Find a Mentor

Mission

In response to interest expressed by student members, the Division 45 Student Committee has developed a mentoring program to connect Division 45 graduate students with professional status mentors.

The Division 45 mentoring steering committee seeks to align future practitioners, researchers, and scholars with a diverse collection of professional and academic APA members.

The mentorship program is dedicated to increasing access for students of diverse ethnic, racial, gender, and identity statuses into professional and academic fields.

Registration for Potential Mentees
(Graduate Students)

Registration for the Division 45 Mentorship Program occurs twice a year.

• Students who attend the Division 45 Annual Conference, which typically occurs in June, can register in person. Attendees should look out for programming from the Division 45 Mentorship Committee or email div45mentorship@gmail.com to find out the logistics.
• Students can also register for the mentorship program online. Online application are accepted once a year, typically in December/January. The announcement with the application link is sent out via the Division 45 Student Listserv.

Matching Process

The Division 45 Mentorship Program connects psychologists in training with professional mentors in the field. This mentorship program is flexible and has been designed to meet the diverse needs of both our mentees and mentors. Potential mentees and mentors complete a brief survey and provide details related to the type of mentoring relationship they would like to have. For example, we consider each person’s discipline, preferred mode of communication, specific topics they are comfortable discussing, and even their preferences in social identities when making mentorship assignments. We take great care in reviewing mentee and mentor needs so that we can make the best possible pairings!

Currently, the mentoring program has successfully matched over 40 students with long term mentors!

Establishing a Mentoring Relationship

Once the surveys have been completed and the mentorship committee has paired a student with a professional, both parties are notified via e-mail and are expected to make contact with one another within the first week. During this initial “meeting” (via phone or internet based on your preferences) the mentorship pair sets up the parameters of their mentoring relationship and schedules their subsequent meeting times. The steering committee is available throughout this process to facilitate and/or troubleshoot any issues, should they arise.

Progress Reports

On an annual basis, mentors and mentees will complete a progress report. At this point they update the committee on their satisfaction within the mentoring relationship. Some mentoring relationships are intended to last for one year, others are set up to last as long as the mentee and mentor are both available. As such, the annual progress reports also provide a formal mechanism for terminating or extending mentoring relationships and/or for requesting new mentees and mentors.

The Division 45 Student Mentoring Team has complied some great tips and resources to help you get the most out of your mentoring relationships.

• Respond to requests and communications in a timely manner.
• Plan for meetings or sessions.
  • Send an agenda ahead of time of the issues you would like to discuss with your mentor
• Be open to criticism and feedback.
• Show that you are willing to go the extra mile.
  • Mentors report that they appreciate students who are self motivated. If your mentor advises you to read an article by a particular author consider reading additional articles by that author or checking the reference section of the article to see if there are any other relevant papers that you should familiarize yourself with.
• Ask questions.
  • If you don’t know what your mentor is talking about – ask! Otherwise they assume you know what is going on.
• Remember, mentors are taking time out of very busy schedules.
  • Respect their time. Return their calls. Attend to their advice when possible
• If an issue comes up with your mentor that seems out of your comfort zone, contact the mentoring chairs.
  • We are here to help. Whether it is to brainstorm solutions, to serve as mediators, or to find an alternate match, the mentorship chairs are available to support you in developing in your careers.

Links and Shoulders Graduate Student Mentoring Hour is an annual graduate student mentoring event held at APA Convention and sponsored by Division 45. Graduate students and Division 45 mentor volunteers gather to informally discuss issues of interest to students, with time-limited, speed mentoring program format. In a supportive and safe environment, students who are typically under-represented in psychology graduate programs visit tables where mentors discuss specific topics such as interviewing for clinical internship, strategies for publishing your article, success in academic and teaching careers, and navigating bias in graduate school. Links and Shoulders is an important mentoring program and a highlight of events for graduate students to attend. Division 45 invites graduate students to schedule Links and Shoulders on their calendar and come out to interact with mentors while enjoying refreshments. We hope to see you at next APA Convention! 

For more information please contact Patrice Leverett and Della Mosley at div45mentorship@gmail.com

Resources

APA:  http://www.apa.org/pi/disability/resources/mentoring/tips-mentors.aspx

APAGS:  http://www.apa.org/apags/resources/ethnic-minority-guide.aspx

University of Washington:  http://www.grad.washington.edu/mentoring/students/

Handelsman, J., Pfund, C., Miller Lauffer, S., & Pribbenow, C. (2005). Entering mentoring: a seminar to train a new generation of scientists. Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse, 164.