A discussion event will provide an opportunity to hear those working on the ground about providing a safe space for young people to process their experiences and develop resilience.
Date: 21 January 2022
The link between childhood trauma and youth violence has been well documented with more and more interventions adopting a trauma-informed approach when working with young people.
However, what does this mean in practice? A discussion event taking place on Monday, 24 January at 5pm will provide an opportunity to hear those working on the ground about their experiences of providing a safe space for young people to process their experiences and develop resilience.
Dr Richard Grove will present learning from his time as team lead of a co-produced community project, working with young adults affected by youth violence. In particular, he will reflect on the mechanisms involved in building a sense of safety within the therapeutic relationship, but also the importance of developing a sense of empowerment when safety is impossible. Richard will reflect on how an understanding of attachment theory, narrative theory and community psychology models can be applied when working with a group of young people in a fast-paced, dynamic and at times volatile setting.
Academics Dr James Alexander and Mary O'Shaughnessy will discuss their experience of working on youth projects and their research in neighbourhoods with reputations for high levels of youth violence. They will consider why despite greater awareness of the role that trauma plays in youth violence and more therapeutic support available, the violence young people are involved in is often escalating. They will reflect on what other actions need to take place alongside more therpeutic interventions to help tackle youth violence.
Whitney Iles will discuss her experiences as a Director of Project 507, an organisation of supporting young people with trauma-informed approach and her work in providing support to young people in a variety of settings, including youth offending institutions and prisons.
Photo by Warren Wong for Unsplash
