Peer-to-Peer: AUBG’s Peer Counselors and the Importance of Mental Health

Since the beginning of Fall semester 2023, students at AUBG can benefit from a new service, available completely free of charge called Peer Counseling. Peer Counselors cater to their fellow AUBGers’ mental health by organizing a variety of group therapies and events, all focusing on psychological well-being and alleviation of stress. 

Thanks to them, anyone who experiences emotional hardships but does not want to visit a professional therapist, has a friendly, judgment-free alternative.

A student can make an appointment for a private session with a counselor. There, they receive either advice from a person their age – who is possibly going through similar experiences – or an understanding listener. 

Christian Tenchev – the current senior peer counselor – had the idea along with fellow student Nikola Naumovski. It all started with small events meant to introduce the concept to the two students’ circle of friends and slowly but surely gained recognition. 

“By the time I am graduating, I want people to know who we are and create a type of "snowball effect". Every year some counselors will graduate and freshies with amazing ideas and motivation will come,” said Christian. 

As of now, there are only 6 members, 4 of which joined this year. However, according to Mariam Melikishvili - a freshman, who is both a counselor and in charge of the club’s social media account on Instagram - they are already a very close and ambitious team. 

“I am incredibly proud and happy to have a team of caring people, who are all providing this type of support in their personal lives and to the people around them, so I have no doubt we will be able to make peer counseling a much more accessible feature of the university,” said Christian. 

One of the main goals of this new service is breaking the stigma around therapy and people in need of it. Peer counselors encourage students to take care of their mental health and are always ready to help those struggling to do so.

Oct. 10, National Mental Health Day, marked their first major event. The peer counselors prepared a whole-day program for any student willing to join. 

Starting with a jog at 9 a.m. to awaken a good mood, which ended with cold drinks and snacks. The afternoon was reserved for art therapy, where participants expressed their emotions through various creations of paper and clay. At the end of the day, a meditation took place, followed by the screening of a short movie about mental well-being, which was later discussed in groups. 

“All of this has been a great contribution to my development in the fields of psychology, sociology, networking, marketing, and digital design, so I am very happy with my decision of joining the program and I’m excited for what’s yet to come,’’ said Mariam, who made the flyers for the event and supervised the art therapy. 

For many, this was the first time they took part in such an activity, and they were very grateful for what the peer counselors were doing, Mariam added.

For now, no new events are announced, but according to Christian the service is currently working on reintroducing a small biweekly event from last year called “Let’s talk about”. This will be their focus during November and the start of the spring semester.