Løysingsfokusert samtaleteknikk (LØFT) i fritidsklubber.

Abstract

In the history of youth clubs in Norway, an assumption of the positive effects of youth clubs on the prevalence of young peopleö‚'s alcohol and drug use has played an important role in explaining why youth clubs are important. The goal of the project described in this report has been to strengthen and focus the preventive work in youth clubs. The method that has been used is a simplified version of the therapeutic method called ö‚«Solution Focused Brief Therapyö‚». By using this method as a tool when engaging in conversations with youth about alcohol and drugs, the club leadersö‚' aim is to facilitate reflections about alcohol and drug use. The looked-for outcome of this new way of talking is that the youth become more aware of their actual opinions and decisions in this area. The main research question in this report is whether this particular tool is apt and adequate as a means to achieve this goal. A question relating to this is how the quality of the relationships between youth and club staff influence the practice of this methodology. An additional goal of the report is to investigate how the local context of the club and its available recourses influence how the club staff can deal with issues concerning alcohol and drug use.Two youth clubs have been involved in this pilot study. The research has been conducted through a three-month fieldwork. Half way through the fieldwork, the leaders in one of the clubs participated in a two-day course in solution focused methodology. In the second half of the fieldwork, the main focus of the research in this club was on how the leaders implemented the new method and how their interaction with the youth was influenced by their new skills. The limited length and scale of the study precludes definite conclusions concerning the potential of this methodology in youth clubs in general. Nevertheless, one of the main findings in the study was that despite the enthusiasm of the leaders in the weeks following the course, data indicate that the training was too short to ensure sufficient mastery of the method. Moreover, the most obvious constraint on a possible effect on the youth was the restricted use of the method in the club. Even if inadequate training as well as the limited length of the fieldwork following the training are important limitations of this project, some of the findings should be taken into account when considering the general potential of this methodology in a club context. One important challenge that must be overcome in order to achieve an extensive and lasting implementation of this method is how to ensure that the club staff will have sufficient opportunity to practice the method and support each other while doing it. A widespread feature of youth clubs is that the staff consists of a relatively large number of adults who work a relatively limited number of hours per week each. This structural feature limits possibilities for follow-up between the staff, but it can also mean that the relationships that each youth worker has with the youth can be of varying quality and continuity. Experiences from the youth clubs in this study show that there are good reasons to believe that good and trusting relationships between staff and youth is a necessary condition for a meaningful use of the method. In this context it is of relevance to point out that a comparison of the two clubs in the study indicate that the quality of the integration of youth clubs in other local arenas dealing with youth and prevention measures also seems to influence how club leaders are able to build and develop relationships with the club users. Consequently, a drawback with a methodology such as the one tested in this project, is its complete dependence on the club leadersö‚' capacities, whereas the influence of the circumstances under which they work is not taken into account.These contextual aspects of youth clubs and relationships within these clubs offer perspectives that are useful in view of the next stage of this project. Two suggestions for the further development of this project are put forward in this report: (1) Gather and analyse existing experience on how to build relationships in youth clubs. Include information on the clubö‚'s resources and how these influence the context for developing good and trusting relationships. Use this knowledge as a starting point for developing methods for talking to young people about drug and alcohol use. (2) Collect and analyse information on integration of youth clubs in local communities and on the consequences of different forms of integration for the clubö‚'s capacity to engage in drug prevention. Analyse how available resources influence the clubö‚'s potential for playing an important part in local prevention work.

Bakgrunnen for prosjektet som blir presentert i denne rapporten har vore spørsmålet om korleis ein kan styrke og synleggjere det rusførebyggande arbeidet i fritidsklubbar. To fritidsklubbar har vore involvert i prosjektet som har status som forprosjekt. Desse to klubbane blei følgd gjennom eit tremånadars feltarbeid. Hovudmålsetjinga med forprosjektet har vore å følgje og analysere erfaringane med opplæring av dei tilsette i løysingsfokusert samtaleteknikk, LØFT, i ein av fritidsklubbane. Med denne metoden ønskte ein å medverke til å få ungdomar i klubb til å reflektere over og stille spørsmål rundt eiga rusåtferd. Eit sentralt bakteppe for diskusjonane rundt erfaringane med denne metoden er dei strukturelle rammene som dei to klubbane og dei tilsette i desse arbeider innanfor. Ein viktig konklusjon er at desse strukturelle rammene ser ut til å vere av stor tyding for korleis ein metode som LØFT kan brukast i fritidsklubbar, og at ein også bør undersøke nærare kva for sjølvstendig tyding desse rammene har for korleis ein gjennom klubb kan drive rusførebyggande arbeid.