clients“. We couldn’t agree more!!!

What do you think? Leave a comment below.

Aaron Garth

Aaron Garth is the Executive Director of Ultimate Youth Worker. Aaron has worked as a youth worker in a number of settings including local church, street drug and alcohol outreach, family services, residential care, local government and youth homelessness since 2003. Aaron is a regular speaker at camps, retreats, & youth work training events and is a dedicated to seeing a more professional youth sector in Australia. Aaron is a graduate of RMIT University and an alumnus of their youth work program. He lives in Melbourne with his wife Jennifer & their daughters Hope, Zoe, Esther, Niamh and son Ezra.

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Podcast 012: Youth Drug and Alcohol

Youth Drug and Alcohol
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Podcast #012: Youth Drug and Alcohol

In this episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast Aaron speaks with Dr. Kat Daley from RMIT University about her research into youth drug and alcohol abuse.

Youth Drug and Alcohol with Dr. Kat Daley

Dr Kat Daley is a Lecturer in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies. She researches issues of marginalised youth including, substance abuse, self-injury, homelessness, gender and sexual abuse. Her book, ‘Youth and Substance Abuse’, was published in 2017. Kathryn teaches courses in social research and policy. Prior to academia, she worked in youth alcohol and other drug services. 

In todays episode Aaron and Kat speak about why young people tend towards use that is problematic and long term. They look at the particular patterns in young women with problematic drug use that arose from Kat’s research, the key issues surrounding problematic use in young men and how these two groups approach dealing with their substance use problems. It is through such great research that youth workers gain insight into our clients.

A special thanks to Kat for taking time out of her very busy schedule to be our first academic on the cast. A core part of our mission with the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast is to make academic work more accessible to the masses. If you enjoy this cast don’t forget to leave a comment in the section below and share the link with your colleagues.

Today’s resources

drug treatment and young people

drug treatment and young people

For data nerds like us at Ultimate Youth Worker it is always an awesome day when new research comes out… Particularly, research on drug treatment and young people. Today the Australian Institute of Health and Wellbeing released their latest report, “Alcohol and other drug treatment services in Australia 2015–16”. This is the most up to date data on Alcohol and Other Drug treatment throughout Australia with the last data coming from 2012. So here are some thoughts from the data about drug treatment and young people.

In summary throughout 2015–16, approximately 796 alcohol and other drug treatment services provided just over 206,600 treatment episodes to an estimated 134,000 clients. The top four drugs that clients sought treatment for in this period were alcohol (32% of treatment episodes), cannabis (23%), amphetamines (23%), and heroin (6%). The median age of clients in Alcohol and Other Drug treatment services is rising, from 31 in 2006–07 to 33 in 2015–16.

While the media have hyped up certain drugs as being at epidemic proportions throughout Australia this report shows that the same four drugs; Alcohol, cannabis, amphetamines, and heroin have remained the most common principal drugs of concern for clients since 2006–07. Nationally, alcohol was the most common principal drug of concern in 2015–16, accounting for 32% of treatment episodes. Whilst ICE is considered by the police and the media to be the drug of concern currently it is notable that it is third in the list when it comes to clients seeking treatment with Alcohol and Cannabis use as the top two drugs.

The proportion of episodes where clients were receiving treatment for amphetamines has continued to rise over the last five years to 2015–16, from 12% of treatment episodes in 2011–12 to 23% in 2015–16 or an increase of 175%. This data can be construed many ways: as more people seeking treatment, more treatment options or just more use of amphetamines by the community. The data on the reason behind this increase in treatment seeking is limited. For example, during this same period cannabis treatment episodes also increased by 40% without the same media furore. It should also be noted that heroin treatment episodes fell by 15%, and alcohol treatment episodes fell by 6%.

What does this mean for drug treatment and young people

Cannabis is the leading drug of concern for young people seeking drug treatment in Australia. Particularly, for young people aged 10–29, cannabis was the most common principal drug of concern. Those aged 10–29 were most likely to be receiving drug treatment for cannabis, which was the principal drug of concern for 3 in 5 (60%) clients aged 10–19. In comparison 31% of those aged 20–29 sought drug treatment for Cannabis.

Alcohol is still the leading cause of concern to young people in Australian drug treatment services. The 2016 National Drug Strategy Household Survey found that a significant proportion of the Australian population drank at risky levels— 1 in 5 (17%) aged 14 and over drank at a level that put them at risk of alcohol-related harm over their lifetime, while 1 in 4 (26%) drank at levels that put them at risk of harm from a single drinking occasion at least once in the previous 12 months. Young people find themselves seeking treatment for alcohol use less than their adult counterparts 20-39 years of age.

Amphetamines such as ICE are a concern responsible for approx. 23% of treatment episodes…But not as much as the media report. In 2015–16, more than two-thirds of clients receiving treatment for amphetamines as a principal drug of concern were male (69%), and about 1 in 7 clients were Indigenous (14%). Clients with a principal drug of concern of amphetamines were most likely to be aged 20–39 (74%), followed by those aged 40–49 (16%) Less than 10% by proportion of clients were aged 10–19 years of age.

Education is the most important tool you have available in helping young people make a decision (get our Decisional Balance Worksheet) to seek treatment. Helping young people to understand their use patterns. What their drug of choice does? How they personally react to their drug of choice? What treatment options are available to them? More knowledge is better. Not just facts and stats but stories as well. Meet with Alcohol and Other Drug counsellors and find out what they do. Help them to do a decisional balance worksheet (get one here). Being armed with knowledge makes the step to treatment easier. In my experience nothing ruins a treatment episode faster than when a person doesn’t know what they are in for.

If you are working with a young person it is worth noting that when it comes to treatment options, Counselling is the most used treatment option by those seeking support for their Alcohol, and Other Drug treatment. Detox and rehabilitation are useful tools however these must be used in conjunction with counselling for best practice intervention.

It is also useful to remember that the median treatment age is now 33 years old. This means that half of people seeking treatment are under the age of 33! If you work with young people who are using substances know that your work with them is definitely planting a seed. They may not seek treatment while working with you but it is likely that they will before they turn 33.

What can you do: drug treatment and young people?

First and foremost it is important to have a solid understanding of where your young person is at. The transtheoretical model proposed by Prochoska and DiClemente is the best way to address this (You can watch a video about this model here). Better known as the stages of change this framework helps you to determine what stage your client is in:

  • Pre-contemplation
  • Contemplation
  • Preparation
  • Action
  • Maintenance
  • Relapse

If your young person is pre-contemplative then more conversations need to be had. These can be difficult conversations if you don’t have a framework. A useful framework for understanding the nature and extent of drug-related difficulties is Roizen’s Four L’s model, which considers the impact of drug use on four major spheres of a young person’s life. These are:

  • Lover: Problems associated with a person’s relationships, family, friends, children, lovers etc.
  • Liver: Anything to do with a person’s health including physical, psychological or emotional health problems
  • Lifestyle/livelihood: Problems which relate accommodation, work, finances, education, recreation etc.
  • Legal: Any problems associated with the law including criminal or civil proceedings.

The preparation phase is the most important in our view. This is the stage when you start making steps towards dealing with your use. It is in this stage that you want to discuss the options available when it comes to drug treatment and young people. In Australia we have a reasonable system for services to young people (We could always have more services, better trained staff and more funding…But what we have is ok). As shown in the data above linking a young person with an Alcohol and Other Drug counsellor to discuss treatment options is essential. It also frees you up to be their support person when the challenges arise.

In our experience it takes many steps for young people to get on top of addiction, honour the process as much as the destination. Rehabilitation means significant change and that is difficult. Take your time, don’t rush. Use the well-worn harm minimisation approach and you will be most effective in supporting your young person.

For some great tool on drug treatment and young people check out http://yodaa.org.au/

 

Aaron Garth

Aaron Garth is the Executive Director of Ultimate Youth Worker. Aaron has worked as a youth worker in a number of settings including local church, street drug and alcohol outreach, family services, residential care, local government and youth homelessness since 2003. Aaron is a regular speaker at camps, retreats, & youth work training events and is a dedicated to seeing a more professional youth sector in Australia. Aaron is a graduate of RMIT University and an alumnus of their youth work program. He lives in Melbourne with his wife Jennifer & their daughters Hope, Zoe, Esther, Niamh and son Ezra.

