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Charter SELPA

Special Education Local Plan Area

Peer-to-Peer Support

What is Peer-to-Peer Support?

What is Peer-to-Peer Support?

Peer-to-Peer Support (or Peer Counseling, Peer Advocacy, Peer-to-Peer Mental Health Support) describes an evidence-based practice that serves as a tiered social-emotional and mental wellness intervention in schools. There are many different types of Peer-to-Peer programs that involve students engaging with each other in structured interactions designed to foster social-emotional development and enhance overall well-being. While peer advocates do not replace therapists or case managers, they provide acceptance, understanding, and validation often through shared lived experiences. This mutual support fosters connection and hope among students. These programs are non-clinical approaches where trained students support each other to create inclusive and positive school environments. Peer advocacy programs can benefit all students, and vary in format and intensity, offering a range of intervention models.

Core Components of an Effective Peer-to-Peer Program

  • Selection & Training of Peer Advocate students
    • How students are identified as eligible for participating as a Peer Advocate (i.e. applications, staff referral, experience or leadership, etc)
    • How Peer Advocates are trained to support their peers (i.e. curriculum-based learning in a class, club-based training exercises, staff mentorship, etc)
  • Supervision & Support from school staff
    • Defined roles of school counselors, psychologists, or other mental health professionals are established
  • Ethics & Safety
    • Ensure Peer Advocates maintain appropriate confidentiality of the peers they support
    • Peer Advocates require training on how to implement referrals to adult professionals when necessary
    • Established communication channels to parents and caregivers and defined process for when parental notification is appropriate
  • Inclusion & Accessibility
    • Ensure all students are supported when participating in this program, including consideration of the timing and format of the peer-to-peer interactions so it is accessible to all student participants
    • Consideration on the program including diverse representation

Examples of Peer-to-Peer Support Models

Examples of Service Options

  • Orientation/transition assistance:
    • help new and transfer students adjust to school through personal tours, one-on-one transition partnerships and class presentations.
  • Peer education:
    • Students develop and lead class presentations or school-wide activities on subjects that impact their peers. e., racism, bullying, substance use, social media, depression, etc
  • Conflict mediation/restorative practices:
    • students are trained in conflict resolution processes and then mediate the disputes involving other students, or betweens staff and students; students lead or co-lead Restorative Practices Circles.
  • Violence prevention:
    • students make presentations and lead group discussions on issues of violence- both verbal and physical- and why violence occurs and how it can be prevented or stopped.
  • EL(English Learners) discussion groups:
    • Students work in small, safe discussion groups with immigrant and refugee peers, helping them to learn about their new culture, practice English language skills and make connections with American or assimilated youth.
  • Peer connection:
    • students do outreach to the nearby middle and elementary schools for one-on-one or small group activities.
  • Support groups:
    • students lead or co-lead support groups on specific or general topics.
  • Peer counseling:
    • students help others through one-on-one contact to assist or refer when necessary. Counseling can take place in formalized, pre-arranged sessions, informally with friends, on a drop-in basis or through staff referrals. Students keep records of these sessions.
  • Tutoring:
    • students tutor their peers in academic subjects before, during, or after school, on a formalized, drop-in, or as-needed basis.
  • Brief intervention facilitators:
    • students facilitate Brief Intervention sessions- a hard reduction support program for youth wanting to address their substance use/abuse.

What Benefits Can a Peer-to-Peer Support Program Provide?

  • Provides students with access to support, personal connection, and well-informed resources
  • Recognizes that youth have lived experiences that provide insight on providing support that can be just as valuable as professional experiences
  • Creates a safe and healthy school culture that can reduce stigma around seeking mental health support or the experience of mental health challenges
  • Focuses on prevention of mental health crisis
  • Culturally responsive support
  • Mitigates mental health/wellness provider shortage
  • Increases access to mental health services from the LEA, introduces students to tiered mental health supports
  • Peer Advocates may be equipped with enhanced learning on social-emotional skills
  • Peer Advocacy classes create a workforce development opportunity- align with HCAI’s Wellness Coach Certificate
 
While Peer-to-Peer Support Programs vary in model and implementation, developing a strong framework requires a critical evaluation of how the program aligns with key principles to ensure that the peer relationships are supportive, empowering, and sustainable.
 
