Tag Archives: adolescence

Students in a Supporting Role

Posted by: Mike Peirce on May 11, 2015 1:03 pm

A number of years ago I conducted a student health and lifestyle survey in my school to consider the effectiveness of our student support resources. What we discovered won’t surprise many but it was still an eye opener. In spite of having access to trained counsellors, health professionals and supportive teachers, our students turned to their peers first when they faced the struggles of adolescence. Thus began my journey in the world of peer support programs. Some may call them peer counsellors, peer mentors or peer advocates but by any name, they added a tremendous resource to our school’s student support structure. They now serve as primary referral agents for our student services. Without trying to be dramatic, I can honestly say they have saved lives.

peersThere are several core components to having a successful peer program in a school setting. The adult facilitators in a school setting need training in order to support an effective training program for students. The administration, faculty and staff at a school need to be educated about the role these students will play. Students are not primary caregivers but receive training to support their peers as they struggle with adolescent issues while understanding when a peer might need a greater level of support. At this stage, they refer on to an appropriate resource.

Student training typically revolves around several fundamental skills, listening being the key focus, followed by questioning, decision-making and values. In my school, students applied for the role and are trained year long. Other than our start-up year, returning peer counsellors select the next group to be trained based on an application, essay and interview. The outcome of the selection process ensures that successful applicants broadly represent the diversity of the school population. For the training, other than the first and last sessions, returning peer counsellors run the sessions with the adult facilitators serving in a supportive role. Students study the importance and meaning of confidentiality and develop a code of ethics for the group. During my more than 20 years in peer programs, I have found the students to take this responsibility extremely seriously and have gone to great lengths to maintain this as the trust other students put on them is dependent on their performance.

There is a great deal of research showing the effectiveness of peer networks in schools and other communities. The Peer Resources Network (www.peer.ca) has been an invaluable tool for me over the years providing training, manuals, research findings, and professional development opportunities for peer trainers. In an age where bullying, mental health issues and social media have all made supporting students more and more complicated, students helping students can be a very effective strategy for any counselling department to consider. The system established in my school has now run for more than 20 years and continues to be a critical part of our student support initiatives.




*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Encouraging and Empowering Girls

Posted by: Asa Don Brown on July 13, 2012 10:04 am

Empowering females sounds as though we are dismissing or ignoring males, but the truth is, both  genders desperately need to be equally empowered.  Therefore, while the intent of this article is to address female concerns and issues, the heart of the article should be applied to all of the human race.  

STEREOTYPES AND MISPERCEPTIONS
For far too long, the female gender has been plagued with stereotypes, typecasting, as well as, subtle and blatant discrimination.   There has been a long history of discrimination reigning down from religious orders, politics halls, and employment opportunities.  While blatant discrimination has become against the law in many countries; it is the subtle form of discrimination that we often overlook.   The discrimination in the female gender begins at a very young age.  “You shouldn’t buy Jill a Hot Wheel, rather buy her a Barbie Doll or a Littlest Pet Shop.” “Now Amy, let your brother carry in the groceries, for he’s a boy.”  “Amanda, let’s go shopping while the boys work on the vehicles.” “Tommy, you should let your sister wash the dishes, while you mow the lawn.” Now of course, not all of the above statements apply to all children, however, there remains a general outlook on specific roles that boys and girls should partake.�
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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Children, Youth, and Tobacco

Posted by: Asa Don Brown on June 26, 2012 9:13 am

“The health effects of cigarette smoking have been the subject of intensive investigation since the 1950s.  Cigarette smoking is still considered the chief preventable cause of premature disease and death…” (NLM, 2012, Online) The relationship of smoking and mental health disorders had long been overlooked and underestimated.  The primary reason for the underestimation, is that those who were addicted to cigarettes, as well as having a mental health disorder were often within the norm of society. 

Tobacco has a significant effect upon one’s emotional and cognitive wellbeing.  Have you ever witnessed someone who is desperate to have a smoke? They are often agitated, anxious, jittery, and in some form of emotional distress.  Tobacco’s primary stimulate is nicotine which is linked to being the catalyst for its addictive nature. Nicotine is said to be more addictive than cocaine, methamphetamine or alcohol.  

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Preventing and Managing School Violence

Posted by: Asa Don Brown on June 6, 2012 10:49 am

Children are barometers of the chaos that exists within their lives.  If a child’s internal and external lives are proving emotionally gregarious, then life can prove personally limitless.  However, if life is proving egregious in nature, then all forms of life may feel personally bleak and without personal merit. 

WHAT IS THE CAUSATION OF SCHOOL VIOLENCE?

Children who act out violently are frequently displaying signs of desperation. Desperation may be fueled by a child feeling excluded, judged, disrespected, disapproved, disavowed, or unloved.

Acts of school violence have left many with feelings of frustration, indifference, and a feeling that schools utterly are incompetent.  The reality is, school administrators, teachers, parents, and students themselves are feeling hopeless and desperate to bring normalcy to the academic process.   

ANGER

Anger is most commonly the root cause of school violence.   What is anger?  Anger is a strong emotional response to a situation, event, circumstance, or person.  It is this displeasure with life at school, in their home, or globally.

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

The Effects of Trauma on Children and Adolescents

Posted by: Asa Don Brown on May 23, 2012 4:40 pm

And finally I twist my heart round again, so that the bad is on the outside and the good is on the inside, and keep on trying to find a way of becoming what I would so like to be, and could be, if there weren’t any other people living in the world. 

                                                                                                       ~ Anne Frank

Traumatic experiences incurred in early childhood can have an egregious effect upon the human condition including: the psychological, physiological, neurological, emotional, social, and academic readiness and preparedness for life. 

One of the greatest challenges posed to professionals is that,  “childhoood trauma does not come in one single package.” (Brown, 2008, p. 5) Therefore, making the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis is the Achilles heel of the therapeutic process. 

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA