NCJ Number
94888
Date Published
1981
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Describing Sasha Bruce House's peer counseling program, initiated in October 1977 with funds to train four peer counselors, the discussion identifies the rationale for peer counseling; reviews program goals, training for peer counselors, the role of peer counselors, and the complications of working as a peer counselor; and includes two case reports, one a success story and one an unsuccessful resolution.
Abstract
The basis of peer counseling is that a young person with similar experience can understand a teenager in crisis in a special way, and peer pressure is the most effective way to get to a young person. Counseling goals include being a friend who can be trusted, empathetic, a good listener, and a good role model; guiding activities; and planning group meetings. Training sessions, held weekly for 2 months, taught emphathy, listening, identifying feelings, trusting, and encountering problems. A counselor's ultimate goal is to help his/her peer reach a decision on a course of action to solve a problem. Complications of being a peer counselor include residents' not understanding the peer counselor's role, relationship problems with staff, and coping with feelings of failure.