SELECTION, VOLUNTEERING, & TRAINING

Do you want to:

• help people?
• contribute to the campus community?
• gain counseling experience and internship credit?

Then come find out more about being a peer counselor at The House!

Informational Meetings

The House offers volunteer informational meetings each Winter quarter. These meetings are facilitated by peer counselors who outline what training and volunteering entails. They discuss time commitments and share their perspectives on their volunteer experience at The House. Interested students are also given the opportunity to ask questions and sign up for applications. For additional Informational Meeting information, call (530) 752-2790.

Please attend one of the following Informational Meetings:

• Monday - January 12, 2009, 2-3pm (Garrison Room, MU)
• Tuesday - January 13, 2009, 12-1pm (Garrison Room, MU)
• Wednesday - January 14, 2009, 7-8pm (Garrison Room, MU)
• Thursday - January 15, 2009, 3-4pm (Garrison Room, MU)
• Friday - January 16, 2009, 1-2pm (Garrison Room, MU)
• Tuesday - January 20, 2009, 1-2pm (Garrison Room, MU)
• Wednesday - January 21, 2009, 12-1pm (Garrison Room, MU)
• Thursday - January 22, 2009, 3-4pm (Garrison Room, MU)
• Friday - January 23, 2009, 1-2pm (Garrison Room, MU)

Requirements:

Commitment to train in Spring Quarter 2009 and have at least one full remaining year at UC Davis. All majors are welcomed and no previous counseling experience is necessary! Applications are due Friday, January 23, 2009 by 5:00pm at The House, TB-16. It's an amazing experience and if you have any questions, feel free to bring them up during the informational meeting.

Selection

Each quarter, The House advertises for student volunteers who are willing to contract to a four (consecutive) quarter commitment to The House. The first quarter is spent in training and the remaining three quarters are dedicated to applying the skills acquired in training to peer counseling and program presentation responsibilities.

Selection of volunteers is based on a person's genuine interest in and ability to help others.

Applications for student volunteers are accepted by The House during the first weeks of Winter quarter. Applicants must be registered UCD students, must have completed a minimum of one quarter at Davis, and must have a minimum GPA of 2.0.

Training

The House's core training program emphasizes the development of basic communication and counseling skills, crisis intervention techniques, knowledge of campus and community referral resources and personal growth. Additionally, training addresses program development and program presentation skills. To become a House peer, students are required to successfully complete this training.

Core training lasts for a quarter and requires that students participate in three separate training groups. The training class is lecture oriented with skills development and is facilitated by CAPS' staff. It covers active listening skills, basic counseling and program presentation skills. The second training component is called “Issues Training”. This component of training is designed to help peer counselors learn about a variety of mental health related topics. A different topic is tackled each week, including sexual assault, grief and loss, and suicide and depression. The third group is called “small group” and emphasizes The House policies and procedures, role-play practice and feedback, and group discussion. “Issues” group and “small” groups are facilitated by CAPS' staff and trained peer counselors.

Training at The House continues beyond formal training. In-service training is provided throughout each quarter at staff meetings. Examples of in-service topics include cross cultural issues, alcohol abuse on campus, rape prevention, sexual harassment and gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender issues. The point of this training is to help peers develop a deep awareness of issues and concerns that touch UCD students so that they are effective as peer counselors. Peers also have an opportunity to participate in Facilitator Training. This training is led by a CAPS professional and emphasizes the development of group counseling skills. Once completed, peers may participate in training new peer counselors or facilitating support groups.

Peer counselors also have an opportunity to become involved in organizational and administrative aspects of The House by applying for one of the student coordinator positions. All of these positions are volunteer and academic credit and/or transcript notation are available to most volunteers.

Time Commitment

Time Commitment: Microsoft Word (DOC) Adobe Acrobat (PDF)