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The mentorship of undergraduatestudents in counselling psychologyresearchK. Jessica Van Vlieta, Kirsten E. Klinglea & Lara E. Hiselera
a Department of Educational Psychology, University of Alberta,Edmonton, CanadaPublished online: 21 Oct 2013.
To cite this article: K. Jessica Van Vliet, Kirsten E. Klingle & Lara E. Hiseler (2013) The mentorshipof undergraduate students in counselling psychology research, Counselling Psychology Quarterly,26:3-4, 406-426, DOI: 10.1080/09515070.2013.844095
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The mentorship of undergraduate students in counselling psychologyresearch
K. Jessica Van Vliet*, Kirsten E. Klingle and Lara E. Hiseler
Department of Educational Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
(Received 6 March 2013; accepted 10 September 2013)
In recent years, there has been an increased interest in engaging undergraduatestudents in psychology research through a mentorship relationship withpsychology faculty members. For students, faculty members, and universitiescommitted to undergraduate research mentorship, the potential rewards may beconsiderable. Yet, the mentorship of undergraduates in research is not withoutsignificant challenges. This article examines the benefits and challenges ofmentoring undergraduate students in research, both generally and in thespecific discipline of counselling psychology. Suggestions for promotingresearch mentorship relationships between faculty and undergraduate studentsin counselling psychology and overcoming obstacles are discussed.
Keywords: mentorship; undergraduate research; students; faculty; counsellingpsychology
The word “mentor” was first encountered around 800 BC in Homer’s epic poem, theOdyssey. Before leaving his home of Ithaca to fight in the Trojan War, Odysseusentrusted the care of his infant son Telemachus to Mentor, an old family friend whobecame the boy’s teacher and protector. Twenty years later, Telemachus, now a youngman, embarked on a voyage in search of his missing father. During the manychallenges that Telemachus faced along the way, the goddess Athena appeared to himin the guise of Mentor and provided much-needed encouragement and assistance. Fortoday’s undergraduate students, who face a very different set of challenges as theynavigate through university and onto possible future careers in counselling psychology,mentorship that occurs as part of undergraduate research engagement can be a crucialsource of guidance and support.
A substantial body of research has identified the benefits that may accrue whenstudents are mentored in research during their undergraduate years; and across multipledisciplines, universities have shown an increased interest in creating more opportunitiesfor faculty-mentored undergraduate research (Elsen, Visser-Wijnveen, van der Rijst, &van Driel, 2009; Katkin, 2003; Lei & Chuang, 2009; Wayment & Dickson, 2008). Incounselling psychology, there has been a recent call for initiatives that supportundergraduate students’ greater engagement in the field, with undergraduate research inthe discipline of counselling psychology (hereafter also referred to as counsellingpsychology research) being identified as an important aspect of undergraduate
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
© 2013 Taylor & Francis
Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 2013Vol. 26, Nos. 3–4, 406–426, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09515070.2013.844095
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programming (Dispenza & Horne, 2012). Dispenza and Horne (2012) suggested thatsuch engagement may help raise the public profile of counselling psychology – adiscipline that, with its emphasis on diversity, multiculturalism, social justice, andcareer/life transitions, has much to offer the world in an era of globalization. Thus,greater attention to mentorship, as a means of promoting and supporting undergraduatestudent engagement in our field, may be especially important. However, along with thenumerous potential benefits of mentoring undergraduate students in counsellingpsychology research may come a number of challenges.
In the sections that follow, we define mentorship, describe the roles of mentor anddiscuss similarities and differences between the research mentorship of undergraduatevs. graduate students. We then identify the factors that contribute to a successful men-torship relationship, and review the benefits and challenges of mentoring undergraduatestudents in research. Given the current paucity of research on undergraduate mentorshipin the particular field of counselling psychology, our conceptualization of these topics isinformed largely by aspects of mentorship that have been found to be common acrossmany fields and levels of study and that may be transferable to undergraduate researchin counselling psychology. However, wherever possible, we draw more specificallyupon empirical research within psychology and counselling psychology. Where applica-ble, we also borrow from research on the mentorship of graduate students in counsel-ling psychology. We follow this discussion with a description of specific considerationsand issues related to counselling psychology as a unique subdiscipline of psychology.We then provide suggestions for increasing opportunities and addressing challengesrelated to undergraduate research mentorship in counselling psychology. While we dis-cuss counselling psychology primarily within the contexts of the United States andCanada, this article may also be relevant to other countries in the Western world (e.g.United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand; see Brown & Corne, 2004; Stanley &Manthei, 2004) that have faced similar challenges in the development of counsellingpsychology as a specialization.
Definition and characteristics of mentorship
Definition and role of mentors
Broadly defined, mentorship is both an interpersonal relationship and a developmentalprocess in which a senior, more experienced person helps a junior, less experiencedperson in a personal or professional area (Johnson, 2002). In universities and colleges,one of the most formative mentorship relationships is between a faculty member andstudent; and the mentorship relationship is commonly regarded as a central aspect ofstudents’ research experiences (Brown, Daly, & Leong, 2009; Falconer & Holcomb,2008; Lopatto, 2010). A variety of terms have been used to describe the mentorshipdyad, including mentor/mentee, mentor/protégé, and mentor/student (Brown et al.,2009; Jacobi, 1991; Johnson, 2003; Lunsford, 2011). For the purposes of this article,we refer to this dyad as mentor/student or faculty member/student. While mentorshipcan occur in the context of research or professional practice, we focus specifically onresearch mentorship between a faculty member and an undergraduate student in the fac-ulty member’s field of study. Thus, we define mentorship in undergraduate counsellingpsychology research as research mentorship within the discipline of counsellingpsychology, where the mentor is a faculty member within the field.
