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With 96 per cent of teenagers using social media, youth workers must now engage them online

AbstractThis article argues that psychosocial theory can enhance understanding of intersubjective dynamics between workers and young people involved in crime and violence. After introducing some conceptual tools from psychoanalysis and post‐structural theory, a case study follows a worker's efforts to bring about a young man's desistance (including the worker's use of self‐disclosure) and how this is stymied by systemic failings in a homeless hostel in the UK. The article concludes that professional work in services targeted at young people with multiple support needs requires a deep sensibility to intersubjective and unconscious dynamics within professional relationships and organisations.

Drawing on the findings of a two-year European research project, this book presents a new model for responding meaningfully and effectively to the 'problem' of how to respond to violence involving young people that continues to challenge youth workers and policy makers.