Presentation Abstract
Student's Name: Mattie Fitzpatrick '24
Co-registrant Names: Aino Martikainen
Type of Presentation: Poster
Presentation Title: "Why peer counseling should be a program everywhere"
Abstract:
Franklin Pierce University is among the first campus in the State of NH to offer peer counseling as an internship. This program allows trained students to meet with other students who choose to meet with a peer rather than one of the licensed counselors on campus. Peer counseling differs from traditional therapy as it allows the peer counselors to provide support and insight on topics they may have also experienced when transitioning to college or while enrolled. Students have found peer counseling beneficial because of the lived experience the peer counselor appropriately discloses as it presents within the interaction. It provides fresh insight from a peer (or equal) standpoint, and is often more relatable because of that. College is a time of change and people finding themselves which can be overwhelming, which is emphasized and normalized through peer counseling. The peer counseling internship also allows aspiring counselors, social workers and psychologists the exposure to 1:1 interactions, group interactions and educational programming opportunities within a helping setting. Due to this, the interns enter into graduate and doctoral programs with lived experience of their own not commonly seen in undergraduate programs.
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