Posts

Unrelated negative feelings can impact your actions in different ways, new research shows

Written by Alexis Blue-U. Arizona Researchers at the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, and the University of Gronigen, in the Netherlands, have recently published a study on the effects of negative emotions on behavior. While their research was conducted with the workplace in mind, there are key lessons to be learned from their findings. […]

Ditch the small talk: When being direct with your mentee can be a lifeline in a crisis

Crisis hotlines have been around for years, but until recently there’s been very little data on which counseling strategies seemed most effective at helping people cope. The recent emergence of text-based crisis help lines is changing that. Designed for people who prefer texting to talking, these services generate large datasets of anonymous counseling sessions—raw material […]

More than just shared interests: New study highlights the importance of engaged listening for mentor-mentee connection

Larsson, M., Pettersson, C., Skoog, T., & Eriksson, C. (2016). Enabling relationship formation,development, and closure in a one-year female mentoring program at a non-governmental organization: A mixed methods study. BMC Public Health, 16, 1-14. Doi: 10.1186/s12889-016-2850-2 Summarized by Jessica Cunningham   Background: Mental illness rates among young women aged 16-24 have increased significantly in the […]

Christiane Amanpour reflects on how riding lessons prepared her for life

Chapter 3 of Matilda Raffa Cuomo’s book: The Person Who Changed My Life, Iranian journalist and television host, Christiane Amanpour, Chief International Correspondent for CNN and host of CNN International’s nightly interview program Amanpour reflects on the lessons her strict riding instructor taught her and how those lessons prepared her for life.       […]

Mentoring For Youth With Backgrounds Of Involvement In Commercial Sex Activity

Group Review Board David DuBois, Ph.D., Chair and Jennifer K. Felner (University of Illinois at Chicago) National Mentoring Resource Center This review examines research on mentoring for youth with backgrounds of involvement (or high-risk for involvement) in commercial sex activity (YCSA). The review is organized around four questions: What is the documented effectiveness of mentoring […]

On sparks, purpose, and natural mentors

Reflections on Natural Mentoring Conference by Peter Samuelson, Director, Research & Evaluation, Thrive Foundation If we want to increase the number of caring adults in the lives of youth, where might they be found? In the mentoring field, the metaphor of “fishing” has been used to illustrate mentoring. To increase the presence of caring adults […]

Mentors: The Real Disruptive Innovation in Education

by Brandon Busteed Story Highlights Feeling supported in college helps grads in their careers Technology is significant, but human fundamentals matter too Effective mentoring is critical to a graduate’s success Students Need Support — and Experiential and Deep Learning Gallup — in partnership with Purdue University — recently completed a representative study of college graduates, […]

The two most important features of high-quality mentoring programs

Editor’s Note: Here is the second installment of this important report, written by mentoring expert Dr. Carla Herrera, aimed at providing funders with guidance in determining which mentoring programs to support.   Through a series of posts, we present, “Making the Most of Youth Mentoring: A Guide for Funders” Last week, Carla covered the features of quality […]

Back by popular demand: How to win friends and influence mentees

by Jean Rhodes Nearly 80 years after its publication, Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People remains one of the best-selling books of all time (30 million copies!). This led me to wonder whether some of the interpersonal skills that Carnegie highlights might be helpful to the millions of mentors working with today’s youth? The answer is […]

Will I be able to understand my mentee?: Examining the potential risk of the dominant culture mentoring marginalized youth

Editor’s Note This is a very thoughtful piece by Jennifer Lindwall, the Director of Training and Quality Assurance at the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota since February 2013. The article appeared in a collection, Moving Youth Work Practice Forward:  Reflections on Autonomy and Authority. Jen’s piece touches on some of the thorny issues in youth mentoring that are rarely discussed but […]