Published case reviews highlight that practitioners sometimes struggle to work with teenagers who are experiencing complex issues. Interventions can focus on tackling challenging behaviour, rather than exploring the underlying causes and risk factors. This sometimes causes practitioners to lose sight of the fact that teenagers are children in need of protection.
The learning from these reviews highlights that professionals need to listen to teenagers, but also be able to balance the young person’s wishes with their best interests. Intervention needs to be timely and appropriate.
