Facilitating vs. Counseling Peer-to-Peer Helpers

Learning Outcome Residence Life Staff will see themselves as Peer to Peer Helpers who want to learn new skills and practice new techniques that will shape them into more effective facilitators for helping residents solve their own problems.

Peer-to-Peer Helper Your residents perceive you as a resource and ally and . . . You listen to and advise students on a daily basis and yet. . . You are not a trained counselor

You are a Peer-to-Peer Helper Listen Help students come to their own decisions Provide information about campus resources Facilitate problem solving

Facilitating Model Pre-Facilitating Listening Problem Identification and Analysis Resolution Follow-Up Referral

Listening Tools Open-ended questions: Avoiding “why” Reflective listening: Strategic repeating and reflecting Summarizing: Break the problem down Importance and confidence rulers: Self-appraisal Affirming: Supporting their initiative

Some Tips Prepare your environment when possible Pay attention to body language Never assume that you know more than the student Limit the sharing of personal experience Understand the limits of your position Ask the student to recall times in the past where they have solved a problem or succeeded Affirm their ability to make decisions You are not an expert Saying “no” is okay Residents need to make decisions for themselves You have to take care of yourself before you can help others

One Final Review! Do you see yourself as a Peer to Peer Helper who wants to learn new skills and practice new techniques that will shape you into more effective facilitators for helping residents solve their own problems?