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Across academia, mentors are regarded as positive role models who take an activeinterest in the student’s academic, professional, and personal development. Mentorsimpart expert knowledge and wisdom and provide advice, feedback, and both emotionaland instrumental support to their students (Forehand, 2008; Jacobi, 1991; Johnson,2003; Lunsford, 2011). Neary (2000), who focused on the mentorship of students inclinical fields, conceptualized the role of the mentor to be fourfold: (a) the mentor is ateacher, who discusses the student’s achievement and progress in the field or profession;(b) the mentor is an advocate, who helps build the student’s confidence and self-esteem;(c) the mentor is a friend, who is available to listen and boost the student’s morale; and(d) the mentor is a facilitator, who works in a partnership with the student and definesboundaries and goals that are mutually satisfactory and respectful.
In the United States, the Association of Counselor Education and Supervisionrecently developed a set of guidelines for research mentorship relationships in thespecific field of counselling (Borders et al., 2012). According to these guidelines, themain purpose of mentorship is to help foster students’ development as a researcher,where the needs of students vary across a developmental spectrum. To achieve thisgoal, mentors are encouraged to provide honest, constructive, and supportive feedbackto the student, with an emphasis on both the student’s strengths and areas for improve-ment, while the student seeks, accepts, and acts on this feedback. Mentors use strongcommunication skills to collaborate with the mentee and to create clear expectationsand responsibilities for each person in the mentorship dyad. Mentors are available,flexible, and accomplished research role models, although they are not expected to beall-knowing. Where the mentor’s expertise or resources are limited, the mentor pointsthe student in the direction of other sources of support.
Many mentors also serve as students’ research supervisors, and indeed, mentorshipand supervision relationships share some commonalities. Research supervision is aprofessional activity where a faculty member and student work together in a formalrelationship to advance the student’s research goals, which typically align with and con-tribute to the supervisor’s research platform (Johnson, 2007; McCallin & Nayar, 2012).The supervisor’s main role is to oversee the student in the student’s particular researchprogram (Lee, 2012; Nulty, Kiley, & Meyers, 2009). The culmination of the supervisoryrelationship is the production of an original piece of research (e.g. thesis or dissertation)and the student’s subsequent graduation (Johnson, 2007; Lee, 2012). As is the case withmentorship, the research supervision relationship typically plays a prominent role in thestudent’s academic and professional development. Supervisors, like mentors, areregarded as experts in particular research areas; and students are viewed as noviceresearchers in training who benefit from the teaching, guidance, and advice of theirsupervisors (Johnson, 2003; Nulty et al., 2009).
However, although the roles of mentorship and supervision may overlap, and somementorship dynamics may appear in research supervision relationships, there are note-worthy differences. As Johnson (2007) stated, mentorship has an emphasis on support,encouragement, advocacy, and collegial connection, whereas supervision may includethe additional dynamic in which the supervisor is in the role of evaluator andgatekeeper. Supervisors are also formally responsible for the student’s research conductand are often integrally involved in addressing research ethical issues with their students(Goodyear, Cohen & Johnson, 1992). Unique dual role challenges may exist for facultymembers who are both supervisors and mentors, as there are power dynamics in the
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supervisory relationship (e.g. related to gatekeeping and professional/ ethicalresponsibility for the student) that may not exist within a mentorship dyad. Furthermore,a supervisory dynamic with a student does not necessarily develop into a mentorshiprelationship (Johnson, 2007). For example, students may not regard their research super-visor as a positive role model, whereas role modeling is a central aspect of mentorship.
In the mentorship literature, mentoring has also been likened to an apprenticeshipprocess in which an expert helps a novice gain the skills and attitudes required of aparticular field and where the relationship becomes increasingly collegial as the novicenears graduation (Johnson, 2003; Lave & Wenger, 1991). Apprenticeship involvesseveral key features including apprentice engagement in learning and work-relatedtasks, instructor-led allocation of tasks with the aim of skill development, and an oppor-tunity for the apprentice to demonstrate learning and skill development as acquiredthroughout the apprenticeship experience (Lave & Wenger, 1991). While similar in theiremphasis on the novice’s professional development under the guidance of a respectedexpert, mentorship and apprenticeship have also been conceptualized as distinct. Cramerand Prentice-Dunn (2007) have suggested that mentorship is more all-encompassingthan apprenticeship, with mentoring being characterized by a greater emphasis onempathically attuning to the emotional experience and developmental needs of thestudent and “caring for the whole person” (p. 772). However, it is clear someapprenticeships may also be thought of as mentorship relationships in the sense thatCramer and Pentice-Dunn have alluded to.
Factors related to successful research mentorship
A number of studies have identified characteristics and functions of mentors that, fromthe perspectives of students and faculty members, contribute to successful researchmentorship (Behar-Horenstein, Roberts, & Dix, 2010; Cox & Androit, 2009; Cramer &Prentice-Dunn, 2007; Shellito, Shea, Mueller-Solger, & Davis, 2001). In a study aimedat understanding how faculty members provide positive mentorship to undergraduateresearchers, Shellito and her colleagues (2001) asked students who had engaged in anundergraduate research project (URP) in psychology, biology, physical sciences,mathematics, or engineering to complete a survey on their views and experiences of theresearch program. The students’ overall satisfaction with the URP was found to berelated to the perceived quality of the faculty mentor. Specifically, students valued amentor who they perceived to be knowledgeable, approachable, encouraging, andsupportive of students’ efforts and who was regularly available for consultation. Whenasked to rank the relative importance of project guidance (providing the student withsupport and direction on the research project), career guidance (discussing future jobopportunities with the student), and individual guidance (encouraging the student,sharing the mentor’s own experiences with the student and being available to meet on aconsistent basis), students placed greatest importance on project guidance (54% ofrespondents) and individual guidance (34%).
In the same study, faculty mentors were interviewed on their perceptions of whatmakes for successful undergraduate research mentorship. Functions that faculty mentorsperceived as being most important fell into three broad areas: (a) managing time andresources, which included developing well-defined projects that are geared towards thestudent’s interests and abilities, recognizing and respecting student time commitments
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outside the research laboratory, and providing sufficient supplies and resources for thestudent’s research projects; (b) establishing a relationship with the student, whichincluded understanding and communicating mutual expectations, spending time with thestudent, recognizing the student’s individual needs, providing constructive feedback andencouragement, being approachable and encouraging, and respecting the student as acolleague; and (c) providing continued guidance and support after the research programends, which included facilitating the student’s increasing independence, encouragingpresentations and publications, offering career guidance, and providing continuedmentorship as the student grows academically, for instance in the form of letters ofrecommendation to graduate school.
