On June 25, 2016, LESA’s summer student’s Katie Moore and Angela Beierbach had the opportunity to attend the Alberta Lawyers’ Assistance Society’s (Assist) peer support training session.
This confidential and discreet program allows participants to be matched with a peer support volunteer who is trained in having discussions with people in distress and can offer support, encouragement, and referral to appropriate resources.
Through peer support training sessions, volunteers learn valuable communication skills that can be used when providing peer support to participants. Here’s what Katie and Angela learned.
Body Language
First, body language is an essential component of creating meaningful conversation. It is important to ensure that the speaker feels that they have your full attention. This means planning a time when you can put down your phone, facing the person with open posture and avoiding distractions that can draw you away from the conversation.
Active Listening
Second, when you are looking to have a meaningful conversation it is important to be an active listener. Active listening involves ensuring that you have a strong understanding of the information being conveyed to you by asking questions and making observations.
This doesn’t necessarily involve frequent interruptions and fact-checks, but is more of a pointed checking in process through which you can both ensure that you are on the same page. This can be as simple as asking, “how does that make you feel?” or checking in with observations such as, “you sound upset about this.” Checking in demonstrates to the speaker both that you are listening and that you are making every effort to better understand the issue at hand.
Being Genuine
Thirdly, remaining genuine is key to creating meaningful rapport in any social situation. It can sometimes feel difficult to be yourself in a structured situation where you are trying to say the right thing or remember specific points of conversation, but staying grounded is an integral part of positive communication.
Being genuine will help conversation to flow more easily and create a more comfortable environment for both you and the person with whom you are speaking.
It is through communication tools like these that Peer Support volunteers are able to be positive resources for participants across Alberta.
About Assist
Assist is an independent, charitable Society that seeks to provide confidential help to lawyers, law students, and their immediate families with personal issues.
Assist offers many different resources beyond the peer support program that can help lawyers or families of lawyers with their personal needs. Some of these resources include offering counselling sessions with registered clinical psychologists, online modules, and proactive sessions throughout the year like AssistFit.
Contact Assist
For immediate help from Assist call 1-877-498-6898 (toll free) from anywhere in Alberta. For more information on Assist’s services or to access online resources please visit the website . To speak with someone at Assist about their services or volunteer opportunities please call 403.537.5508 or 1.877.737.5508.
If you are interested in submitting a blog post relevant to Alberta’s legal community, please contact LESA’s Communications Coordinator, Andrea Maltais.
