Despite increases in the minimum legal drinking age, national studies show that 82 to 92 percent of college students consume alcohol, with about 20 percent considered as heavy drinkers. Students who drink may have particular needs for focused education or intervention, but all students can benefit from education regarding the full range of alcohol…

This document was conceived and developed to provide a better understanding of the pressures and tasks associated with adolescence, the empirically-based evidence of factors associated with drug use and other forms of problem behavior, different peer program approaches, and ways in which peer programs can be implemented. In Chapter I, "The…

This paper offers a synthesized review of the literature on student peer facilitator programs, in order to investigate and substantiate many of the ways in which peer facilitator programs extend and strengthen a guidance counselor's mission in the school. After an introductory discussion of the foundations and goals of successful peer facilitator…

Examines the personal side of the problem of counselor impairment. The impact this problem has on people, organizations, and the profession and the reasons why it is ignored are explored. Explains the relationship between these problems and the articles selected for this special issue. (Author/RB)

The Parents' Fair Share Demonstration (PFS) was created to boost the incomes of poor noncustodial parents (most of them fathers) so as to increase child support payments and decrease the number of welfare recipients. This report gives the results of a nine-site pilot program, which operated from early 1992 through 1993. The program addressed two…

Few situations are more distressing for professional counselors than to know or suspect that a colleague is practicing while being impaired. Suggests appropriate steps an individual counselor might take to help an impaired colleague, using as a guide the ethical decision-making model developed by the American Counseling Association Ethics…

Although the problem of impaired professionals has been with us for as long as professionals have been so designated, this article considers potential harm to clients and the profession's obligation to monitor its members and provide appropriate rehabilitation. Definitions of distress and professional impairment are discussed, as are the…

This article explores programmatic approaches for identifying and treating impaired professional counselors through a review of models found in professional counseling, psychology, social work, and medical professions. The authors apply these models to a case study and suggest steps for a renewed effort to systematically address the issue of…

Wellness is a positive state of health that can be promoted in all counselors, impaired or not. This article discusses prevention from counselor preparation to clinical practice. Recommendations for preventing impairment are proposed for counselor education faculty, regulatory boards, employing organizations, and practicing counselors. (Author)

Academic advising by faculty members has often been ineffective. Peer advising systems that employ peers as academic counselors may successfully address student criticism of faculty advising systems. Peer systems capitalize on the primacy of peer influence, provide an economical delivery system, and are available and accessible to students. These…