Entries by Jean Rhodes

Can mentors be trained in cognitive-behavioral therapy? New evaluation has answers

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By Jean Rhodes Decades of research have shown that, with the right training and support, mentors and other paraprofessionals can deliver mental health interventions in ways that benefit youth. Doing so could help to bridge the substantial gaps in care. Indeed, less than a third of children and adolescents who need mental health and related […]

Integrating cognitive-behavioral strategies into youth mentoring: Findings from a rigorous new evaluation

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Evaluation of Reach & Rise® Program Enhancements to Cognitive Behavioral Mentoring – Technical Report As the authors note, youth face numerous challenges in school, home, and the broader community, such as poverty, peer rejection, and violence. These challenges are are linked to various mental and emotional issues. Mentoring has been identified as a protective factor […]

Mixed methods investigation of how parental attachment affects black adolescents’ mentoring relationships

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Charity-Parker, B. M., Negrete, A., Deutsch, N. L., & Hurd, N. M. (2023). A Mixed Method Investigation of Associations Between Caregiver Attachment and Natural Mentoring Relationships Among Black Adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Research, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/07435584231189213 Summarized by Jean Rhodes In an interesting new study, Charity-Parker and colleagues explored the associations between caregiver attachment and the […]

Teaching to fish: New study highlights the value of building students’ social capital

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By Jean Rhodes A growing number of innovative mentoring programs have emerged in recent years that involve both “teaching youth to fish” for mentors (i.e., to recruit natural mentors) and “stocking the pond” (i.e., expanding the availability of high-social capital adults in marginalized youth’s lives). For years, the National Guard Youth Challenge Program, an intensive […]

A Nobel Prize Winner’s Life of Mentoring

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Photo courtesy of The University of Texas at Austin Editor’s note: It is my honor to share Dr. Mary Rowe’s new essay about Nobel Laureate, John Goodenough. Dr. Rowe is an Adjunct Professor of Negotiation and Conflict Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management. She served for almost 42 years as an organizational ombuds […]

Overcoming Cognitive Biases to Improve Youth Mentoring

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by Jean Rhodes A range of cognitive biases have shaped our expectations and practices in formal mentoring programs and hindered progress in the field. Key Points: Conflation of Expectations: Informal and formal mentoring relationships are often conflated, leading to unrealistic expectations. Admittedly, for many years I support for this conflation based on attachment theory and […]

Two research-based strategies for building strong connections

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Jean Rhodes Building strong, enduring mentoring relationships depends on many factors, including empathy, proximity, and shared interest.  But here are two  research-based tips that might be helpful to mentors. Reciprocal self-disclosure A new study from the University of Michigan highlights the value of reciprocal self-disclosure in building connections with others. The researchers conducted several studies, […]

How to “Do” Critical Mentoring: Making your Program More Culturally Relevant

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by Torie Weiston, Ph.D. Weighty events taking place all over our nation have prompted the mentoring world to begin looking closely at how to make our work more relevant for communities of color. Many are looking for ways to address gaps in mentoring practice. Many realize that existing practice often lacks the critical foundation required […]

Motivational interviewing: What is it and how can it improve mentoring?

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By Jean Rhodes In a recent review, Hart, McQuillin, et al. (2023) explored how teaching motivational interviewing to school-based paraprofessionals can help bridge gaps in mental health services. This has direct relevance for mentoring programs and is becoming an increasingly popular strategy. But what exactly is motivational interviewing? What is motivational interviewing? We all know […]