Based on their review of the mentorship literature, combined with theirconsideration of the scientist/practitioner model undergirding several areas of profes-sional psychology, including counselling psychology, Brown and her colleagues (2009)suggested that the successful research mentorship of professional psychology students,from undergraduate through to postdoctoral studies, is characterized by six mentorfactors. First, the mentor fosters the mentee’s movement toward independence in con-ducting research. As Brown et al. stated, “Independence as a professional engaged inthe research enterprise should represent the ultimate goal of the mentoring relationshipin a scientist–practitioner setting” (p. 311). Second, the mentor provides encouragementand assistance in the development of skills, goals, and professional identity formation.Included in this support is the mentor as a role model whereby the mentor facilitateshands-on learning through observation. Third, the mentor is an effective and emotion-ally sensitive communicator. Acting as a support, the mentor makes time for and issensitive to the needs of the mentee and communicates this through honest, empathicdialogue. Fourth, the mentor acts as a guide in exposing the mentee to different typesof research and research methods while adopting an evaluative role and offering feed-back. Also of importance is an appreciation for the developmental stage of the studentand the mentorship relationship. For example, mentorship may progress from a basiclevel, such as a mentor overseeing research done by an undergraduate student mentee,to a more advanced level, such as collaborating with a graduate student mentee on anacademic publication. Fifth, the mentor exposes the mentee to novel experiences andsituations such as networking opportunities, academic collaborations, and publications.Finally, the mentor acts as a strong moral role model and advocates ethical decision-making practices and appropriate behavioral conduct as a practitioner and as aresearcher.
Benefits and challenges
Benefits
A substantial body of literature points to the possible benefits of mentoring undergraduatestudents in research. The vast majority of studies in this area have focused on theadvantages of students being involved in faculty–mentored undergraduate researchprograms, making it difficult to tease out the benefits of engagement in research vs.faculty mentorship per se. Indeed, an argument can be made that undergraduate researchengagement and mentorship are inseparable, given that the vast majority of URPs andother forms of undergraduate research almost always involve a faculty–mentorship
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relationship. Therefore, in reviewing the benefits of mentorship in undergraduateresearch, we have included the literature on undergraduate research programs that wereexplicitly identified either as mentorship programs or as faculty–mentored researchprograms (i.e. where mentorship was an explicit and central part the research program orexperience). Based on our review, the benefits of mentorship appear to fall into four maincategories: (a) personal and intellectual/skill development of students, (b) increased stu-dent retention and academic success, (c) students’ pursuit of graduate studies and theaccompanying replenishment of the field, and (d) students’ professional identity develop-ment and socialization.
Personal benefits and intellectual/skill development
The many personal, academic, and intellectual benefits that may come from mentorshiprelationships are well-documented in the literature across diverse disciplines (Brownet al., 2009; Cox & Androit, 2009; Jacobi, 1991; Landrum & Nelsen, 2002; Zydney,Bennett, Shahid, & Bauer, 2002). In one study, Seymour and her associates (2004) con-ducted extensive interviews with 76 students who had participated in a faculty-mentoredURP, which among a range of disciplines, included psychology. The greatest reportedbenefits were in the areas of personal/professional gains, most notably increased confi-dence, establishment of collegial relationships with mentors, and contribution to thefield. Students also reported enhanced critical thinking/problem-solving, increasedknowledge and understanding of the research process, gains in communication skillsalong with other practical skills, and greater clarification and confirmation of careerchoices. Similarly, Lopatto (2006) analyzed the survey responses of 73 students whohad participated in faculty-mentored URPs in the humanities and social sciences.Among the top benefits reported were learning about a topic in depth, developing anongoing relationship with the faculty mentor, understanding the research process, andbecoming more prepared for advanced research. Furthermore, gains in personal devel-opment were evident, with students reporting increased self-confidence, independence,sense of accomplishment, and self-understanding. In a subsequent study that includedmore than 5000 faculty–mentored undergraduates, Lopatto (2010) found a correlationbetween students’ reported learning and their opinion of their mentor; those who ratedtheir mentor as “outstanding” had significantly greater learning gains than those whoreported an “above average” mentor. The personal and intellectual benefits of mentor-ship in undergraduate research were also noted by Landrum and Nelsen (2002), whosurveyed faculty mentors in psychology on their beliefs about how undergraduatestudents benefitted from their relationships with faculty. From the perspective of faculty,the most important benefits for students were technical and interpersonal skills, with thetop technical skills including enhanced critical thinking, data collection skills, andacademic writing, and the top interpersonal or personal benefits including increasedenthusiasm for research, development of a one-to-one relationship with a facultymember, and greater clarity about whether to pursue graduate studies.
Increased student retention and academic success
A number of researchers have suggested that mentorship in undergraduate research mayhelp boost students’ academic performance and decrease the likelihood of their
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dropping out of university (Campbell & Campbell, 2007; Craney et al., 2001; Eagan,Sharkness, Hurtado, Mosqueda, & Chang, 2011; Nagda, Gregerman, Jonides, Hippel, &Lerner, 1998). For instance, in one of the few experimental studies on the impact offaculty-mentored undergraduate research on student retention, Nagda and colleagues(1998) examined an URP at a large American University, where the main goal of theURP was to create faculty-student mentorship relationships at the undergraduate level.Students who applied to the URP were randomly assigned to either the experimental orcontrol group. Participants assigned to the experimental group were accepted into theURP and were partnered with faculty mentors from liberal arts or professional programs(e.g. psychology and other disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, as well asmedicine, social work, and the biological sciences). Control group participants were notaccepted into the URP, after being informed that acceptance was based upon randomassignment rather than merit. Based on records that were later obtained from the regis-trar’s office at the university, the researchers found that students who completed theURP were significantly more likely to complete their degrees than students who did notparticipate in the URP. More recently, Campbell and Campbell (2007) published theirfindings on a campus-wide undergraduate mentorship program at a large university inthe United States. In the program, students were paired with faculty who provided men-torship in a variety of research-related activities. At the end of the academic year, the339 students who were mentored had significantly higher grade point averages (GPAs),completed more coursework and showed higher rates of retention than the 339 controlgroup participants who received no faculty mentorship. The gains in GPA and retentionwere particularly strong for students who were of the same ethnic background as theirmentor.
