elementary and high school participants, including increased knowledge of alcohol risks, less reported binge drinking, and increased teaching skills (Bell, Kelly-Baker, et al., 2005; Padget, Bell, et al., 2005). • Researchers studying middle school students in peer helping programs in New York State found a positive correlation between participating in peer mediation programs and enhanced academic outcomes (Bogner, Gullo, et al., 2008). • By having a positive impact on students, peer programs create a more positive school climate (Forouzesh, et al., 2001). Most adults who train students in peer helping find it a stimulating and meaningful experience. This training will help you enjoy a similar relationship with youth. As a leader who genuinely believes in young people, in trusting them and encouraging them, you can be an important asset builder in their lives. Being a role model admired by youth is a privilege that should not be taken lightly. The job often demands hard work and careful thought, as well as the best and the finest of all of us who accept this opportunity.
DIRECTIONS FOR USING THIS GUIDE You can use Training Peer Helpers: Coaching Youth to Communicate, Solve Problems, and Make Decisions to help any group of youth in middle or high school become peer helpers. The training involves 15 sessions, each approximately 90 minutes, which should occur in succession once a week. To make the training most effective for participants, limit groups to 10 to 15 members. Any young person can benefit from peer-helping training. Young people of all types seek out the training when you extend an open invitation. When considering how to encourage broad participation, don’t overlook “shy,”“troubled,” or “indifferent” students. In spite of how they have been labeled, these youth still have the qualities needed for trainee candidates, such as helpfulness, trustworthiness, concern for others, ability to listen, and potential to serve as positive role models. Ensure diversity in your group so that you can incorporate the asset of cultural competence into as many activities and discussions as possible. Once students have completed training, adult leaders can make the most appropriate matches for actual peer-helping tasks based on individual strengths. Peer-helping programs require staff with the appropriate training to enable leaders to carry out their responsibilities. Please see the appendixes for the National Peer Helpers Association Programmatic Standards and Ethics.
THE PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDE Training Peer Helpers: Coaching Youth to Communicate, Solve Problems, and Make Decisions is an updated and revised edition of my 1981 Curriculum Guide for Student Peer Counseling Training, which was written in collaboration with Pamela Toole and James Toole, coordinators of the Peer Counseling Program in Palo Alto, California. (Many of the activities and discussions featured in this guide also appear in a peer ministry version published by The Youth & Family Institute.) Much has changed in the nearly thirty years since the original training curriculum was published. Most programs referred to then as peer counseling now are identified as peer-helping programs. x
Introduction