Entries by Ramya Ramadurai

Profiles in Mentoring: Why Prof. Janelle Peifer on How to Know Thyself

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A conversation with Janelle Peifer about identity, empathy, and mentoring By Jean Rhodes Dr. Janelle S. Peifer is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Richmond, where her research examines college student development, identity, intercultural competence, and mental health. A licensed clinical psychologist whose work focuses on trauma and identity, she is also […]

Scoping review of therapeutic mentoring highlights benefits and need for rigorous research

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Werntz, A., Rhodes, J. E., Brockstein, H., Fallon, L., & Cook, A. (2025). A scoping review of therapeutic mentoring for youth mental health. Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 4, 1509971. Introduction Between 20% and 30% of children require psychological services, yet only one-third receive adequate treatment, with access gaps disproportionately affecting communities of color […]

Happy PRIDE Month! Check Out MENTOR Resources

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June is PRIDE Month! In honor of PRIDE, MENTOR provides resources on how to best support LGBTQ+ mentees. Mentors play an important role in protecting and supporting LGBTQ+ mentees and connecting youth with their internal and external resources.   You can find the mentoring LGBTQ+ youth webinar series here Read MENTOR’s recommendations for working with […]

Attend the 2025 Summer Institute on Youth Mentoring

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The 2025 Summer Institute on Youth Mentoring will be held in Canada! The theme will focus on Indigenous ways of mentoring and supporting youth. The Summer Institute will be hosted at the University of Calgary from July 28-31. About The Summer Institute offers a distinctive educational opportunity for experienced mentoring professionals to engage in highly […]

Join Drs. Werntz & Hagler for Office Hours on Strategies to Support Youth Mental Health!

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The National Mentoring Resource Center brings you Office Hours with Dr. Alexandra Werntz and Dr. Matthew Hagler on April 16 from 1:00 – 2:00 PM ET, to discuss strategies to support youth mental health through mentoring. Dr. Werntz, Associate Director at UMass Boston’s Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring, studies paraprofessional-led interventions and digital mental health support. Dr. Hagler, […]

New Study Explores Effective Goal Setting Tools for Students

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Published April 2025 by YouthNEX  By: Jia Ma Highlights: Developmentally we want middle schoolers to become more independent and goal orientated to be successful in academic and social situations. I recently co-authored some work that explained phased goal setting processes for middle schoolers that may be helpful for educators. In this post, I share more […]

New Guidelines Show How to Youth Participatory Action Research into Your Mentoring Program

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MENTOR has developed a new resource guide, helping programs integrate youth voices into making programmatic changes. The guide explores YPAR is as an approach to implement within mentoring contexts which offers a wide array of benefits like: Promoting positive change within youth programs and communities Building youth skills and guiding what mentors and youth do […]

Profiles in Mentoring: Helen Lee on Adult Mentor Growth during Mentoring Interventions

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Helen Lee, PhD., is an interdisciplinary researcher who is committed to developing and sustaining humanizing school systems and out-of-school spaces for young people. She is a senior researcher at foundry10, an educational research organization, leadsing the Youth and Educator SEL Lab to promote the mental and physical health of young people and those who work […]

Research to Practice Brief: Social Media, Digital Wellness, and Mentoring

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Introduction In the wake of rising concerns over adolescent mental health and social media use, public discourse has been largely preoccupied with the negative consequences of digital engagement. Studies have linked excessive social media use to issues such as anxiety, depression, cyberbullying, misinformation exposure, and deteriorating self-esteem (Office of the Surgeon General, 2023). Kaufman and […]