Over the past decades, Vincent Tinto, Edmund Thile, Francis Ianni, and others all link mentoring to better academic performance, improved social adjustment, enhanced academic experiences, and greater rates of degree completion. Even more specifically, Jean E. Rhodes, Renée Spencer, Thomas E. Keller, Belle Liang, and Gil Noam describe three…

This paper is presented as a conceptual practice analysis of an experiential learning activity that took place during the fall 2011 academic term. Graduate students registered in a graduate-level career counseling course at a major Southeastern university were given the opportunity to conduct one-on-one career consultations with students enrolled…

Peer Resources is at the heart of positive youth development. Trained youth serving in roles such as mentor, tutor, mediator, leader, and educator can change the norms of a school and community. Utilizing people as resources is an important concept to embrace. During the last seven years, peer mentors have reduced the drop-out rate of 16- and…

The Teen Outreach Reproductive CHallenge (TORCH) is a peer education program that provides information on various topics relevant to adolescent sexual health to a diverse audience, ranging from teens to health care providers. This information is disseminated through various projects by a group of New York City high-school students who are…

Students helping students have become an increasingly important educational concept over the last 20 years. While the popularity and prevalence of these types of programs have grown considerably, there has been little effort to evaluate their effectiveness. The authors advocate for counselors to use a scientist practitioner approach to…

Findings are reported from a study conducted to design, implement, and evaluate the effects of a cardiovascular screening and educational training program aimed at reducing heart disease risk factors of corrections personnel. Inclusion of peer educator/advocate intervention significantly affected the incidence of certain risk factors. (IAH)

Describes development and implementation of peer counselor program in one large high school. Explains how peer counselors were selected, trained, and supervised. Presents evaluation of pilot program after its second year and makes recommendations to others considering implementing a high school peer counseling program. (NB)

Presents a peer counselling model emphasizing outreach social activities and school community liaison for adolescents. Evaluation of this model according to counsellors' self-reports, and student clients' evaluations indicated that peer counsellors were perceived as highly effective in social leadership, group discussion, and individual…

Describes the EQUIP Program, a new psychoeducational model that teaches antisocial youth to think and act responsibly through a peer-helping approach. Highlights the challenges presented by antisocial youth, reviews the development of earlier psychoeducational methods, and outlines basic program components. Initial research shows significant…

As counseling programs are being strained by the ever increasing needs of today's students, other methods of helping the students are being used. The peer helper program is one method that is optimistically being tried. Information is presented here on the background, training procedures, and evaluation methods (both subjective and objective) of…

Describes the "Peer Support System," which involved older people in the provision of improved mental health services, including education and service identification. The program consisted of recruiting and training 48 peer counselors, and conducting monthly health education workshops. Funded by the Administration on Aging, the project…

Describes the development of a peer counseling program in an inner-city Chicago high school with emphasis on peer counselor selection and training procedures. Discusses the benefits and problems inherent in this program. (SJL)

An advising program in the James Madison University (Virginia) psychology department recruits and trains students to provide basic information about majors, careers, field opportunities, and graduate schools to their peers. The work of the 20 volunteers, who serve 900 students, is coordinated by a faculty member. Each peer advisor serves on a…

Tobacco smoking is responsible for approximately 434,000 deaths per year in the United States (Fact Sheet, 1993). College students represent a large portion of the smoking public. Roughly 70% of college students have tried smoking (Everett & Husten, 1999). There are various methods available to assist in smoking cessation, some being, nicotine…

This manual is intended to help professionals and non-professionals develop a peer support system involving older persons in the provision of comprehensive mental health services. The materials focus on: (1) program concept and objectives; (2) links between physical and mental health in the elderly; (3) recruitment and training of peer counselors;…