By Leeandrea Campbell
Mental Health Program Assistant
Homage Senior Services
Are you a good listener? Open-minded? Caring? The Senior Peer Counseling program through Homage Senior Services is looking for people like you.
Senior Peer Counseling matches volunteers who are 55-plus with older adults who would benefit from emotional support during a time of transition.
This transition may involve recent health problems, loss of independence, caregiving responsibilities or the loss of a loved one.
You don’t have to have any answers or solve any problems. In fact, we hope you don’t.
Counseling is about being there, being present and allowing someone to share their journey without fear of judgment or interruption.
As psychologist Carl Rogers once said, “When someone really hears you without passing judgment on you, without trying to take responsibility for you, without trying to mold you, it feels damn good …. When I have been listened to and when I have been heard, I am able to re-perceive my world in a new way and to go on.”
No experience in counseling is required. Senior peer counselors go through 40 hours of training before they are matched with a client. They commit to 16 visits (one hour per week) with a client. Volunteers also receive ongoing supervision and attend monthly meetings with other volunteers.
For information about upcoming trainings, contact Nicole Warren at 425-740-3787.
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