Mentoring and supervision before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: Maintaining the relationship

Kathi Borden, Professor; Lorraine Mangione, Professor & Director of Practica; Quynh Tran, Doctoral Candidate; Raynalde Schagen, Doctoral Candidate; & Maria Neizvestnaya, Doctoral Candidate (Department of Clinical Psychology, Antioch University New England)

Beyond classroom learning, mentoring and supervision are important means through which doctoral students in psychology gain knowledge and skill in clinical practice, research, and other professional roles. However, personal factors such as self-confidence and self-care, and knowledge of the profession itself, are also important areas of development that are fostered through supervisory and mentoring relationships. Based on our own and others’ previous research, we have learned of the importance of a two-way open, respectful, and nurturing relationship, and often one that includes interactions around personal as well as professional issues, to make mentoring and supervision most effective. Remote learning, and teletherapy during the COVID-19 pandemic, have added new challenges to creating productive mentoring and supervisory relationships. In this presentation, we present some of the research on mentoring and supervision, and three advanced doctoral students will describe their perspectives on the elements of their successful and less-than-successful supervision and mentoring experiences. They will include the impact of remote learning, the widespread use of teletherapy, and diverse identities on those relationships in general and during the COVID-19 pandemic. This symposium is intended for faculty seeking to mentor students, for current and future students seeking a mentor, and for anyone wishing to better understand the phenomenon of mentoring.