Effectiveness of Peer Helpers

Since I worked on a Doctorate in Counseling Education in the Seventies I have been interested in research about who is an effective Helper and why. For example, when I studied for a Masters
Degree the emphasis about effectiveness was almost totally on the theories of different authors. Our professors had us read all the "great and famous writers" and choose the one we thought would be the most effective in helping people in psychological pain.

None of us had any idea, of course, because we were there to learn what was most effective and now they said we had to figure it all out ourselves. I came from a small town where agriculture was the main employment. The farmers, generally speaking, knew what kind of soil grew corn best and which grew tomatoes best. They tried different crops and took notes about what happened from crop to crop. And, they looked at the results of the yield and decided what was the best thing to do.

Some of them attended agriculture school and actually read books about how to raise the biggest crops and biggest animals. They knew clearly that the goal was bigger ears of corn, more bushels per acre and more money in the bank.

Graduate school for Counseling and Education was different. Many people held theories about what Counselors ought to do but none of them bothered to see if their theories worked. In fact, there was great confusion about the goals of Counseling.

This approach lasted even through my Doctoral program and I was looking for a dissertation topic when I attended a week long workshop on"What Works and Does Not Work in Helping".
I discovered that there are several "CORE SKILLS" that are always present in effective Helpers. No matter what we call the Helpers, if they relate with these skills, the Seeker/Client will get better; improve; experience relief; reach his goals. And, it matters not if they have an advanced education or not.

Here are the core skills and attitudes:

Genuineness, Respect, Empathy and Warmth.

Have you noticed that these skills are mighty close to what the Bible tells us to do? Read Galatians 5 and see the Fruit of the Holy Spirit are: Love, Joy, Peace, Gentleness, Kindness, Patience, etc. These are foundational to helping people get better. Now take a look at this recent research.

A very sound study was conducted by Bright, Baker and Niemeyer in 1999 that compared professional and paraprofessional groups for treatment of depression using two therapeutic approaches - Cognitive Behavior Therapy and mutual support which is a self-help format widely taught to peer-led support groups. The patients included in the study were suffering with severe depression (BDI scores of 20 to 23 pre-treatment).

Here’s what they found:

1. Type of therapy - (CBT vs mutual support) - no difference
2. Therapist background - (professional or not) - no difference (non-significant trend favouring professionals with CBT but not mutual support)

The study is:

Bright JI, Baker KD, Niemeyer RA: Professional and paraprofessional group treatments for depression: A comparison of Cognitive-behavioral and mutual support interventions. J Consult Clin Psychol 1999, 67:491-501.

So, lay persons can be every bit as effective with hurting people as educated ones.