Peer Counselors Give Support to Distressed Students

For most students, college is a time marked by emotional turmoil and an abundance of opportunities without much guidance. Therefore, support is vital for students exploring the highs and lows of college life.

Some students may be able to find comfort and direction from family at home, the newly acquired circle of friends down the hall or a resident assistant willing to listen. There is one group on campus entirely devoted to giving support to those in distress, especially to students who may not feel comfortable talking to friends or family.

Student to Student Peer Counseling is an ASUC-sponsored group that is trained to listen to and help UC Berkeley students with issues ranging from school-related stress to the pangs of unrequited love.

"Students can come in with anything," says program coordinator Robert Peake. "School and relationships are the two biggest ones. But there are also people who come in with issues like sexuality, transitioning into Cal, uncertainties about the future, depression and feelings of being out of control."

Despite what it may sound like, this program is not a service that is able to conveniently solve the problems of the client.

Rather, counselors are trained to listen and refer students to more specialized help offered by local groups and support agencies. The program is also designed to empower the clients and enable them to solve their own problems.

"We're more about helping people identify their options," says peer counselor Caetlin Benson-Allott.

Therefore, a three-session limit is enforced so that students do not come to depend on the counselors for answers, but instead learn to find support from other sources and, ultimately, the solutions to their own problems.

"The limit is to ensure that we're here as a resource and not as a crutch," Peake says.

Peer counseling training includes an intensive weekend dedicated to familiarizing counselors with the program and its mission. There are also weekly staff meetings where counselors are required to get into small groups and practice situations so they can appropriately handle specific cases.

"(In the meetings) we take any issue and train for it so that we have more understanding," Peake says. "But with every situation, we always refer them to another source. We make initial contact, but from there on, we have a three-session limit to help them solve their own problems."

Clients are referred to a variety of services, including the Tang Center and the Alameda Crisis Center, which is open 24 hours a day.

"We always encourage clients dealing with suicide, rape and eating disorders to use our referrals because those cases require long periods of counseling," says Benson-Allott.

Because they are unable to fully understand everything going on in the lives of their clients, counselors are not permitted to offer personal advice to them. And, true to their mission, they want clients to feel like they have complete control over their situation.

Students can get academic credit for their work with the program, but the real reward, according to the counselors, is the experience.

"The most valuable thing for me is sitting across from someone and really being able to listen to and relate to them," Peake says. "It feels like counseling for myself as well. And in the end, having them say, ‘Thanks, I really needed to tell someone that,' means a lot to me."

However, Peake believes that the success of the group cannot be measured in numbers or in what actually happens after the referrals are suggested. Success, he believes, depends on spreading the word on campus that a group is there to listen.

"That, to me, is the success of the group," he says.

According to that definition, the group has achieved greater success this year because the program has recently grown in popularity among students due to word-of-mouth.

Indeed, many UC Berkeley students have heard of the program and are interested in taking advantage of the support.

"I've heard about the program from some friends," says freshman Tien Huyen. "I might drop in or something because I'm kind of going through a rough time right now, with midterms and the general crap in life."

All of the services offered by the group are completely confidential and free and are available Mondays through Fridays in Eshleman Hall. There are a total of 16 counselors this semester, but there have been more than 20 in past years.

Of the current counselors, 13 are veterans who have served for at least one semester, and each has his or her own office hours during the week.

New counselors are selected every semester and are trained extensively to help those who need an ear to talk to or a shoulder to cry on. New counselors generally wait until they feel ready to handle clients before they start counseling.

Whether students need the support now or later, it is comforting for them to know that they will not be alone during hard times.

"Life can really suck. But I'm comforted by the fact that I can cry about it to someone and not feel alone," says Huyen.

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