Posts

Building a “Sound Relationship House” in mentoring

by Jean Rhodes In his Sound Relationship House Theory, psychologist and marriage guru John Gottman defines the attitudes and skills that lead to strong friendships in marriage, delineating them as the “floors” or principles of good marriage. These align with research on how to build strong “working alliances” with children and adolescents in therapy. These also […]

Now more than ever: Best practices for working with immigrant youth

by Jean Rhodes Editor’s note: Mentors who are working with the many immigrant children in our country are, no doubt, concerned about the immigration-related policies of the former administration, including its the anti-immigration rhetoric and hate incidents/speech of recent months. Although President Biden is seeking to reverse many of the measures, and restore DACA, the policies […]

[Webinar] Maximizing Youth Voice in Mentoring: A Youth-Led Discussion

  Date: Thursday, Jan. 21, 2020, 1 PM – 2:15 PM EST This month’s MENTOR webinar will open up space for mentees to share their own experiences, insights, and advice. The goal of this event is to help mentors and mentoring professionals to better understand mentee needs, as well as to learn how to build […]

Five strategies for making stronger connections, backed by research

by Jean Rhodes Care for some direct, research-based ideas for connecting with others?  I’d recommend a book that distills the essential findings of many studies.  Friend and Foe, by Business Professors Adam Galinsky and Maurice Schweitzer or Columbia and University of Pennsylvania, respectively. Compiled by Eric Barker, the authors provide evidence-based strategies for handling the everyday relationship tensions and difficulties. Some […]

Want to help reinforce a motor skill? Have them take a lap

Posted by Katherine Gombay, futurity.org As little as a single 15-minute bout of cardiovascular exercise increases brain connectivity and efficiency, according to new research. If you want to learn to walk a tightrope, for example, it’s a good idea to go for a short run after each practice session, the research suggests. The recent study, […]

Three tips that can help you foster – and maintain – resilience in your mentee

Written by Justin Preston & Renée Klein Schaarsberg To quote Benjamin Franklin, “…in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” It is a phrase that has become a truism over time, but it could fairly be said that Franklin was not quite exhaustive in his list of certainties. Beyond […]

Mentoring outside city limits: New Rural Mentoring Toolkit produced by MANY

There is one universal truth for all youth, anywhere—and that is that any young person can benefit from a mentoring relationship. Whether your community is urban, ex-urban, suburban, or rural, the youth in your schools and neighborhoods could use a strong, positive role model. Likewise, each type of community comes with its own strengths and […]

Perfectionism: What it is and 5 ways mentors can help their mentees shake it

Written by Justin Preston “Anything worth doing, is worth doing right,” according to Hunter S. Thompson, and many would be inclined to agree. What happens, though, when we cross the line between wanting to do something right and needing to do it perfectly? Unfortunately, according to a new study perfectionism is on the rise. In […]

Seven steps to helping your male mentee express his emotions

Written by Justin Preston Can boys share their feelings with one another? Is it okay for them to say that they love each other? There are a wide range of expectations that boys pick up around how they should act, and how they should act with others. Often, these expectations include not expressing emotion, unless […]

Rolling up your sleeves: Why it’s important for programs to focus on the work

Written by Justin Preston Engaging in the work of mentoring, whether you are a mentor yourself or plying your trade in a program, can be rewarding intrinsically (“I’m doing work to make my community better”) and professionally (“My mentoring skills are improving!”). In addition to these, though, one of the guiding lights that leads people […]