Proverbs 11:14 says: “Where there is no counsel, people fall, but in the multitude of counsellors, there is safety.” In Proverbs 15:22, we also read: “Without counsel, plans fail, but with many advisers, they succeed.”
Peers are people of equal standing. At the same age or stage. Peers share same social status. Therefore, the collocation of ‘Peer’ and ‘Counselling’ means that it is a type of counselling occurring among peers. Ideally, counselling takes place when counsellors help clients to make decisions or solve problems while understanding facts and emotions involved. Counselling goes beyond guidance because it can occur at a sitting. Whereas counselling is an interactive process achieved through special kind of relationship between counsellor and client. Counsellors employ skills to help clients.
Peer Counsellors help other students to love learning. They champion for change of behaviour. Therefore, institutions should have strong departments in charge of Guidance and Counselling. Teacher-counsellors should devolve their roles by forming formidable teams of Peer Counsellors. Peer Counsellors should ascend to their roles with zeal and zest. Peer Counsellors should link other students to teacher-counsellors. They should act as real role models and mentors.
Peer Counsellors should understand three stages in Peer Counselling. Starting with initial stage, where the counsellor and client create rapport. Then, the counsellor strives to understand the problem by listening keenly to the client using certain core-conditions and competencies. The counsellor assists the client in setting goals. They work and walk together. This leads to action stage, geared towards change. The counsellor offers psycho-social-support to the client through exploration of new behaviour. There must be evaluation of effectiveness. If that works, counselling closes.
Peer Counsellors should educate peers on several issues such as useful study skills, healthy relationships, stress management, time management, mental health, wise use of media, career choices among others. It behooves Peer Counsellors to provide Psychological First Aid (PFA). They should create awareness on issues like drugs, early pregnancy, Covid-19 pandemic and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs). Then, schools should have notice boards where Peer Counsellors can paste educative writings, quotes and charts.
Peer Counsellors should understand group counselling. They should have conscientious understanding of group dynamics. The Complete Facilitator’s Handbook says more about group dynamics as forming, informing, storming, norming, performing, transforming and mourning. On Group Counselling, Peer Counsellors should know how to conduct student-centred class conferences, club gatherings, house meetings and school assemblies.
Peer Counsellors should know more about crisis counselling. They should know how to handle fellow students after a strike. Or those who have suffered sexual violence and disastrous occurrences like flash floods. They should attend to other students who have reported to school after suspension.
READ ALSO:
Concern raised over govt’s preparedness for Grade 9 in barely 6 months
Peer Counsellors should be God fearing, available, responsible, reliable, approachable, tactful, understanding, open-minded, assertive, creative and innovative. Above all, they should be people who are wise and not otherwise. Peer Counsellors must wield social skills such as politeness, gentleness, kindness, etiquette, altruism and compassion. For them to establish good rapport with other students, they should be people with pleasant personalities — a smile and appropriate tone of voice, are worth it all.
Effective Peer Counsellors focus on ethical issues and Basic Helping Skills. Geoffrey Wango and Elijah Mungai writes about it in their heroic book titled Counselling in the School: A handbook for Teachers. On ethics, they must be competent counsellors. In their dealings with other peers, they should practise high levels of confidentiality, beneficence, fidelity and fairness.
Counselling cannot occur when counsellors have paucity of useful skills – competencies needed in performing tasks. Counselling skills can be categorised into four namely listening, attending, probing and reflecting or responding skills.
Pertaining listening skills, Peer Counsellors try to understand the clients’ verbal and non-verbal messages. The ultimate goal is to listen beyond words. Counsellors who are skillful listeners have mastered the art of picking clients’ experiences, behaviours and emotions in moments of emotive or candid conversations.
Attending skills means being there for clients — giving them undivided attention. The counsellors must welcome the client, exchange pleasantries, and show some kindness through symbolic nourishment. The counsellor should attend to clients physically and psychologically by putting premium on the SOLER Technique — Sitting squarely, Open posture, Leaning towards the client, Eye contact and Relaxation.
In The Kenya Scouts Association Training Manual for Peer Educators, we read that counsellors should focus on the acronym GATHER. ‘G’ stands for Greet the client, for it is the best way to establish rapport. ‘A’ stands for Ask, this is how the counsellor secures sufficient information from the client. ‘T’ connotes tell, where the counsellor evinces competence by providing useful information. ‘H’ means Help, and here counsellor understands that the whole idea of counselling is to give the client all forms of support. ‘E’ reminds the counsellor to Explain stuff when need be and ‘R’ can mean return or Refer.
Finally, through proper structuring, the client can return for subsequent sessions. In case the client needs specialised information, the counsellor can refer him or her to a different expert. Peer Counsellors should refer students to teacher-counsellors in the school. Reflecting skills help counsellors to respond to clients. The aim is to help the client to fully open up and to clarify what the client has expressed through reflection of content or feelings. Reflection works in tandem with empathy, genuineness, Unconditional Positive Regard (UPR), re-stating, summarisation and re-phrasing. Probing skills encapsulates minimal prompts, questioning, confrontation, concreteness and self-disclosure. Other skills are silence, observation, symbolic nourishment and structuring.
Postscript: We train Peer Counsellors in schools. We have trained Peer Counsellors of Good Shepherd Minor Seminary, The Irene School, Hema High School-Chitago, Maralal High, St Augustine Nyamonye Girls’ High, Mbita High, Utumishi Boys’ Academy, Utumishi Girls’ Academy, Khasoko High, Alliance High, Kapsabet Girls’ High, Ngiya Girls’ High, Alliance Girls’ High, Mary Leakey Girls’ High, Moi Girls’ High School-Eldoret, Nyakach Girls’ High, Keveye Girls’ High, Kadika Girls’ High and Mwasere Girls’ High.
vochieng.90@gmail.com. 070442023
By Victor Ochieng’
You can also follow our social media pages on Twitter: Education News KE and Facebook: Education News Newspaper for timely updates.
>>> Click here to stay up-to-date with trending regional stories
>>> Click here to read more informed opinions on the country’s education landscape
