Abstract

Working with Young Men offers a wealth of positive group activities to engage, motivate and meet the needs of young men.

Designed to help them improve their self-esteem, raise confidence and develop leadership skills, this book is full of fun and imaginative games and activities that explore issues such as anger, peer pressure, risk-taking and emotional health and well-being. This second edition is fully revised and updated to include 22 new activities ranging from creative warm-ups that develop communication skills to visualising anger through painting and exploring positive relationships through quizzes and group work. 

This book will be a resource that will be used again and again by anyone working with young men, including youth workers, PSHE teachers, pupil referral unit workers, Youth Offending Teams and voluntary sector youth leaders.

Working with Young Men is a useful resource book for anybody leading groups for young men. The activities are extremely varied and incorporate a wide breadth of activities that explore personal, social and emotional issues that young men face in day to day life. The activity sheets are very easy to follow. In particular, the aims of the activity, the equipment needed and the instructions are clearly are laid out. The activities could easily be applied to a range of different settings such as schools, youth clubs or even sports clubs. Mostly, they require few materials, which mean they are easy to set up and inexpensive to run... Overall, 'Working with Young men' offers inspirational ideas for experienced group leaders. The easy to follow layout of the book makes it ideal for pre-planning activities, as well as quick referencing the instructions whilst the group is running.
Youth in Mind
I can thoroughly recommend this book for anyone working with groups of young men. It would be ideal for youth workers, youth offending teams, and schools. Some of the activities could be used by counsellors to supplement one-to-one work... Each activity is very simply explained, and gives the user advice on how to facilitate the session. It materials are required, they are often minimal such as flip chart, paper, or paints, but many of the activities do not require materials. Additionally, some of the pages are clearly marked to indicate permission to photocopy them, which obviously assists the youth worker... At the back of the book is a list of useful websites, including the author's own, for further information. Most of the activities would be equally useful for use with young females, though I believe there is a separate book available for them by the same author... In summary, I would say this is an excellent and helpful resource and good value for money.
The Independent Practitioner
The activities are diverse and take into account the differences in how young men learn...From warm-ups that build confidence to more in-depth exercises, Rogers; approach is simple, creative and informative.
Children & Young People Now, Shane Ryan, chief executive officer, Working With Men
Vanessa Rogers is a qualified teacher and youth worker with over ten years' experience within Hertfordshire Youth Service both at practitioner and management levels. Prior to becoming a nationally acclaimed youth work consultant, Vanessa managed a wide range of services for young people including a large youth centre and targeted detached projects for Hertfordshire County Council. Vanessa has written a number of popular resource books aimed at those working with young people, and she also has a column in 'Youth Work Now', a supplement of the national magazine 'Children and Young People Now'. Vanessa's website can be found at www.vanessarogers.co.uk.