Five faces of Oppression

Running head: PEER SUPPORT
PEER SUPPORT FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

PEER SUPPORT1
Contents
Introduction........................................................................................................................2
Understanding Group Work and Peer Support – young people in context.................3
Group work as an effective model for community based practice............................4
Limitations of group work............................................................................................6
Planning, development, facilitation and evaluation of groups..................................7
Group process in shaping group experiences..............................................................9
Conclusion........................................................................................................................10
References.........................................................................................................................11

PEER SUPPORT2
Peer support for younger people – a group work based approach
Introduction.
Understanding group work in the context of social service requires strict adherence to a
particular type of group work model as highlighted in the social service domain. This essay looks
at peer support as the chosen group work model in its application in the context of younger
people, and analyses how certain specific issues among the younger demographic of any selected
location can be appropriately addressed using the particular group work model.
Peer support, as Mead, Hilton and Curtis (2001, p. 134) defines, is the practice of
providing social, emotional or practical support or aid to people in a group by sharing the
knowledge and experience in order to help each other. Although peer support can also be
provided by untrained people in a socially defined group, in the current context of group work in
social service, peer support primarily refers to the provision of support to people by trained
support professionals. A wide number of social groups can be addressed through peer support,
however, this essay specifically deals with younger people as the focus group. Young people are
identified around the world as individuals in the transitional period between childhood and
adulthood. Furlong (2012, pp. 2-3) states that the definition of youth does not encompass a strict
age range and therefore can neither be chronologically explained, nor can be explained on the
basis of specific activities like unpaid jobs or physical relationships. Youth studies is a specific
sub – field of social science that deals with the various context and issues in relation with youth,
including but not restricted to the physical and mental health of the youth, personal, academic,
cognitive and socio – political developments as well (Furlong 2012, p. 4).

PEER SUPPORT3
Youth is the period of maximal development of an individual and entails a wide range of
developmental and progressive features like emotional and cultural competency, development of
advanced literacy and numeracy skills, professional values and ethics and most importantly,
significant physical, physiological and psychological growth. Ergo, the younger people are more
vulnerable to a string of personal issues that they are often unable to find a solution to, all by
themselves. External support therefore becomes a critical requirement for them. This is where
peer support becomes highly relevant. Peer support can provide young people with the
appropriate guidance and support required in order to make their transition out of their areas of
intrapersonal and interpersonal problems and into a steady, stable lifestyle. The current essay
therefore looks at peer support for young people, specifically in the context of peer support as a
group work model / intervention, highlighting certain specific areas of issues in young people
and how peer support, as an intervention model, can be helpful in providing appropriate help to
the youth in need.
Understanding Group Work and Peer Support – young people in context.
Group work can have a wide range of meanings associated with it. Humans are social
animals, meaning that they have an innate proclivity towards forming groups and working as a
collaborative unit. However, as a social work method, group work entails a modified and specific
connotation. Lindsay and Orton (2014, p. 7) define group work as a social method as follows,
“Social group work is a method of social work that aims, in an informed way, through purposeful
group experiences, to help individuals and groups to meet individual and group need, and to
influence and change personal, group, organisational and community problems.” This definition
highlights the key theoretical and functional underpinnings of group work in the present context,