Pursuit of graduate studies/replenishment of the field
Another potential benefit of undergraduate research mentorship is its role in students’pursuit of graduate studies, and, by extension, in the replenishment of the professionsand academic fields. Several studies have indicated that undergraduates who are men-tored in research are more likely to pursue graduate studies and to choose careers in thefield related to their undergraduate research experience (Gates, Teller, Bernat, Delgado,& Della-Paina, 1998; Hathaway, Nagda, & Gregerman, 2002; Landrum & Nelsen,2002; Lopatto, 2010). For example, in the Campbell and Campbell (2007) studyreferred to above, a follow-up analysis performed 11 years after students hadparticipated in the research mentorship program revealed that students who had beenmentored by faculty were 1.5 times more likely to pursue graduate studies than werenon-mentored students. Others have also indicated that early mentoring in research is astrong predictor of admission into graduate school (Nnadozie, Ishiyama, & Chon,2001).
Socialization and identity development
Along with attracting students to graduate school and professional careers, mentorshipin undergraduate research may help socialize students into the culture of the disciplineand promote the development of a disciplinary identity. Hunter, Laursen, and Seymour(2007) conducted a large-scale ethnographic study that explored the benefits of
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mentorship in undergraduate research at four liberal arts colleges in the United States.Students from a range of programs in the arts and sciences, including psychology, par-ticipated in a summer URP in which they were paired with faculty mentors. Based on atotal of 367 interviews, Hunter and her colleagues found that, from the perspective ofboth faculty mentors and students, one of the top benefits of the URP was that it helpedstudents identify with the discipline and develop the behaviors and attitudes that werepart of “becoming a scientist” in the specific field. In their discussion on mentorship inpsychology, Brown et al. (2009) stated that “working with a research mentor exposes[psychology] students to the socialization aspect involved in participating as a memberof a research team or even socialization as a future psychologist” (p. 307).
While several of the above benefits may help to advance of a specific discipline, wenote that it is ultimately the student’s interests, especially the student’s learning, growth,and development, that should be a priority in the mentorship relationship. As stated inthe Association of Counselor Education and Supervision Guidelines for Mentorship, themain goal of research mentorship is to foster the student’s development, taking intoaccount the student’s developmental needs (Borders et al., 2012). In discussing theethical responsibilities that accompany mentorship of undergraduate students, Andersonand Shore (2008) suggested that mentorship requires a respect for the mentee’s need forautonomy, along with an awareness of the power differential between the mentor andmentee. Mentors must avoid imposing their values and professional agendas on to thementee. For example, mentors should provide guidance in support as mentees attemptto make career decisions; and in the words of Anderson and Shore, mentors “mustaccept the protégé’s vocational decision, even when that decision rejects the mentor’sown professional legacy” (p. 5). Indeed, mentorship in undergraduate research maypromote the sort of independence, self-confidence, and personal insight that may help amentee come to the conclusion that the current career path would not be personallyrewarding (Lopatto, 2006).
Challenges
While the mentorship of undergraduate students in research may have significant bene-fits for students, faculty members, and universities, a number of challenges may workagainst this process. Some of these challenges are found across disciplines, while othersmay be particularly salient in the case of counselling psychology.
Pressures on university faculty/time commitment
One of the main challenges in mentoring undergraduate students in research arepressures on university faculty in the areas of research, service, and teaching (Cramer &Prentice-Dunn, 2007; Evans, 2010; Hunter et al., 2007; Lei & Chuang, 2009). In theUnited States, the Boyer Commission was formed in 1995 to study undergraduatestudent involvement in research and recommend ways of increasing undergraduateresearch engagement. The Commission found that among faculty members from the 91research-intensive universities included in the study, the main impediment to mentoringundergraduate students in research was “increasing pressures on faculty … who arebeing asked to take on more and more students while maintaining active researchprograms” (Katkin, 2003, p. 27). Mentorship of undergraduate students, especially in the
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early phase of their research involvement, can be quite time-consuming. Undergraduatestudents may require more time and engagement from mentors as their research skillsare not as developed as those of graduate students (Behar-Horenstein et al., 2010; Brownet al., 2009; O’Clock & Rooney, 1996). Moreover, such mentorship is often not recog-nized in teaching loads (Thomas & Gillespie, 2008; Wayment & Dickson, 2008), andmany URPs do not lead to scholarly publications (Lei & Chuang, 2009). Given the pres-sures on faculty to produce and perform, faculty may simply not have enough time toinvest in mentoring undergraduates in addition to other teaching, research, and serviceresponsibilities.
Lack of resources for mentoring
Faculty often lack the resources needed to mentor undergraduate students in research,or the resources that they do receive are minimal when compared to other research andteaching activities (Evans, 2010; Katkin, 2003). Inadequate funding to supportundergraduate students and a shortage of research space to accommodate extra peopleand equipment may be particularly problematic (Lei & Chuang, 2009). In the wake ofthe Boyer Commission Report, many universities, faculties, and departments acrossNorth America have increased their funding for undergraduate research (Katkin, 2003;Nnadozie et al., 2001; Shellito et al., 2001). However, it is unclear how much of thisincrease has permeated counselling psychology programs in other countries. Forexample, with the recent changes to the funding mandates of Canada’s Social Sciencesand Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), a federal research funding agency thatawards grants for eligible research projects in psychology among other disciplines inthe social sciences and humanities, many counselling psychologists whose programs ofresearch do not fall squarely within SSHRC’s mandates are especially challenged intheir efforts to obtain funding (Hiebert, Domene, & Buchanan, 2011).
