Whitney High School - Peer Counseling

Counseling

Peer Counseling

Peer Counseling is a program used across the United States. It serves students who want to strengthen their communication and helping skills. The program provides an avenue whereby students can support their peers and, at the same time, extends the opportunity to students to provide a service to their school and community.

The Peer Counseling Program is based on this simple premise: Within every school an informal “helping network” exists. Students with problems naturally seek out other students, counselors, teachers, or other school staff whom they trust. Students look to Peer Counselors for advice, assistance or just a sympathetic ear. The Peer Counselors are trained by school counselors in skills they need to provide more effective help to young people who seek them out. Peer Counselors are not professionally trained therapists or counselors. Knowing one’s limitations in a helping situation is repeatedly emphasized and reviewed with students. A significant amount of focus is placed on knowing when to refer a friend who may be at risk to a School Counselor.

Peer Counselors will learn about issues that students in our community face: teen depression, anxiety, bullying, academic/learning struggles, eating disorders, drug abuse, etc. We will read about and discuss these topics at our training sessions in an educational format. We also will be involved in creating acts of kindness to spread around our campus. Our theme this year is “Small Acts Change the World” and we will be exploring different ways to make that happen.

Roisin LeRoy

WHS Counselor,

Peer Counseling Moderator