Development and Implementation of a Mentoring Program for Veterans Affairs Psychology Trainees

Abstract: Mentored individuals across disciplines consistently report more positive training and career-related satisfaction and outcomes than nonmentored individuals. Although there is a significant amount of research related to mentoring in the fields of education, nursing, business, and medical professions, there is a dearth of research on the implementation and effectiveness of mentoring programs in clinical psychology training programs, such as internships and postdoctoral fellowships (Green & Hawkley, 2009). Few, if any, studies have examined the feasibility and potential impact of developing mentoring programs in predoctoral and postdoctoral clinical psychology training sites. The current article seeks to address this gap in the literature by discussing the development and implementation of a mentoring program for clinical psychology postdoctoral fellows and predoctoral interns in a 1-year training program at a large Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The benefits of having a mentoring relationship that is independent of clinical supervision are discussed. Implications for mentoring in similar clinical training programs and considerations for developing a mentoring program will be discussed.