Peer Programs: An In-Depth Look at Peer Programs - Planning, Implementation, and Administration » (2nd Edition)

The Peer Power Program is a peer training program designed for middle, high school, and higher education students, focusing on 8 core skills: Attending, Empathizing, Summarizing, Questioning, Genuineness, Assertiveness, Confrontation, and Problem Solving. Through a series of exercises, games, and self-awareness techniques, youth and adults involved in the program can gain the basic communication and mediation skills necessary to effectively help their peers.

An overview of peer helping, Peer Programs explains the value of and techniques for helping non-professionals learn to help others one-on-one, in small groups and in groups of classroom size. Intended to be of use to those responsible for planning, implementing and/or administering peer programs, this text should also convince those who are not directly involved that peer helping is a worthwhile undertaking - reducing drug and alcohol abuse, dropouts, violence and conflict, HIV and AIDS, pregnancy, stress and negative peer pressure. New features of this edition include:

• updated rationale for peer programs


• updated highlights from current evaluation


• added professionalism- CPPE. Certified Program, Programmatic Standards, Rubric and others


• CD of forms to customize for all phases of the Peer Program


• step-by-step guide of new and current programs

This book is an indispensable guide for learning important aspects of training peer helpers and as a resource book for a wide range of professional peer helpers, such as: administrators; managers; teachers; counselors; ministers; religious educators; social workers; psychologists; human resource personnel and others in the helping professions.

List of Figures

List of Forms

Ch. 1 An Open Letter to the Peer Program Professional 1

Ch. 2 Peer Helping and Its Components 7

Ch. 3 Why Peer Programs Now? A Case for Peer Power! 19

Ch. 4 The Future of Helping 47

Ch. 5 Highlights of the Peer Resource Literature 61

Ch. 6 Development of the Peer Program Professional 85

Ch. 7 Steps to a Successful Peer Program 115

Ch. 8 Training Model and Procedures 159

Ch. 9 Utilization of Peer Resources and Advanced Training 169

Ch. 10 Evaluation of the Program 189

Ch. 11 Building a Team 213

Ch. 12 Programmatic Standards and Codes of Ethics 223

References 263

Appendix 279

Authors 309

Author Index 315

Subject Index 321

Introduction to the Materials on the Computer Disk 329