Pressures on students
Lei and Chuang (2009) identified several pressures on undergraduate students that standin their way of being mentored in research. These include academic obligations (e.g.the need to focus on coursework for credit), obligations outside of school (e.g. job,family, and friends), financial constraints (e.g. research coursework involves additionalfees), lack of interest in research topic, and the time commitment required. There arealso pressures related to limited research opportunities, as it is often the case that manystudents are competing for a small number of research assistantships.
Difficulties addressing diversity
Difficulties may also arise in addressing diversity and cultural differences betweenfaculty mentors and students. For example, students from ethnic minorities may beunder-represented in research mentorship relationships (Behar-Horenstein et al., 2010;Reddick, 2011), and many disciplines, including counselling psychology, may sufferfrom a shortage of ethnically diverse faculty (Atkinson, Brown, Casas, & Zane, 1996;Gosine, 2007; Reddick, 2011). Such shortfalls may be particularly problematic whenconsidered in light of findings that students tend to prefer a mentor from a similar
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ethnic background (Blake-Beard, Bayne, Crosby, Muller, 2011) and that ethnicmatching may increase the likelihood of students’ academic success (Campbell &Campbell, 2007; Nagda et al., 1998). In addition, Brown et al. (2009) have pointed outthat in some areas of psychology (e.g. clinical psychology), the proportion of female tomale faculty researchers may be significantly less than the proportion of female to malestudents, with the implication that some female students interested in being mentored inpsychology research may be challenged to find same-gender mentors. Although findingson the potential benefits of gender matching are mixed (Blake-Beard et al., 2011;Campbell & Campbell, 2007), there appears to be some evidence that mentees who arematched with mentors of the same gender perceive their mentors as stronger role mod-els and sources of psychosocial support than in mixed-gender pairings (Allen, Day, &Lentz, 2005; Lockwood, 2006).
Considerations for counselling psychology
The uniqueness of counselling psychology as a discipline, particularly when comparedto other branches of psychology, may make undergraduate research mentorshipattractive to faculty, students, and universities alike. At the same time, some of the char-acteristics that contribute to the field’s uniqueness may also bring significant challengesfor mentorship. In this section, we briefly describe how counselling psychology isunique amongst the psychologies and how this uniqueness may translate into significantdifferences in the nature and benefits of undergraduate research mentorship in counsel-ling psychology, compared with other disciplines covered in the mentorship literature.We then discuss the challenges and opportunities that may be associated with mentoringundergraduate students in the field.
Uniqueness of counselling psychology as a discipline
Although the historical roots of counselling psychology vary across the Western world, aconstellation of shared values and characteristics contribute to the uniqueness ofcounselling psychology as a discipline. Among its most distinguishing features are itsemphases on development/wellness across the life span (Brown & Corne, 2004; Hage,2003; Taylor & Neimeyer, 2009), diversity and multiculturalism (Heppner, Casas, Carter,& Stone, 2000; Lalande, 2004; Neimeyer, Taylor, Wear, & Buyukgoze-Kavas, 2011),social justice (Gazzola & Smith, 2007; Munley, Duncan, McDonnell, & Sauer, 2004;Vera & Speight, 2003), career/life transitions (Lalande, 2004; Munley et al., 2004), theclient–counsellor relationship (Hage, 2003; Walsh, Frankland, & Cross, 2004), andprevention (Meara & Myers, 1999; Romano & Hage, 2000; Stanley & Manthei, 2004).The discipline’s strengths in the areas of relationship, diversity, and attention to thedevelopmental needs of the whole person may give counselling psychology a particularadvantage in building mentorship relationships with students. As an applied discipline,counselling psychology is also grounded upon the scientist–practitioner model of train-ing, where both science and practice are meant to inform each other and be infusedthroughout students’ coursework, research, and practical experiences. This differentiatescounselling psychology from non-applied psychology disciplines, such as experimental,social, and cognitive psychology, which focus mainly on research. In addition, with itscommitment to diverse ways of knowing and to understanding the contexts in which
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clients’ lives are situated, counselling psychology has embraced qualitative research to alarger extent than its related disciplines, including clinical psychology (Bedi, Klubben, &Barker, 2012; Hage, 2003; Moran, 2011).
Another unique aspect of counselling psychology are the diverse spaces that itoccupies within universities when compared to many other disciplines in psychology.For example, in North America, most clinical psychology programs are housed infaculties of arts/science and in departments of psychology, along with well-established,academic areas of psychology. However, in our review of accredited doctoral programsin counselling psychology in the United States, over half of the programs appear to behoused in faculties or schools of education. Approximately a third were in departmentsof psychology, where other areas of psychology were also present. In Canada, allaccredited doctoral programs in counselling psychology are located in faculties orschools of education. This is perhaps unsurprising given that, historically andphilosophically speaking, counselling psychology in North America is grounded both ineducation and psychology. In the United Kingdom, counselling psychology has situateditself somewhat differently, with most doctoral degree programs located in schools ofsocial sciences, health sciences, psychology, and applied psychology. Unlike the NorthAmerican context, we could not find any accredited doctoral programs in the UnitedKingdom that were housed in a department of education.
Given the uniqueness of counselling psychology as a discipline, undergraduateresearch mentorship in counselling psychology may differ in notable ways from otherdisciplines, such as the liberal arts or basic sciences. Transferability of research findingson research mentorship in these disciplines may be limited to the extent that counsellingpsychology is unique. One aspect of counselling psychology that particularly sets it apartfrom other fields is its applied nature and its adherence to the scientist–practitioner model.For many students, it is the applied component and the potential for a career in clinicalpractice that draws them to the field; and exposure to clinically relevant topics maybe one of the perceived benefits of being mentored in counselling psychology research.The success of undergraduate research mentorship in counselling psychology may there-fore depend upon how effectively research and science are bridged with practice. Inother words, for students to benefit most from mentorship in counselling psychologyresearch, there may need to be a strong emphasis on the relevance of research to profes-sional practice. Furthermore, faculty members’ background in counselling practice, overand above their research expertise, may be an important factor in students’ perceptionsof their mentors and students’ overall satisfaction with the mentorship experience.
