FROSTBURG - Mountain Ridge High School recently hosted the Allegany County Public School System’s annual Peer Helper Training Program June 15-18.
Educational training consultant and former Vice President of Continuing Education and Community Services at Allegany College of Maryland Gary Durr has been delivering this program for 16 years in an effort to teach participating students theory and application of helping skills.
Current school board president, Jane Dawson, was the original founder of the Peer Helper Training Program. It has since been taken over by Lorelee Farrell, assistant supervisor of health and family life for the public school system.
Each year these four-day summer sessions bring students, counselors, and teachers together as they work towards building the necessary skills to help others in their respective schools. According to Farrell, “The participating students are trained in listening skills that will help them become peer counselors in their schools.”
The training program consists of five modules which focus on topics including the perspective on helping; the people involved in the helping process; the process of helping; the potential of helping; and personal helping resources.
By the end of the program, students should be able to define and describe the definitions, directions, and difficulties of helping others; describe the relationship, realities and responses of people involved in a helping relationship; demonstrate the helping skills of attending, reflecting, summarizing and problem solving; list potential benefits of the helping process for both the helpee and the helper; and identify personal resource tools for the peer helper in their schools.
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FROSTBURG - Mountain Ridge High School recently hosted the Allegany County Public School System’s annual Peer Helper Training Program June 15-18.
Educational training consultant and former Vice President of Continuing Education and Community Services at Allegany College of Maryland Gary Durr has been delivering this program for 16 years in an effort to teach participating students theory and application of helping skills.
Current school board president, Jane Dawson, was the original founder of the Peer Helper Training Program. It has since been taken over by Lorelee Farrell, assistant supervisor of health and family life for the public school system.
Each year these four-day summer sessions bring students, counselors, and teachers together as they work towards building the necessary skills to help others in their respective schools. According to Farrell, “The participating students are trained in listening skills that will help them become peer counselors in their schools.”
The training program consists of five modules which focus on topics including the perspective on helping; the people involved in the helping process; the process of helping; the potential of helping; and personal helping resources.
By the end of the program, students should be able to define and describe the definitions, directions, and difficulties of helping others; describe the relationship, realities and responses of people involved in a helping relationship; demonstrate the helping skills of attending, reflecting, summarizing and problem solving; list potential benefits of the helping process for both the helpee and the helper; and identify personal resource tools for the peer helper in their schools.
