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To become a peer listener you must first complete this form which will then be reviewed by a committee. If accepted, you will have to go through a training course that will run for a couple of weeks to help you understand your role better and to learn how to interact and react to certain situations that you might encounter as a peer listener. After this mandatory training course led by Ms. Haberman, you will be confirmed as an official peer listener at BHSEC and you will be given a schedule that fits your needs.
As a Peer Listener, your role is to foster emotional well-being to those who reach out through the online anonymous chat. Your task is to be available to discuss any and all questions, conversations, and issues as long as they don't involve anything regarding potential physical harm or abuse. Peer listeners are not mental health counselors but they are able to refer you to the appropriate professional if necessary. Peer Listeners are trained in a variety of areas including listening skills and problem-solving, and they serve to be an objective and anonymous reasource.
A peer listener is not a therapist, you are not to deal with situations that go beyond the scope of training provided. You must also try to remove yourself from any bias or opinions that might interfere in the conversation since this is of course a free open space to discuss topics that might be sensitive or harder to talk about in person. There is a reason that students are coming to this program to be in contact with a peer who can listen and talk to them, please keep that in mind when discussing a topic that may be controversial or sensitive.
While communicating with peer listeners in this program, the conversation that takes place with be completely confidential between the two participants. The peer listener will not know who they are talking to at any time and vice versa unless they decide to discuss that between themselves or if the student wants to set up an in person meeting with a peer listener. Due to legal reasons if a student brings up something that concerns their physical or mental health to an extent which could be dangerous to them or the environment around them then the messages will be presented to the school administration.