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Blogs for youth workers

Blogs for youth workers you must read

Blogs for youth workersOur must read blogs for youth workers

Youth work is a strange beast. We aren’t great at tooting our own horn. Even worse at sharing what we do. So when people step into the gap and share their thoughts, dreams, aspirations, research and their passion it is a fantastic sight to see. There have been many youth work blogs that have come and gone over the years (a testament to our sectors difficulties). With this in mind here are a few of the blogs for youth workers we read regularly that keep us up to date and get our creative juices flowing.

IN DEFENCE OF YOUTH WORK

We have been keen followers of the crew at In Defence for the last six years. The mix of news and thoughts on where the sector is at in the UK always keep us interested and informed. Tony Taylor does a great job bringing it all together with the occasional guest post from others throughout the sector. In Defence have a great open letter to the sector which states their view on youth work and how it should run. This is a must read for anyone who wants to stay in the youth sector for the long haul.

DETACHED YOUTH WORK – LEARNING FROM THE STREET

Over the past year we have got to know the writing of James Ballantyne really well. James writes at the intersection of Youth Work and Youth Ministry and brings a detached youth work perspective to his writings. James has a depth of knowledge and wisdom that shows through in pretty much every post he does. Another UK Native James brings a strong dose of detached youth work to his readers, a concept we should all get our head around. This blog is a fantastic resource for youth ministers who are looking to develop their skills and knowledge, and is a fantastic read for the rest of the sector to see what youth ministry could be like with a bit of youth work injected into it.

Exploring Youth Issues

Alan Mackie is a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh who’s areas of interest include education and youth work. His blog brings articles o politics, young people, youth work and education together to give us a smorgasbord of thoughts. Alan’s blog is one of those We go to if we want to challenge our thinking and the way the world sees young people.

Radical Youth Practice

A New blog on the block is Radical Youth Practice from Rys Farthing. Rys was a lecturer of Aaron’s at RMIT over a decade ago and is now based in the UK. We expect a lot from this blog and it delivers in spades. Challenging the way youth services see political action as they worry about biting the hand that feeds them is an early taste of whats to come from this powerhouse author. Its early days but we expect to see Rys around for a long time yet.


We can’t recommend these blogs for youth workers enough.

Go and check them out.

Part of being an ultimate youth worker is ongoing learning. One of the best ways is to follow a few blogs. It keeps you current and helps you see some of the debates from different perspectives.

What are some of your favourite blogs? Let us know in the comments below.

Aaron Garth

Aaron Garth is the Executive Director of Ultimate Youth Worker. Aaron has worked as a youth worker in a number of settings including local church, street drug and alcohol outreach, family services, residential care, local government and youth homelessness since 2003. Aaron is a regular speaker at camps, retreats, & youth work training events and is a dedicated to seeing a more professional youth sector in Australia. Aaron is a graduate of RMIT University and an alumnus of their youth work program. He lives in Melbourne with his wife Jennifer & their daughters Hope, Zoe, Esther, Niamh and son Ezra.

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Podcast 011: What do we mean by profession

Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast
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Podcast #011: What do we mean by profession

In todays podcast Aaron brings you into some of his research from his Honours thesis. The question of what we mean when we say youth work should be a profession is one that rarely gets asked in the youth work literature. The underlying assumption is that we all know what is meant by the term. However, if you ask five youth workers what they think it means you will get five different answers. The rank and file youth workers at the coal face have a very different idea of what a profession is than the academics who are writing about professionalising.

In todays podcast we are asked to think about what we mean by the term profession. We are initiated into the most common definition used by social welfare academics, that of the structural functionalists. This model is best framed in the work of Ernest Greenwood who claims that all professions have five attributes in common. We are asked to consider how these five attributes link to youth work identity and practice especially in the changing environment of the 21st century. Does this model still fit? Is it enough? Does youth work identity sit well with this model?


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Aaron Garth

Aaron Garth is the Executive Director of Ultimate Youth Worker. Aaron has worked as a youth worker in a number of settings including local church, street drug and alcohol outreach, family services, residential care, local government and youth homelessness since 2003. Aaron is a regular speaker at camps, retreats, & youth work training events and is a dedicated to seeing a more professional youth sector in Australia. Aaron is a graduate of RMIT University and an alumnus of their youth work program. He lives in Melbourne with his wife Jennifer & their daughters Hope, Zoe, Esther, Niamh and son Ezra.

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