Train Peer Supporters
Please see Disclaimer: Peer Support Resources below.
(Unit 1, Mod. 1.2, Section 3)Counseling Skills
What is it?
Qualities of an effective counselor include being non-judgmental, and forming an understanding relationship. Specific skills related to counseling include motivational interviewing, stage-based advising, and decision making. Motivational interviewing is a directive counseling technique used to move people toward behavior change. Stage-based advising involves awareness of stages from the Transtheoretical Model (Stages of Change) and being able to appropriately counsel based on what stage a person may be at in their behavior change. Decision-making is inherent to motivational interviewing and stage-based advising, and involves assisting others in weighing the pro's and con's to navigate difficult life and diabetes management decisions.
Why is it important?
Skillful counseling, motivational interviewing, stage-based advising, and decision making can help people with diabetes make lasting behavioral changes. When counseled well, people with diabetes feel more empowered to think things through themselves, make important decisions, and take control of their diabetes.
Learn more about counseling skills from the following resources:
- The Center for Health Communications Research at the University of Michigan offers general information on the theory of motivational interviewing.
- The journal, Clinical Diabetes, includes an article by Heisler and Resnicow on practical pointers for using motivational interviewing in clinical diabetes care.
Find handouts, tools, and educational modules on counseling skills to help train peer supporters and offer peer support:
- A British psychologist named, Chris Gillespie, created a course on Empowerment and Counseling Skills in Diabetes Care.
- The North Carolina Breast Cancer Screening Program produced a training manual for lay health advisors, having one particular session on stage-based advising.
- The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Diabetes Initiative supported the development of a resource called, "Effective Strategies to Motivate and Encourage Healthy Lifestyle Changes." This resource provides information on using the Stages of Change.
- "Motivational Interviewing Assessment: Supervisory Tools for Enhancing Proficiency" is a motivational interviewing toolkit/training resource from the Mid-Atlantic Addiction Technology Transfer Center.
Disclaimer: Peer Support Resources
Peers for Progress aims to serve peer support programs around the world by providing a compilation of web-based resources for developing and enhancing these programs. Framed by peer support's core functions as outlined in Learn, we selected these materials from varied sources and from materials provided to us. In doing so, we have sought to include materials that reflect state-of-the-art knowledge of diabetes, peer support, diabetes management, and health promotion. Users should exercise their own judgment in assessing the appropriateness of materials for their own setting and population. Peers for Progress assumes no responsibility for the quality of evidence on which materials are based or consequences of their use.
Peers for Progress has no financial interests with specific websites or organizations listed in this section. For a full listing of our partnerships, please read About Us.
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Peers for Progress is a program of the American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation and supported by the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation.