Abstract
<p>Peer counselors and program directors from eight agencies in Northern and Southern California were interviewed in order to determine how their programs differed from other services for</p>
<p>hearing impaired persons, and how these programs compared with peer counseling programs in other settings. It was concluded that peer counselors provide a unique service by meeting a wide variety of needs in a supportive setting characterized by a shared background with the client. It was also apparent that the programs surveyed here had some features that were startlingly unlike peer counseling programs in other settings while in other ways they were similar. There seems to be a need for more of these kinds of program, and also some facilities for training peer counselors for hearing impaired persons.</p>
