Peer Helping Programs: Helper Role, Supervisor Training, and Suicidal Behavior

A survey of school counselling association members concerning peer helper programs provided information on the nature & prevalence of programs within Washington State. Descriptive analyses indicate that peer helper-counselling programs are widely used & that they are often supervised by noncounselling professionals. Furthermore, the analysis revealed significantly greater numbers of completed suicides at those schools where programs are supervised by noncounselling professionals. (44 refs.)