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Tenacity is vital when it comes to working with troubled young people , Addaction ’ s Sam Dixon tells DDN
when Sam Dixon from Addaction ’ s YZUP young people ’ s service received an ‘ Exceptional Individual ’ award at the organisation ’ s south west regional conference in September , the case study delegates heard was of a 13-year-old girl she ’ d begun working with several years ago .
The young person was in ‘ self-destruct mode ’, with issues around substance misuse – alcohol and MDMA , then prescription medications – risky behaviours and self-harm , and who had been let down by a range of other agencies .
‘ She ’ d had a very late diagnosis of ADHD , which didn ’ t help by then ,’ says Dixon . ‘ She was self-harming quite significantly – at one point we were seeing her every day , essentially making sure she was still alive . She was in supported housing for a while , which was quite challenging , and even while I was working with her other agencies would come in , get involved and then pull out .’ There had also been substantial police involve - ment around anti-social behaviour , and ‘ an attitude towards her that she was a trouble maker , the leader of the pack – another bit of letting down ,’ says Dixon .
As those other agencies began to withdraw , what was it that made her persist ? ‘ Gut feeling ,’ she states . ‘ My professional instinct was that there was much more going on than was clear on the outside .’
The key elements to engaging successfully with young people are a sense of humour , patience and tenacity , she stresses . ‘ It ’ s about hanging on in there even when you ’ re being told to go away , and listening to what ’ s really happening with that person rather than just making an assumption .’
So how did she finally win her trust ? ‘ This was a young woman who ’ d had a lot of professional involvement , with people saying , “ She ’ s too hard work , she keeps pushing me away , I ’ m going to give up .” What she got from me was that that wasn ’ t going to happen .’
Were there occasions when she did feel like giving up ? ‘ No , there were times when it was hard , and times when I felt quite distressed myself , but I had brilliant line management support all the way . I never once thought “ I can ’ t do this anymore ”. All I saw in front of me was a young person in distress .’
At one point Dixon was making a weekly 120-mile round trip to see her – there was no point when management said , ‘ You need to give up on this and focus elsewhere ?’ ‘ No . I can ’ t say it didn ’ t impact on the rest of my working week , but I was very clear about why I was still involved and the work that needed to be done . I was very lucky that my manager listened to that , and the support wasn ’ t just there – it went to a very high level at Addaction because the safeguarding concerns were so great at times . The extremity of the situation – and the fact we were seeking funding for tier 4 treatment – meant it had to be reported to our commissioner as well .’
For anyone working with similar clients , what advice would she give ? ‘ Remember that there ’ s a young person at the centre of it , and that they are not their behaviour . Also , be really , really clear on your boundaries . That young person always knew that it was a professional relationship , and that ’ s what held her – she knew how far she could push me , what she
‘ My professional instinct was that there was much more going on than was clear on the outside .’
could expect of me , and that it would be delivered . The building of trust was about keeping those boundaries strong , because sometimes you do just want to pick them up and take them home . In a case like this there were multiple times when I would have done that , but you don ’ t . Being clear about her boundaries wasn ’ t something she ’ d had from a lot of other professionals , so it had a really positive impact on her . And , obviously , it ’ s about patience .’
Given how long she worked with her , at what point did she feel ‘ I ’ m starting to make some progress ?’ ‘ The nature of her mental health meant it was very up and down ,’ she says . ‘ We got her into college and things were going really well , but then they started to go wrong again . But I think once she went into residential treatment , and that had the impact it did – which was amazing – you very quickly saw definite changes in the way she thought about things , the way she felt about herself , and her developing confidence .’
Not only is this ex-client now an Addaction volunteer – ‘ she ’ s very , very keen to put back into the organisation ’ – but she has a full-time job and is also studying for a degree . ‘ She blows my mind ,’ says Dixon . ‘ And it says to me , “ You were right .” You have to be able to see the potential in people even when they ’ re in a place where they can ’ t see it themselves .’
Are you involved in innovative practice ? iCAAD is supporting DDN to run the Knowledge Hub – a space in the magazine to share ideas and effective ways of working . Contact the DDN editor , claire @ cjwellings . com to be featured here .
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