The applied nature of counselling psychology may also have ethical implicationsthat are not present in less applied fields. As noted earlier, the functions of evaluationand gatekeeping have been regarded more as aspects of supervision than of mentorship(Johnson, 2007). However, in counselling psychology research mentorship, evaluationand gatekeeping may enter into the role of mentor, especially given students’ interestsin practice. Although research mentorship is more concerned with research thanpractice, the potential for students to eventually work as professional practitioners cannever be far from the mentor’s awareness. Thus the mentor’s evaluation of the mentee’semotional stability, openness, warmth, empathy, insight, self-awareness, and otherpersonal qualities deemed as important for effective counselling practice (Beutler,Machado, & Neufeldt, 1994; Wheeler, 2000) may be more common in counsellingpsychology research mentorship than in other fields. A research mentor who regards the
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student as being poorly suited to practice may have the ethical responsibility of gentlyguiding the student toward career paths that better fit with the student’s strengths. Theapplied nature of counselling psychology may also require that research mentorsthemselves have demonstrated and continuing competence in clinical practice (e.g.through continued professional development) and embody the characteristics associatedwith effective counsellors. The extent to which these may be viewed as significantaspects of counselling psychology mentorship needs to be investigated in future studies[see Anderson and Shore (2008) for a more general discussion of ethical issues inundergraduate mentorship].
Other potentially unique aspects of undergraduate mentorship in counsellingpsychology may relate to the discipline’s grounding in the developmental/wellnessmodel, combined with its specialization in career/life transitions and its emphasis on thetherapeutic relationship. Whether these strengths translate into a stronger emphasis bymentors on the developmental tasks of emerging adulthood, such as identity formation,independence, and choice of career (Anderson & Shore, 2008), remains to be seen infuture studies. However, the research mentorship guidelines put forth by the Associationof Counselor Education and Supervision in the United States (2012) suggest that thedevelopmental needs of mentees are emphasized by the field. Another question iswhether the discipline’s focus on relationship building translates into greater value beingplaced on interpersonal aspects of the mentor-mentee dyad. For example, in contrast toShellito et al.’s (2001) study in which students surveyed from a variety of sciencedisciplines endorsed project guidance (i.e. having adequate equipment, resources, anddirection for research tasks) as being of greater benefit than individual/personalguidance or career guidance, it could be that the latter types of guidance are morehighly prized in counselling psychology than in other fields.
Challenges and opportunities for mentorship in counselling psychology research
Exposure to counselling psychology
With so many counselling psychology programs being situated outside of faculties ofarts and sciences, psychology students within arts and science may have little if anyexposure to counselling psychology or to potential mentors in the field. The same canbe said of students completing education degrees, where counselling psychology islocated in another faculty. Furthermore, in Canada and the United States, mostpsychology departments and schools of education do not offer undergraduate courses incounselling psychology; and honours degree programs in counselling psychology arerare. Some schools or departments in the United Kingdom offer undergraduate honoursdegree programs in psychology with a core counselling component [e.g. B.Sc. (Hons.)Psychology with Counselling, B.Sc. (Hons.) Counselling Psychology] and accreditedthrough the British Psychological Society; however, these are relatively few in number.The shortage of undergraduate programming in counselling psychology poses a signifi-cant challenge, since undergraduate courses and honours programs in counselling psy-chology may provide students with the opportunity to meet and work with potentialmentors and may also serve as important recruitment grounds for graduate school(Dispenza & Horne, 2012). Without such programming, counselling psychology is at adistinct disadvantage when compared to clinical psychology, where undergraduate
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courses and honours degree programs are much more common. In the United States,the Society for Counseling Psychology (Division 17 of the American PsychologicalAssociation) highlighted the need for greater availability of counselling psychology pro-gramming at the undergraduate level (Dispenza & Horne, 2012). Until such program-ming is available, mentorship of undergraduates in counselling psychology researchmay be promoted through such mechanisms as URPs or directed/independent studiescourses. A challenge, however, is how to make students and counselling psychologyfaculty visible to one another from across departmental boundaries.
Students’ lack of background in research
In many branches of psychology (e.g. clinical, developmental, and social), a bachelor’sdegree in psychology is usually required for admission into graduate school. Studentsmay also be expected to have an honours degree, which in several Western countriesinvolves completion of an undergraduate thesis as well as coursework in research meth-ods. A somewhat different tradition exists in the field of counselling psychology.Although undergraduate degrees in psychology are typically preferred, acceptance ofrelated degrees (e.g. an education degree, with some coursework in psychology or edu-cational psychology) is not uncommon (see Bedi et al., 2012). This flexibility contrib-utes to a diverse student population, and, as noted above, an emphasis on diversity is amajor strength of counselling psychology. However, it also means that many studentswith an interest in the area may have minimal research experience. These students maybe at a disadvantage when applying for admission to graduate school, especially whencompeting against students with honours degrees in psychology. For students withrelatively weak research backgrounds, undergraduate mentorship in counselling psychol-ogy research may help increase their competitiveness for admission into graduate schooland may also help better prepare them for the research requirements of their graduatetraining. However, empirical research is needed to shed light on whether these potentialbenefits have indeed been borne out in the discipline.
