Peer counseling
Peer counseling involves the exchange of knowledge and experiences among individuals who have similar experiences, offering emotional and practical support. It is conducted by a trained professional who has gone through their own recovery journey and utilizes their experiences as a significant part of the counseling process.
A peer counselor provides support and assistance if you are currently experiencing or have experienced a crisis, trauma, significant life event, or have received a life-altering diagnosis, and you wish to speak with someone who has gone through a similar experience. The peer counselor helps cope on both emotional and practical levels.
Studies have shown that involving a peer counselor in the recovery process from an illness is effective and provides value that may not be offered by professional counseling alone. For example, it provides social support, experiential knowledge, and information specific to the illness or experience, and offers opportunities for social learning and comparison. Often, individuals derive significant support from knowing they are not alone, that someone else has gone through the same experience, and understands them.
Peer counseling vs other methods
How it works?
You can meet with an experience counselor both formally and informally. Depending on the counselor’s flexibility and the client’s preference, sessions can take place in a specific private space or outdoors, as well as via video or phone.
Depending on the nature of the issue and the stage of the process, collaboration with an experience counselor can be short-term or long-term. Short-term (1-3 sessions) may include consultation, sharing stories, and acute crisis intervention. A longer process (3+ sessions) is necessary for long-term emotional, informational, and practical support to emerge from crisis and promote coping.
The duration of each session is typically 45-60 minutes.
The following video provides a good overview of the nature of experiential counseling.
Useful information about experiential counseling
How to find a suitable experiential counselor?
On the Rikardia platform, you can find counselors whose experience covers topics related to both physical ailments and mental or practical concerns, such as stress, burnout, or issues related to self-esteem. If you don’t find a counselor who specializes exactly in your specific topic, you can initially connect with another experiential counselor. All experiential counselors are familiar with crisis counseling principles and have received training to provide general support and encouragement on any topic. They can also help you find a counselor who has similar experiences to yours.
Experiential counseling is a great starting point if you’re unsure about what type of support to seek on your journey to recovery.
Peer counseling in Estonia has been an officially recognized method since 2014.
The beginning of peer support or experiential counseling can be traced back to the 18th century when Jean Babtiste Pussin, the head of the Bicêtre Hospital in Paris, started employing former patients to work in the hospital. The chief physician of the hospital at the time approved of this decision because the former patients showed great empathy towards current patients. Systematic differentiation of experiential counseling in its modern sense began in the 1930s.
