Adolescents increasingly use online, peer-to-peer platforms as a site of identity exploration and development. Prior research suggests that experiences online can foster feelings of connection and belonging, as well as promote a willingness to engage in self-disclosure during a critical developmental period; however, only recently has research…

Peer counselling empowerment entails specific considerations of the training process as peer counsellors. Specific issues related to such empowerment are discussed in light of the counselling profession. Subsequently, ethical considerations pertaining to peer counselling such as confidentiality, dual relationships, competency and vicarious…

Peer support can be helpful in reducing the stress involved in giving birth to and raising a child with handicaps. A peer support group can help meet the parents' needs for information, emotional support, and ways to connect with social/health systems components. To be successful, a peer support system should be led by parents, have access to…

Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine began a new advising program called Professional Development Advising Teams (PDAT) in 1996. A small number of students (6 to 8) was grouped with 2 faculty members (medical school based and clinic based) and 1 peer mentor (an advanced year medical student) to make up 1 of 18 advising teams. This…

Despite its significance, the field of informal peer counseling remains relatively unexplored. This study focused on the therapeutic responses that laymen give to and desire from their peers. In two separate studies, S's indicated their reactions to scripts presented in booklets or on tapes. S's were instructed to respond to these scripts as if…

Within the past decade the role of the primary care physician caring for older patients has expanded to include counseling and "healthy aging" education to reduce multiple behavior risk factors. Project AGE WELL was a longitudinal study of the impact of a comprehensive and team delivered health promotion program on the health status of the…

Peer Advising in Agricultural Education has been operating since the Fall Semester, 1987, at Texas A & M University. The program involves several undergraduate students nominated by faculty, who are supervised by two doctoral students. Responsibilities of the peer advisors include informing students of campus procedures, assisting in…

The utility of schematic maps as tools for the early stages of both peer counseling and self-counseling was explored in two studies. In experiment 1 (self-counseling), 42 students (18 males and 24 females) from undergraduate general psychology classes participated to fill course requirements. Participants were assigned to a schematic map or essay…

This paper describes a program of free, short-term, individual bereavement counseling for survivors of sudden death in Marin County, California. Co-sponsors are Marin Suicide Prevention Center and Marin County Coroner's Office. Most survivors are initially referred to the program by the coroner at the time of certifying cause of death, others are…

Supervision provides student development professionals with an important forum for examining and discussing ethical issues which arise in practice. However, high-quality counseling supervision may not always be available to practitioners when they need it most. Peer supervision is a method of counseling supervision which can be a viable…

During the fall of 1987 Arizona State University received a grant to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of using student professionals to teach assertive and decision making skills to their peers. These skills were taught as an early intervention strategy to address the dynamics of peer pressure in drug use among high risk college age…

The Students Serving Students Program is a unique and flexible orientation program designed to meet the needs of a large commuter population at Youngstown State University. The program is staffed by 20 upperclass students who contact all first-year and transfer students prior to the opening day of classes. Staff serve as peer resources throughout…

The focus of the AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) Peer Educators project (based on Kohlberg's Cognitive Stage Theory of the Development of Moral Judgement) is to change behavior using a peer-based approach. Good mental preparation is essential if the Peer Educator is to be effective, for the AIDS Peer Educator is frequently required to…

The merits of peer group supervision have been advocated widely, but the actual practice has been described infrequently. The structured peer group format is a model that provides an organizational structure and a systematic procedure for conducting peer groups. In application, the approach can be adapted to match the developmental levels of the…

This document describes an innovative pilot project of peer counselors, implemented within the structure of an educational support service. A peer counseling project created by the Athletes Educational Planning Program of the University of Toledo (Ohio) Counseling Center is presented, in which student-athletes help other student-athletes to adjust…