Peer counsellor utilisation in South African tertiary education institutions

M.A.The purpose of this study is to gather information about the prevalence and use of peer helping programmes in tertiary institutions in South Africa. A survey instrument will be developed to gather information about the prevalence of peer helping programmes, the model of training used to prepare peer helpers, the roles that the peer helpers are supposed to fulfil, the nature of the supervision provided, the kind of remuneration (if any) and the acceptability of the programme on campus. It is necessary to do such a study because of the shortage of professional counsellors at higher education institutions. The diverse student population with a variety of needs, makes it imperative for the existing counsellors to train students as lay counsellors. Research has indicated that the peer help programme has been successful in helping young people deal with alcohol and drugs (Yaccarino, 1995; Black & Tobler, 1998) and suicide (Lewis & Lewis, 1996). It has also been used in conflict management through peer mediation (Lupton-Smith et al., 1996) and has historically been helpful in academic assistance (Foster, 1992). There are numerous advantages to this programme and its use at institutions of higher learning will not only benefit the peer helpers themselves (Letsebe, 1988; Carr, 1987), but also the general student population (Myrick & Ernay, 1985; Cowie & Sharp, 1996)