Blog 6 (Chp. 8)

I found chapter 8 on "Counseling" to be very informative and a good read this week. One of the sections that jumped out at me was the one on Peer Facilitators (p. 135 in Dollarhide & Saginak). While I don't know much about this topic formally, it just makes sense to me and the beauty of it is that both parties have the potential to grow and learn from the experience. I am all about win-win situations! I am enjoying watching my two daughters (ages 7 & 10) work together. My 10 year old, Sydney, delights in teaching her sister, Emma, new concepts. Just the other day in the car Sydney was explaining to Emma the concept of rounding numbers in order to perform estimates. At first Emma didn't get it. Sydney was very calm and explained it again. This time Emma got it! Sydney was so pleased with Emma and Emma was loving the positive attention from her big sister. I actually kept my mouth shut during the process (not always easy for me to do!) and just gave praise to Sydney for her teaching style and Emma for ability to figure it out. They both left the situation feeling good about themselves and empowered by the exchange. I think about this simple explanation and wonder how many incredible learning experiences could come from peer facilitators.

I wasn't familiar with PAL (Peer Assistance Leadership) so I looked it up. Here it is in a nutshell:


I am unfamiliar with PAL®. What are the benefits of PAL® to my students and community?

The PAL® Peer Assistance and Leadership curriculum recognizes the potential of youth as a resource and catalyst for change in other troubled youth. They provide a critical first line of defense in building resiliency among peers. The PAL® peer helping program philosophy identifies an innate capacity for social understanding, personal well-being, and community participation within every person. When participating in positive, productive pursuits with peers, youth can more easily resist negative influences, such as illegal use of addictive substances, excessive school absences and unlawful activities. The goals of PAL® Peer Assistance and Leadership are to build peer helping programs throughout Texas by providing training, networking opportunities, and technical assistance to create exemplary PAL® programs; most importantly PAL® replicates a proven model of peer helping.

The PAL® Program is:

• an opportunity for positive role models to develop closeness and trusting personal relationships with other students (often younger)
• a caring, sharing, and listening experience for both giver and receiver
• a helping hand of regular school counseling services
• something which can address academic as well as other concerns
• a way for students to develop a greater sense of ownership and responsibility in their school community
• a tool for preparing students for what lies ahead in school, particularly in the transition between grade levels or buildings
• an alternative way of reaching students and utilizing student resources
• a program in which the students themselves play an important role
• an opportunity to improve self image and develop more responsible decision-making among participants
• a path to help students recognize and solve their own problems
• a chance to have a positive impact on the overall school climate

 I will most definitely look into this program or a similar one when I am a school counselor. I also appreciated the section on Group Counseling. I like group counseling for many of the reasons stated here. Unfortunately, I have never really been a member of a group counseling experience but I think I should look for one as it could be helpful to me on so many levels. I have also thought I should take advantage of the free counseling here at MU while I am a student. I figure there is always "stuff" to talk about and I would love to observe the counselor at work. I just think maybe a group setting would be better for that as it might prove difficult to be observing and be present enough in a 1 to 1 setting.



Dollarhide, C. T. & Saginak, K.A. (2012). Comprehensive school counseling programs. (2nd ed.). New York: Pearson, Inc.