Students’ attitudes toward research
As an applied field, counselling psychology is similar to clinical psychology, where themajority of students pursing graduate studies are headed toward careers in professionalpractice. In a recent survey conducted by Neimeyer and his colleagues (2011) on theworkplace settings of counselling psychologists across the United States and Canada,more than 90% of the 1484 counselling psychologists who responded to an onlinesurvey worked primarily as practitioners, and less than 7% were employed in academia.Thus, for many students, research conducted in graduate school may be regarded moreas a necessary step en route to a preferred career in professional practice than as an endin itself or as preparation for academia. Moreover, some students may have ambivalentor negative attitudes about research. In a recent study, Moran (2011) found that amonga sample of 14 doctoral students in a counselling psychology program in the UnitedKingdom, participants perceived research as being an anxiety-provoking, difficult, andlonely activity that was removed from clinical practice. At the same time, someparticipants described research in positive terms [e.g. as being “nourishing,”“satisfying,” and “exciting” (p. 174)], especially in cases where participants were at a
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relatively advanced stage in their doctoral programs. It appears, then, that for somestudents, positive attitudes toward counselling psychology research may need to benurtured; and research mentorship at the undergraduate level may be a powerful meansof doing so. Through such mentorship, students may benefit from the sense of personalsatisfaction and excitement that may come from engaging in research.
Struggles to preserve the identity and future of counselling psychology
While there has been much growth of the field over the past few decades (e.g. seeBrown & Corne, 2004; Stanley & Manthei, 2004; Walsh et al., 2004), counsellingpsychology also faces a number of potential threats to its identity and long-termsustainability. The history of counselling psychology has (and to some extent continuesto be) one marked by the struggle for recognition and inclusion among other psychol-ogy specializations (Brown & Corne, 2004; Meara & Myers, 1999). Amidst recentefforts to more clearly define the unique identity of counselling psychology, there havebeen ongoing pressures for counselling psychology to conform more to dominant medi-cal model characteristics of clinical psychology (Bedi et al., 2011, 2012; Hage, 2003;Meara & Myers, 1999). Given this threat to the identity of counselling psychology, theneed to acculturate students to the field is all the more vital; and undergraduate researchmentorship may help as part of a larger, concerted effort to address this threat. How-ever, a concomitant challenge may be acquiring the resources to support such efforts. Inthe United States, counselling psychology has been losing funding at both the graduateand undergraduate levels, and some accredited doctoral programs have been terminated(Dispenza & Horne, 2012; Meara & Myers, 1999; Romano & Kachgal, 2004). Theclosure of counselling psychology graduate programs, along with often limitedundergraduate programming in the field, has prompted Dispenza and Horne (2012) toidentify the preservation of counselling psychology as an issue of utmost importance.
Future directions for mentorship in counselling psychology research
In this section, we provide suggestions for increasing undergraduate student mentorship incounselling psychology research, with an emphasis on goals and strategies for bringingtogether students and counselling psychology faculty into mentorship relationships. Werecognize that the feasibility and success of our suggestions depend upon the availabilityof resources to support mentorship efforts. Also required are academic cultures and socialclimates where both counselling psychology and undergraduate research mentorship arevalued. It is beyond the scope of this article to discuss the important question of how suchcultures can be created or the related question of how to advocate for funding atvarious levels of university and government. These questions are particularly important intimes of fiscal restraint. Instead, we offer our suggestions tentatively and more at a microlevel, noting that their feasibility may be severely limited without the support ofuniversities, government, and the general public. We also note here that we have notdiscussed specific strategies and practices for being an effective mentor or for how tostructure the mentorship relationship. Interested readers may wish to consult othersources that cover these important topics (e.g. Borders et al., 2012; Johnson, 2002;Shellito et al., 2001).
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If counselling psychology is to benefit from undergraduate research mentorship, thediscipline may need to become more visible to students. This can be accomplished inpart through the development of undergraduate courses, research programs, and researchassistantships in counselling psychology. In addition, the integration of research andteaching within courses – a practice that is increasingly encouraged in higher education– could also help fuel a passion for research (Bartlett, 2003; John & Creighton, 2011).However, it is not as simple as “If you build it they will come.” In order to accessfaculty mentors and faculty-mentored research initiatives in counselling psychology,students first need to be informed that such opportunities exist. Thus, advertising andpromotion at the levels of academic departments, faculties, and universities are impor-tant. For instance, opportunities for mentorship in counselling psychology researchcould be made more visible by dedicating faculty and department web space for themand making it as easy as possible for students to find online information on the faculty,courses, programs, and other initiatives available. However, creating an attractive andaccessible web site page, though helpful, is only a small piece in what needs to be acomprehensive and well thought-out plan.
An example of such a plan can be found in a study by Wayment and Dickson(2008) conducted at the psychology department of Northern Arizona University. Tobegin with, the department identified a lack of student awareness and limited publicityof faculty-mentored research opportunities as being among the top impediments toundergraduate research involvement. The department then addressed these issuesthrough publicizing faculty-mentored research opportunities and creating applicationsthat were readily accessible and where the applications deadlines and selection processwere clearly indicated; advertising research opportunities across campus so as to reacha wide range of students; encouraging potential mentors to discuss researchopportunities with all students and inform them about the benefits of mentored researchinvolvement; and issuing a departmental newsletter that publicized student and facultyresearch achievements. After the department implemented these changes, Wayment andDickson found that the number of visits to a website publicizing undergraduate researchopportunities rose from 162 to 704 in just one month; and the online newsletterreceived over 4500 hits whereas it had received 587 the month before. Furthermore,undergraduate participation in faculty-mentored research rose from an average of 40.18students per year to 87 in the first year of implementation and 117 in the subsequentyear.
Counselling psychology faculty may also reach undergraduate students indirectly,through creating stronger alliances with faculty members and undergraduate programadvisors from other disciplines in psychology and from disciplines outside ofpsychology, such as education, nursing, social work, and rehabilitation medicine.Through building bridges across disciplines (e.g. by participating on an interdisciplinaryresearch team or serving on a dissertation committee that includes members fromdifferent faculties), academics in counselling psychology can increase the visibility ofcounselling psychology and enhance awareness and understanding of the unique iden-tity and strengths. This may also increase the likelihood that academics and programadvisors outside of the field might inform their own students about counsellingpsychology as a potential career path.
