TRAINING OLDER ADULTS AS PEER COUNSELORS

Abstract

A program of peer counselor training was conducted to evaluate the acquisition of counseling skills by older volunteers. Modeled on similar programs developed for younger paraprofessionals, the course emphasized the learning of three core therapeutic conditions: empathy, warmth, and genuineness; it also contained information on the aging process to reduce stereotypic thinking. The results indicated that the trained groups changed significantly compared to controls on two of the three core dimensions, empathy and warmth, and had scores on all three scales above the minimum necessary for effective counseling. These findings suggest the potential for older persons to provide supportive, peer‐counseling services.