Development of the Educational Program for Fire Officials’ Peer Psychological Support

Abstract

This study aims to develop an educational program for peer psychological support in the fire officials’ organization. The program was developed through goal setting, component derivation, pilot study, model design, and effectiveness verification. Forty fire officials were divided into an experimental group and a control group of twenty people each. The program was conducted with a total of twelve sessions. Empathy, self-reflection, and interpersonal skill levels were examined before and after the program. The results indicated that the levels of empathy and self-reflection of the experimental group were meaningfully improved (F = 5.96, 5.45, p < .05) compared to the control group, but interpersonal relationship was not (F = 2.88, p < .05). This study makes a meaningful contribution through developing of program using a scientific and systematic method in the field of psychological education and counseling.