In addition, psychological associations and counselling psychology chapters withinthose associations, such as Division 17 of the American Psychological Association, the
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Counselling Psychology Section of the Canadian Psychological Association, or theDivision of Counselling Psychology within the British Psychological Society, can servethe important functions of increasing students’ awareness of counselling psychologyand bringing together undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty members.For example, section organizers of annual conferences should consider how to attractundergraduate students through section programming, student awards and travel grants,and student-centered social events. It can be argued that these strategies may be“preaching to the converted” in the sense that they engage students who already havesome awareness of counselling psychology. However, it can also be said that throughtheir attendance at conferences, students may become exposed to counselling psychol-ogy for the first time; or, for those students who already have some knowledge of coun-selling psychology, they may become better informed and more motivated to contactpotential faculty mentors in the field. Furthermore, an undergraduate student representa-tive could reach out to students in their home universities, thereby increasing the visibil-ity of the field.
Counselling psychology research also needs to be made more attractive and relevantto undergraduate students to encourage their interest in counselling psychology as apotential field of research. Greater attractiveness and relevance may come in part fromattending more closely to diversity. Although an emphasis on difference and diversity isan acknowledged strength of counselling psychology, it appears that our field still hassome room for improvement in this area before the needs of diverse students areadequately met (e.g. through mentor/mentee matching based on cultural background;Reddick, 2011). In addition, counselling psychology may be able to draw in moreundergraduates through mentorship in qualitative research. As some researchers havesuggested, the attractiveness of qualitative research may come in large part from itsperceived relevance to real-life or practical counselling situations and from its emphasison context (Gelso, 2006; Moran, 2011).
Along with greater visibility and attractiveness is the need for available funding forundergraduate student mentorship initiatives in counselling psychology. Where fundingis available, faculty members could help students acquire funding through scholarships,award programs, or paid research assistantships, where students have the opportunity towork as research assistants or complete independent research projects (e.g. an honoursthesis) in counselling psychology, through mentorship relationships with facultymentors. Faculty members could further increase the chances of students’ receiving fund-ing by building undergraduate research assistantships into grant proposal budgets and bymaking the case for the inclusion of undergraduate students in major research projects.For some faculty members, this may require a shift from thinking “horizontally” in termsof student research involvement (i.e. hiring only graduate students as research assistants)to thinking more “vertically,” where faculty create research teams that include a contin-uum of undergraduate, Master’s, doctoral, and postdoctoral students.
Where funding for faculty-mentored research is not available, undergraduatestudents could obtain course credit for their engagement in counselling psychologyresearch. Such engagement could occur as part of an undergraduate course in counsel-ling psychology (for example, where students complete a literature review as one oftheir course assignments), or through the creation of an honours seminar in counsellingpsychology. Another possibility would be for universities to offer a faculty-mentoredundergraduate research internship in counselling psychology, with department-wide
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application procedures and processes for matching students with faculty researchers.These types of programs already exist in many psychology departments across NorthAmerica (Wayment & Dickson, 2008). As an alternative, especially in universitieswhere no counselling psychology courses are available, students could enter into men-torship relationships with a faculty member through engaging in a directed/independentstudies courses in counselling psychology. Furthermore, students could be encouragedto present their research at academic and professional conferences or at undergraduateresearch symposiums hosted by the university, faculty, or department in which thecounselling psychology faculty are housed.
Of course, in order for academics to provide this type of support for students, theythemselves require adequate resources and incentives. In many faculties, mentorship ofundergraduates needs to be given more weight and recognition in annual performanceevaluations, teaching loads, and tenure and promotion decisions (Cramer & Prentice-Dunn, 2007; Evans, 2010). Honours and awards that recognize excellence in mentoringundergraduate students in research and that carry considerable prestige may also beimportant. As mentioned above, incentives and resources (e.g. grant monies, laboratoryspace) may only be possible in environments that value undergraduate research andwhere funding is available.
Conclusion
Undergraduate research mentorship has benefits and challenges not only in general, butalso specifically in the discipline of counselling psychology. The research mentorshiprelationship between counselling psychology faculty members and undergraduatestudents may serve both as a vehicle for meeting the academic, professional, andpersonal needs of students and as a springboard for further advancement of the field.The applied nature of counselling psychology, along with other aspects that differentiatecounselling psychology from other disciplines, may have unique implications for whatconstitutes successful research mentorship. Challenges to mentorship include undergrad-uate students’ lack of exposure to counselling psychology, students’ varying in theirlevel of research background, students’ preference for professional practice overresearch, pressures on faculty and students’ time, shortage of available resources, anddifficulty addressing diversity.
In building a case for counselling psychology mentorship, we have relied largely onliterature from areas outside of counselling psychology. This highlights the need forresearch, especially empirical studies, on mentoring undergraduates in our specific field.Future studies could empirically examine the specific nature and benefits of counsellingpsychology research mentorship from the perspective of both undergraduate studentsand faculty members. There is a need for research on differences between mentoringundergraduate and graduate students in the field. Ethical issues could also be furtherexplored, as could student and faculty experiences of negative mentorship experiencesin counselling psychology research and perspectives on how mentorship could beimproved. In addition, the question of how to foster cultures that support counsellingpsychology research mentorship for undergraduates may be a fruitful area of inquiry.Research in these areas may help inform universities, governments, and the generalpublic in their commitment to support students along the path of success.
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Notes on contributorsK. Jessica Van Vliet is an associate professor in counselling psychology in the Department ofEducational Psychology at the University of Alberta. Her research interests include acceptance-based and compassion-focused approaches for enhancing emotion regulation among adults andyouth.
Kirsten E. Klingle is a master’s student in counselling psychology in the Department of Educa-tional Psychology at the University of Alberta. She holds Bachelor’s degrees in both Psychologyand Education. Her research interests include the role of mentorship in undergraduate studentdevelopment, as well as compassion-based approaches to improved wellbeing among adolescentsand adults.
Lara E. Hiseler is a doctoral candidate in counselling psychology in the Department ofEducational Psychology at the University of Alberta. Her research interests include qualitativemethodologies, positive psychology, and compassion-focused interventions in the criminal justicesystem.
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