Institutions need scalable, student-centered solutions to meet the growing mental health needs of college students, especially the 81% who have significant needs and face at least one barrier to care. Peer support offers a potential solution as a scalable alternative to traditional clinical counseling.
But effective peer support requires quality training of peer supporters themselves. WGU Labs designed a competency-based, clinician supervised training model for peer supporters that includes active listening techniques, trauma-informed care, and crisis response.
In collaboration with Flourish Labs and Peers.net, we then piloted a program with these trained peer supporters to reach 130+ WGU students. We aimed to determine whether peer support can offer an alternative to traditional counseling, particularly for students from marginalized communities who often mistrust clinical systems that haven’t historically served them well.
Four key design principles emerged. Each one comes with an actionable lesson.
1. Flexibility in time and location is a must, and not just for virtual options
Students valued peer supporters who could accommodate their schedules and life circumstances — meeting at odd hours, taking breaks during medical challenges, adjusting to work schedule changes. Availability outside traditional office hours was key.
But after-hours virtual support was not a cure-all. Some students may be in unstable living situations where private video calls aren't possible. Others are exhausted by screen-based interaction after online coursework and crave face-to-face connection.
The lesson: build flexibility into both delivery methods and scheduling. Students increasingly expect hybrid models in education, and mental health support should follow the same principle. Remote access expands availability, but institutions shouldn't assume virtual-only works for everyone.
2. Unlimited access creates proactive engagement
Students repeatedly cited unlimited peer support sessions as a major factor in their willingness to engage. Many had avoided traditional mental health resources because of anticipated costs. They worried about building rapport with a therapist only to lose access when insurance caps were reached or out-of-pocket expenses became unsustainable.
This fear may keep students from seeking help until crises develop, when the support needed is more intensive and outcomes often worse. When students know they have consistent access without financial penalties, they engage earlier and more regularly.
The lesson: remove financial unpredictability. Session limits and cost uncertainty are invisible barriers that prevent students from even starting. Communicating predictable costs can encourage students to use mental health support proactively rather than in crisis.
3. The definition of "peer" extends beyond age
Students felt more supported when paired with supporters who understood their life context. A peer supporter who attended a traditional residential college may struggle to relate to a 35-year-old online student managing courses between work shifts as a single parent. Someone unfamiliar with online learning can’t always effectively support a student navigating isolation and challenges with self-paced coursework.
Rigorous training in active listening techniques, trauma-informed care, and crisis response is essential, but so are the trust and relevance that come from genuinely shared experience.
The lesson: recruit peer supporters from your actual student population. Current students or recent alumni who understand the specific challenges your students face are a valuable resource. Demographic and experiential alignment make peer support more effective.
4. Students can’t use invisible resources
Perhaps the most striking finding from our pilot: 89% of students using peer support were unaware their institution offered traditional counseling services. If students don't know the full landscape of available support, they can't make informed choices about what fits their needs.
Peer support should complement clinical counseling, with clear handoff protocols when students need professional intervention. It is up to institutions to communicate several things clearly: what peer support is and isn't, how it differs from therapy, that it operates as a confidential touchpoint outside formal institutional systems, and how it fits within the broader wellness ecosystem.
The lesson: add peer support to your mental health offerings with clear positioning. Students need to understand their options and how to navigate between them. Resource awareness and resource availability are equally important.
Why build student-centered mental health support systems?
Peer support can address barriers associated with traditional counseling: cost unpredictability, scheduling inflexibility, mistrust of clinical systems, and lack of cultural or experiential understanding.
For institutions exploring peer mental health support models, keep these four design principles in mind: prioritize holistic flexibility, remove financial uncertainty, recruit supporters who represent your students, and position the service clearly within your broader wellness infrastructure.
These principles can help add value and not noise to the crowded wellness landscape. To read the full WGU Labs report on peer-led mental health support, click here.
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