3. Use of peer counseling is higher among Black students (39 percent), Transgender students (39 percent), and first-generation students (29 percent), who are particularly likely to say it is “very important” to find a peer counselor with similar identities.
4. Students are very satisfied with peer counseling. Nearly 60 percent of students who have used the service characterize it has helpful, and 82 percent of students who have peer counseling at their school say it is “able to serve students of various backgrounds and identities.”
5. Students are more likely to turn to a peer if they’re facing a serious mental health issue–36 percent indicated they’d do so before turning to others, such as a parent or a member of campus staff. But a majority of surveyed students say they believe their problems can become a burden to their friends.
6. Students who provide peer mental health counseling say that helping others is their main motivation (45 percent).
7. Peer counselors participating in the survey report a higher sense of well-being.
8. Peer counseling training is common (93 percent) but is not universal. Sixteen percent of peer mental health counselors say they are not aware of an emergency protocol if they are worried for a student’s safety.
“Curiosity about the benefits and risks associated with peer counseling for college students is particularly high as schools grapple with a campus mental health crisis marked by high demand and a lack of sufficient resources. This dynamic, made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic, has administrators and practitioners recognizing the need to find alternative sources of support for their students, but they do so with caution and a desire for more information on which to create or sanction programs that work for students and institutions alike,” according to the report.
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