Counsellor, Youth and Parent Services – Adelaide Central Mission Paper presented at the

2Adolescent Services is a section of the Adelaide Central Mission made up of five agencies that work with young people 12-25 years and their families. Services either work from a therapeutic framework or a medical model. All of the Agencies have a strong base in systems thinking. The basis of this paper is about Participatory Action Research (PAR) where systems thinking, underpins the basis for successful Action Research. This paper will at times cover all of Adolescent Services but will specifically cover two agencies; Youth and Parent Services (YPS) and Reconnect. YPS is a Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) funded organization that works with young people, 12 to 18 years, and their families who are experiencing conflict and the young person is at imminent risk of homelessness. There are two sections to YPS counselling and the accommodation component called Rubys. Reconnect is a program funded through the Commonwealth Department of Family and Community Services. It aims to support young people, 12 to 18 years, to re-engage with family, education, training, employment and their community. Participatory Action Research Participatory Action Research is different to many other research methodologies in that it i