Introduction: An innovative undergraduate helping skills course where students learn, practice, and apply a problem management model with a peer volunteer on a non-clinical issue across three supervised helping meetings is presented. Statement of the Problem: Undergraduate helping skill courses are typically offered as in-class role-plays. This…

Preparing secondary students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) for a variety of potential professions is important to enhance their postsecondary employment outcomes. This article provides step-by-step guidelines for practitioners to use video modeling interventions to develop the customer service skills of students with ASD who are employed or…

Describes an undergraduate course designed to help psychology paraprofessionals. The course provided an introduction to a theory of helping, supervised practice in a classroom setting, and a forum to integrate theory, practice, and personal concerns. (CK)

The concept of peer advising to supplement faculty efforts was initiated in 1981 by students in the School of Business at Ithaca College. In order to increase personalized assistance, a group of students was selected and trained in School of Business procedures, basic counseling, and college services. Peer advisers must meet a grade point average…

The author describes a counselor education program based on the premise that self-understanding and self-awareness are as important as acquisition of skills, techniques, and knowledge for persons planning to enter the helping professions. In attempting to create a climate of high trust in which self exploration can occur, the faculty has…

This model for facilitating the development of prehelping skills is a viable model of service delivery. If prehelping skills of attending, observing, and listening are not taught systematically, the development of skills involved in responding, integrative understanding and facilitating action become increasingly difficult. (Author)

Describes systematic organized training of peer facilitators at the elementary school level. By implementing peer facilitator programs, such as the junior counselor program, counselors can provide students with valuable educational experiences. In addition, junior counselor programs can be fun for students, teachers, and counselors. (Author)

This training manual explains the process of rating client openness from a short sample of dyadic help-intended interactions. The overview of client openness includes a discussion of the 10-week undergraduate program which teaches students to assess client openness based on behavioral ratings from the Group Assessment of Interpersonal Traits…

This paper describes a training program designed to train paraprofessional student assistants for the dual positions of peer tutor and peer adviser. Skills related to study strategies, reading comprehension improvement, time management, and test-taking are detailed as methods for trainees to develop skills in the cognitive and affective learning…

A mentor system that pairs a new teaching assistant (TA) with an experienced TA has been established at the University of Massachusetts Writing Program. Recruited as volunteers, experienced TAs can consult with the Resource Center staff and with more experienced mentors concerning their role as counselor. Usually, mentors and mentees exchange…

This paper describes the Elder Program, a 3 year Model Demonstration Program designed to strengthen neighborhood support systems for older persons through an educational program emphasizing information, resources, and skill development. A discussion of basic assumptions and the theoretical background of the model focuses on the principles of…

The concepts and procedures used in two skill development laboratories for college students are introduced. The materials describe the interviewing skills lab that teaches a variety of interpersonal skills used in one-on-one helping relationships, and the group skills lab that provides practical training in the basic skills of leading, conducting,…

This paper describes the Developing Interculturally Skilled Counselors (DISC) project, a three year training program designed to assess and articulate the need for cross-cultural counseling skills. A review of existing inservice or pre-service training programs is presented that suggests these programs are narrow in their approaches and…

Virginia Western Community College (VWCC) has developed a peer helper training program based on a modular training design. A peer helper at VWCC is a student attending the college who has been trained and evaluated as being effective in specifically defined interpersonal helping relationships. Peer helpers provide services as an adjunct to those…

Strategies to prevent burnout are examined, including establishing boundaries, defining what is wanted from the educator-helper, accepting what is, and focusing on affective health and wellness. Case studies are presented to demonstrate the use of these interpersonal strategies. (CT)