The befrienders – time for a new type of social worker

The data at the centre of the paper stems from two independent ethnographical studies that investigate the relationships between social workers and young service-users. Even though both studies have different points of contextual departure (i.e. on the street & in a psychosocial rehabilitation facility) they both yield similar findings. Both studies closely explore the relational work between social workers and young people through the perspectives of both employees and the young people as service-users. The research raises and answers a few crucial questions such as: how can social workers work with young people in other ways? How can social workers listen to and involve the voices of service-users in service innovation processes? Which methods can social workers utilise to build up trustworthy relations with service-users?