Webinar: Engaging & Connecting With Young People

Webinar: Engaging & Connecting  With Young People

Engaging with a young person who is experiencing hardship means doing something which is meaningful and respectful but also brief, quick (but not hurried) and often, something unexpected; because we have to get past wariness, or emotional withdrawal, or active hostility, or sadness, seeming indifference, or anger; to name a few. All of which are what a young person, experiencing hardship in life, may well present to us, and often to the world in general. So we need to do something different, not clever but less expected, less likely; to establish a connection. And establishing this connection, this engagement, is the beginning of a process, of a ‘working’ relationship however brief or long this may be. And it must happen or nothing else will.

This 1.5 hour online webinar with Peter Slattery will cover:

1. Strategies (and the thinking behind them) to:

  • Connect with a young person one to one
  • Connect with a young person and family member/s simultaneously
  • Connect with a young person when a third party is present, whether a family member, police person, social worker etc

2. Communication and language which is more likely to be successful

3. Most importantly, the idea of being inventive and unexpected so as to invite a spirit of curiosity in a young person. And alongside that, a sense of safety, of interest and a sense of having some control, or agency.

SESSION DETAILS:

WHEN   Wednesday, 23 September 2020
   11:00AM – 12:30PM AWST (1:00PM – 2:30PM AEST)
WHERE    Online webinar
TICKETS 

   Free of charge, registrations essential.
   Register here

 

Legal CPD point allocation: 1 Professional Skills | 0.5 Ethics and Professional Responsibility 

Should you have any queries or require any further information please do not hesitate to email WA.FamilyPathwayNetwork@relationshipswa.org.au or call (08) 6164 0380.

 

About Peter Slattery

Many years ago, Peter did a B.A. Social Science and an M.A. Psychology. He says he thoroughly enjoyed his studies and freely admits to having learned something. He also says that the past 30 years of working with young people, especially with those having a hard time of life, have taught him a lot more, and given him some ideas about how to make use of what he learned at university. Today, Peter works freelance across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, with occasional jaunts into Asia, North America the U.K. and Europe. He continues his focus of working with young people in all the places you expect to find them; and finds himself working within all the school systems, as well as in refuges, rehab centres, the many elements of youth programmes and in juvenile justice settings. Peter is particularly keen on working collaboratively with all those in the lives of young people who are so vital to their welfare, their friends and families, and the communities which surround them. Having done this work for a long time now, Peter finds himself in demand as a trainer of workers, and as a supervisor and mentor; and at some time or other, he has worked with all the connected Government Departments; Health, Education, Community Services, Immigration and Juvenile and Corrective Services; and he has found his way into most tertiary institutions throughout the state. He has published extensively, both hard copy and in the E world.

Peter is constantly in demand as a speaker both within Australia and overseas. He says he considers himself extremely lucky, and thinks of his work as an uplifting challenge, a privilege, a joy and often, just a lot of fun. He says he can’t imagine himself doing anything else – he’s in the right job.