 

Building a Peer-to-Peer Support Program Considerations

What steps should be taken before implementing a program?
 
School leadership and administration buy-in for the program will be essential. Consider including the evidence-base and information about the potential to alleviate staff shortages in the proposal to establish a Peer-to-Peer program.
Involve the community, particularly the youth and students, in providing input on the idea to start a Peer-to-Peer program. Consider use of the Youth-Led Innovation Toolkit (linked below) to ensure student voice is centered in the development of a Peer-to-Peer program.
 
Take inventory of available resources, including staff supervision availability, facilities and technology that may be needed, recruitment opportunities, and funding options (ideas linked below).
 
Determine how your proposed Peer-to-Peer program will fit into your tiered mental health supports (i.e. Peer-led education on risks of tobacco use likely would fit into Tier 1, whereas a program for Peer-to-Peer individual counseling may be in Tier 2).
 
Develop a plan for data collection on the effectiveness of the program. This will include targeting goals specific to the program and establishing a baseline for measures that can be monitored for progress toward the goals. Ensure that the data collection will not violate any confidentiality agreements or rules. For example, consider planning out for anonymous surveys or carefully designed empathy interviews as well as tracking data on the other existing mental health services and referrals.
 
What communication channels should be established for this program?
 
The Peer-to-Peer Advocacy program will have different communication channels based on the model of your program. Your team should consider the following:
 
Between Peers–
How and when will the student group of peer advocates connect, and what opportunities are there for them to meet?
 
Between peers and staff at school–
Determine the cadence of peer advocates meeting with adult staff supervisor(s). Establish if and when participating students will meet with the staff supervisor. Outline what may trigger the need for adult staff involvement and how is that communicated to students.
 
Between staff at school and parents–
What will communication look like from school to home? Outline what circumstances will require parental notification and ensure both trained peer advocates and participants in the program are aware of what information will be shared with parents and staff.
 
What qualifications or skills should student peer advocate leaders have?
 
LEAs will create their own criteria for involvement in their Peer Advocacy program and it should be aligned to their specific goals and model for the program. In general, it is suggested that the student leaders involved be prepared with skills such as:
 
  • Communication skills such as empathetic listening and paraphrasing
  • Organizational and time-keeping skills
  • Stress management and emotional regulation tools
  • Social engagement
  • Self-confidence and self-efficacy
  • Relationship building, social awareness, and respect for others
  • Ability to identify emotions and recognize strengths
  • Goal-setting structures and guidance
 
 
How are student advocates supervised in the Peer Advocacy program?
 
  • This can be done via an elective class format (EDCOE is working to get their Peer Advocate class A-G approved) with a lot of curriculum the advocates engage with on how to self-monitor their management of the counseling they are doing, as well as heavy curriculum on communication skills.
  • Peer advocates are also highly trained on confidentiality
    • Some programs have advocates sign a confidentiality clause and/or a code of ethics to help implement a shared understanding of their duty to inform of certain things
    • While peer advocates are not mandated reporters, they would likely engage in similar training in order to be prepared to distinguish what should be shared with adults
  • Recommend at least weekly supervision with the staff/coordinator of the Peer Advocates program

Funding Opportunities

Schools seeking to implement a Peer-to-Peer program may need to secure funding to support key program components, such as curriculum development, staff supervision, training materials, and other resources. Below is a non-exhaustive list of grants and funding opportunities that can help schools establish and sustain Peer-to-Peer programs.

Resources, Available Training Programs, and Related Links

Learn More
 
Charter SELPA Resilient Roots Podcast: Episode 4 Developing Peer Advocacy Programs with Tim Hooey and Hilary Roberts
 
El Dorado Charter SELPA program specialist Austen Coles and program coordinator Sean Andrew interview Tim Hooey from the El Dorado County Office of Education and Hilary Roberts from Peer Advocates. Hilary shares more about peer advocacy programs, why they work, and how they can improve outcomes for all students. Tim shares success stories from several different peer programs he has initiated in El Dorado County schools, as well as practical tips for establishing, funding, and growing peer programs in diverse school settings.
 
 
Available Training & Manualized Programs