Mentorship in Counselling: A Path of Growth and Giving Back

Mentorship is a cornerstone of professional development in counselling and other related roles. Many seasoned counsellors have a lot to offer their peers and aspiring counsellors, but they may not recognize the important role they can play, even if they’re not formal supervisors. Mentorship is a crucial area where such counsellors can contribute.

As a clinical supervisor, mentoring sometimes seems like it is built into this role. However, I don’t make that assumption. Mentoring is its own skill, and it often grows more naturally outside of the power dynamics of a supervising relationship. I see this all the time in the groups of counsellors I oversee. They offer each other a crucial layer of support and learning, which is the often overlooked and undervalued realm of mentorship between peers. I work to create space for this reciprocal learning, reminding them that the most longstanding and perhaps more influential teachers and mentors they will have as counsellors will be their peers. And in turn, they will be mentors themselves.

The connection, curiosity, and guidance at the heart of a productive mentoring relationship benefit both the mentee and the mentor. For mentees, a mentoring relationship bridges theoretical knowledge, life experience, and practical application for supporting others. For mentors, this opportunity can deepen a journey of personal growth and giving back to the community.

Often relegated to an informal by-product of collegial conversations, mentorship can be elevated to an aspirational skill by counsellors interested in contributing to the field. Here are some qualities that lend themselves to mentoring as a satisfying endeavor.

Often relegated to an informal by-product of collegial conversations, mentorship can be elevated to an aspirational skill by counsellors interested in contributing to the field.

3 Qualities for Mentorship in Counselling

1. Compassion and Self-Awareness

A mentor must possess empathy and compassion to understand challenges mentees encounter and provide support without judgement. Often those drawn to mentoring have either had strong and influential mentors themselves or lacked access to such support, and therefore recognize its value. This self-awareness builds compassion for the challenge of developing skills in counselling roles. Empathetic listening creates a safe space for mentees to express their concerns and seek guidance.

2. Commitment to Growth

Mentors are driven by a desire to keep learning themselves and see the value in grounded feedback. Mentors are typically role models and lead by example. Demonstrating a growth mindset, a mentor is open and willing to continue to seek feedback and professional development opportunities. They can express their questions and doubts, talk about missteps, and take the risk of sharing observations with others.

A structure I often use with the counsellors I supervise is to ask them to practice giving each other feedback, including an observation of something that seems to be working, and a curiosity or challenging situation they don’t understand or would navigate differently. An example of what this might sound like includes the following validation and curious questions:

“The way you slowed down and asked questions seemed to match what your clients needed. I often struggle with that, and I learned a lot from seeing how you approached it. I also noticed that when they brought up new information about their child, you didn’t respond to it. I wondered what was going through your mind when you heard that?” 

Rather than an “expert” approach, mentors encourage mentees to explore innovative ideas and solutions to build on their own expertise.

3. Openness to Change and Adaptability

Counselling is a dynamic field, constantly evolving to meet the needs of diverse populations. Mentors are naturally curious and open to exploring new ideas, perspectives, and skills. They model adaptability and flexibility through their willingness to embrace new approaches and techniques. Mentoring conversations can spur learning for all involved through collaborative curiosity. Rather than an “expert” approach, mentors encourage mentees to explore innovative ideas and solutions to build on their own expertise.

Building a Mentoring Relationship

Mentorship fills in the gaps between career advising and clinical supervision. The areas may overlap, however, the essence of great mentorship is focused on career support and psychosocial support specific to the mentee. These may be formally set up with an agreement of meetings and feedback, or they may be more informal. Regardless of the structure around the relationship, it can deepen the benefit if the following are included in planning to have regular mentoring conversations.

• Establish Clear Goals: Discuss the hopes and goals of the relationship. This may include specific learning outcomes or general areas to focus on. Revisiting these goals regularly provides direction and helps the mentor and mentee track progress.

• Create a Supportive Environment: Lead with compassion and empathy. Mentoring is built on relationships and the understanding of a shared experience. One of the key aspects of satisfying and inspiring mentoring is the freedom to ask anything and to share missteps and doubts. Curiosity and creativity are the cornerstones of mentoring.

• Provide Constructive Feedback: Although evaluation is not typically a central part of mentoring, giving and receiving feedback is both a capacity to strengthen and a valuable learning process. Constructive feedback is based on the strengths and goals of the mentee and can provide invaluable insight and a new perspective.

• Encourage Reflection and Self-Awareness: Engage in a collaborative exploration of the connection between self, life experience, and values. The willingness to examine one’s own biases, fears, and struggles in counselling is a powerful capacity to model. Through this, mentees will be more able to articulate their approach and strengths in their counselling role.

One of the key aspects of satisfying and inspiring mentoring is the freedom to ask anything and to share missteps and doubts.

Mentorship is a rewarding and crucial part of counsellor development, for those providing and receiving mentoring. Adding intentional mentorship into one’s counselling career is a way to provide inspiration and guidance to those building their counselling capacity, and to contributes to the broader mental health counselling field.

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