Senior Peer Counseling Programs

Senior Peer Counseling Programs offer mental health care solutions especially suited to the mental health needs of the elderly. Older people sometimes feel more comfortable talking with another older person rather than going to a therapist. There is a greater likelihood that seniors will feel distrustful of professionals, or consider it a stigma to go for counseling. Other emotional barriers may include:

• Reluctance to acknowledge mental health needs
• Fear of not being understood
• Feeling intimidated by a mental health setting

Older persons may be isolated because they haven’t convenient access to a means of transportation, or physical disability may limit their mobility. Often, therapy fees are very expensive. Many older persons must make ends meet on a modest fixed income and financial limitations present an overwhelming obstacle to seeking and obtaining mental health care. Senior Peer Counseling programs can provide services to isolated senior citizens in their homes and decrease social seclusion. By helping to maintain the independent functioning of clients and increasing the level of psychosocial support, the peer counselor may be instumental in preventing premature institutionalization.

Peer counselors are older volunteers, carefully selected from a pool of participants, who can relate to the client as a contemporary. They are trained in empathetic and listening skills and non-judgemental communication. They work one-on-one with their clients, helping them put the special challenges of growing older into a manageable perspective. Through the peer counseling program, both the counselor and client are empowered to become more connected to community resources.

Before counselors and clients begin working together, peer counselors receive several weeks of training under the supervision of professional mental health care workers in topics such as:

• Physiology of Ageing

• Psychology of Ageing

• Healthy Lifestyle Factors

• Myths and Stereotypes

• Expectations

• Confidentiality

• Communication Skills

• Responsive Counseling

• Establishing Client Goals

• Family Relationships

• Depression

• Suicide

• Loneliness

• Elder Abuse — Recognizing Warning Signs

• Loss and Grief, Stages in the Grieving Process

• Stress Management and Reduction

• Identifying Community Support Services

• Peer Counseling was started in response to the needs of older persons facing the loss of loved ones, loneliness, failing health, changes in living arrangements, family problems or difficult decisions. The program can be used in tandem with, or as an alternative to (under guided supervision) professional counseling. Individuals are matched with volunteers who have had similiar life experiences.

• Peer counselors are chosen for their communication abilities and for their life experience and practical wisdom. They are male and female volunteers over the age of 50.

• Counseling sessions are typically held weekly and last for an hour. The client’s participation in the program may continue for just a few sessions or go on for a year, depending upon specific needs. Meetings can take place at the client’s home, in a nursing home, over the phone, or at a pre-arranged, mutually convenient place.

• Each peer counselor regularly reviews his or her clients’ progress with a specifically assigned professional counselor or social worker, who is available to speak directly with the client upon request. Peer counselors are ethically bound to practice strict confidentiality.

• There is no charge for peer counseling. However, contributions are encouraged and welcomed in accordance with the client’s ability to donate.

Older persons who work as volunteer counselors in the Senior Peer Program receive personal benefits such as:

• Participating in training
• Providing help to others
• Knowing they’ve made a contribution to their community.

The peer counselor and client relationship is one of equanimity, trust, warmth and rapport. Through this program, the client finds there is someone who really does understand, and can provide help.

Peer Counseling Programs are being conducted at various sites throughout the United States, among them the Mental Health Association of Illinois Valley and the North Shore Senior Center in Northfield Illinois. The basic program, coordinated and supervised by trained mental health care professionals, can be tailored to fit the needs of each community. It has spread to selected urban and rural sites in Canada and Denmark, and encompasses various educational, economic, religious and cultural backgrounds. (The original project was named an official “Point of Light” under U.S. President George Bush.)

For more information on Peer Counseling Programs, please contact: Ms. Marilyn Vocker, North Shore Senior Center, 7 Happ Road, Northfield, IL 60093 USA tel: (708) 446-8751.