You are probably more than aware of You’re Welcome (link) and you may even be working towards accreditation for your clinic or ‘been there done that’. I regard young people friendly services as being an on-going process rather than an event and I think that the best services are always looking to be critical of what they do and to try to improve.
To contribute to this effort I thought I’d make a few resources available for professionals to download and photocopy and use. You may want to make your own versions, which is fine. However I can also make you some bespoke versions with your logo and corporate font, contact me below for details.
Also I offer training courses to sexual health services around working with young people and young men. Scroll to the bottom for more details.
Welcome Leaflet
Young people are often very anxious when they first arrive at a service and have many questions about what will happen, confidentiality, who they will see, what happens with their details, how long it will take etc. Research suggests that young people attending sexual health services need information in written and in verbal form, in order for it to be useful. This answers young people’s questions about what will happen but will also gives them something to read whilst they settle and calm their nerves.
This version is a proto-type which you can use to base your own on. If your service happens to offer exactly the same services as suggested on this version then feel free to use it as your own!
Whilst I’m on the subject of giving young people information about what to expect and what the service offers, check out this video which I made with the very talented Hillingdon Youth Council about a cracking local service called ‘KISS’ in Uxbridge.
And here is an observation quiz to see if you were watching carefully (opens as a pdf)
Clinic Rules
Attending a clinic for the first time is a very weird and new experience for young people. Sometimes they don’t know what behaviour is acceptable and they don’t understand why we get upset about what it is they are doing. This is where rules can help.
I think it’s important to develop these for yourself as the version I’ve uploaded here might not be appropriate for your service. Also you should develop it with your colleagues and consult your clients. The example I’ve given here works well with the young people (particularly young men) I work with and uses clear, sometimes humorous but very straight forward language.
And yes, young people do use the word ‘rave’ nowadays, it means ‘party’ rather than a large field, Aphex Twin and whistles.
Evaluation Sheets
This document is a great way of getting a snapshot of how young people found your service that day. It’s a basic field of words evaluation which isn’t very scientific but it gives you and your staff team a good idea about how well you are doing and how you can improve. At the clinic I work at we give them out and review them quickly at the end of the session. It keeps us on our toes and gives us clues as to how to make things better.
I’ve included 4 on the sheet, you just need to get your guillotine out…
Training Courses
I now run training courses on working with young people in sexual health services as well as my course on working with young men in sexual health services. My courses are bought in by sexual health services and are multi-disciplinary.
For more information click here
These courses are available throughout the UK.
For more information email justin at bishtraining.com
Bish Resources
My range of sex and relationships resources were specifically designed for working with young men in sexual health services. They are a great way of building knowledge and answering questions and I use them as an informal SRE programme for young people wanting condoms and advice. Young people love these because they are straight to the point, eye catching and not just about STIs or contraception.
To see samples of these resources click here
If you have any comments, feedback, rants, ideas, then please comment!
Justin
