1. What does the role of Peer Support mean to you? My understanding of the Peer Supporter role is that it provides a less formal alternative to welfare provision within colleges. This is particularly helpful with the discussion of personal worries encountered by students, who may be unaware of services available to them and thus the correct route to go down. Peer Supporters can act as a first port of call and help direct people towards the appropriate help for issues raised within confidential and safe conversation. Examples of issues raised may include social, financial and academic worries, but also concerns relating to bereavement, disability, illness and sex/sexuality. By the nature of this training course, peer supporters are perhaps better placed to offer up potential solutions to a wide range of issues which they might otherwise not be able to assist with. 2. In what way would training for the role of peer supporter be beneficial to you? What I hope to gain from undertaking the role of a peer supporter is primarily a positive interaction with college staff and students outside of academic work. Additionally I want to develop my …show more content…
This requires that the peer supporter is a good, active, listener and is able to guide discussion towards potential solutions. They must also be aware of the need for confidentiality (unless college staff etc need to be contacted in which case the person in question should be notified in advance), especially given the position of peer supporters as friends and classmates to those who might seek out support or be discussed by others seeking support. Underlining confidentiality is vital for maintaining college camaraderie and to protect the privacy of all involved
One benefit of having strong social support is, as I mentioned before, having people there for you in tough situations, whatever it may be. The book talked about how elders who have a good social support system show “improved health status, increased moral and self-confidence, reduced depression and anxiety; reduced risk of disability and even death,” among other benefits listed. (Hooyman, Kawamoto, Kiyak. Aging Matters: An Introduction to Social Gerontology) Being able to reduce depression and anxiety just by having a strong support system is great because many
The National Cancer Institute articulates the importance of this support to a cancer patient, suggesting, “that having good information and support services can make it easier to cope,” adding, “friends and relatives can be very supportive,” and concluding with the usefulness of support groups (NCI website www.nci.nih.gov).... ... middle of paper ... ... York: Random House, 1991.
In 1990, Armsden, McCauley, Greenberg, Burke, and Mitchell published an article in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology called, “Parent and Peer Attachment in Early Adolescent Depression” (p. 683-697). Understanding the cause of parent-depressed child relations would help in a comprehensive theory of childhood depression. Also, examining social influences like peer relations for contributions to the risk of depressive disorder. “Attachment theory provides a valuable conceptual model for understanding the role parent-child relations play as a risk factor for depression” (p. 684). The purpose of this study was to examine self-reported parent and peer attachment in a sample of depressed adolescents and the relationship between attachment and
Seeking out social support: the person could seek advice or assistance. Seeking social support for emotional reasons for example sympathy or understanding would be a more emotional focussed coping
It also touches down on the personal gains, and potential risks that are associated with the helping career by explaining methods for controlling those risks by seeking counseling or talking to a supervisor. The explanations of whether or not a person is getting into the helping career for themselves or to help others is put together in a way that the reader can easily understand and reflect on. Personal accounts from Marianne Corey and Jerry Corey were helpful to the reader to be able to see some conflicts that others who were once in their shoes faced and how they persevered. From reading their accounts, I was able to come to the realization that in my future career, I need to explore the options that are available in the different fields of counseling. When I am in classes that I enjoy I need to make notes of what I enjoy about the subject and try to see what that field of work has to offer. The chapter is an excellent reference to what a good helper is, and how they take care of themselves as well as the people they are assisting. Overall, the first chapter was very helpful with the descriptions, examples and also job listings that are available to people pursuing a
During the past three years of college, my interest in counseling has been affirmed through a variety of experiences. One important experience that influenced my decision to pursue a career as a school counselor was my involvement in my community service sorority, Chi Delta Alpha. Through Chi Delta Alpha, I volunteered on several occasions, among them I babysat children to provide parents with a night off; I was responsible for a group of elementary students as they experienced college classes and I painted a caboose for a local playground. A theme that has remained constant throughout all my different experiences is that making a difference in a person’s life is a rewarding experience, and I know that I desire a career that enables me to support high school students as they face difficult situations.
One time, when I was around five, it was night time and I had a school project to turn in the next day, I approached my mother and told her that I needed help with my project. Of course I told her that I had to turn in the project the next day, and she proceeded to scold me for waiting until the last minute to do my work, but never the less she accepted to help me. If I had asked for help when I was five, I must have asked for help later in my life, because I’m sure I’ve needed help many times, and not only from my mother but from friends, teachers, peers, strangers, and family.
As human we progressed naturally as social beings, having a need to fit; just as we reach out by social networking on our computers, because we feel contented with, and apparently need this interaction. We as humans, we have complex behaviors, and recent studies have found more indication of our social needs in the outer structure of our brains called the “neocortex”. We are social beings and it allows people to intermingle and relate to others in an encouraging manner. A person's social health also impacts his ability to build friendships and form intimate relationships, and studies also show that positive social interactions can enhance a person's physical and mental health. One's social function not only limits whether a person has the
The counselling process is one that may last for as little as one session or for years, it is within the middles stages of the helping relationship that particular counselling skills such as a focusing, challenging and immediacy can be implemented, as well as use of advanced empathy that can be applied due to increased familiarity with a speaker. Many actions may occur within middles stage of the helping relationship such as transitions that occur for a multitude of reasons and the outcome of which can vary based on the attitude of the speaker. Self-awareness remains vital throughout the entire counselling relationship due to the continual influence of empathy in the helping relationship and remaining aware my own motives and values when using advanced empathy and specific counselling skills. Ethics and boundaries are also involved within the counselling process as within a counselling relationship, I as the counsellor, must be careful with the balance or expenditure of power when challenging.
Identify and discuss three feelings that might affect your ability, as a helper, to handle a conflict solution effectively.
Helping people, whether it is through difficult times or to just achieve a goal, is one of the most rewarding of human experiences. However, with it being so rewarding, there is significant difficulty behind successfully helping someone. Luckily there are people that specialize in helping such as peer counsellors. Although helping does come naturally for some, certain things can be learnt to make one a better helper.
Social support can be defined in a number of different ways, depending on the viewpoint of the individual. The general premise of the term social support, is defined as a network of people including friends, family and community members which provides interactions and communications, both verbal and non-verbal, that help support physically, physiologically and mentally (Kendall-Hunt, 2011).
A social support system is a network of family members, friends and different types of organizations a person belongs to. These social support systems can be tied to the individual based on the persons age, gender, relationships, number of years known and have close ties to the geographical proximity one lives in. These support networks provide emotional and instrumental support. Some of the benefits of these networks include emotional support which include a sense of belonging, increased feelings of self-worth and feelings of security. Some of these social support networks provide instrumental support which include provided financial assistance, provide goods or services or even provide information and guidance. Instrumental support helps
Occasionally, we have had to deal with watching our friends struggle. By the time we summon the courage to take action or offer help, it is often too late.