Our EDI mentoring scheme aims to support counselling and psychotherapy students and trainees from diverse, marginalised and underrepresented communities - including people with disabilities, neurodivergence, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, + which represents all other sexual orientations and gender identities [LGBTQIA+] and people from less privileged social economic backgrounds.
We support people to:听
- provide equitable therapies to clients from diverse, marginalised, and underrepresented backgrounds
- explore personal identities when providing therapy as someone from a diverse, marginalised, or underrepresented community
The scheme is designed as part of our strategy to improve EDI in the counselling professions and is part of our work to support and encourage a diverse and inclusive profession.
The reason for the mentoring scheme
Feedback from our members showed that the training received by members often is not inclusive of EDI. There are wide-ranging reasons for this, including:听
- EDI is insufficiently embedded within the curriculum with a low uptake of minority therapists becoming trainers
- counselling and psychotherapy theories that have influenced training are predominately written by white, heterosexual males so are not relevant for all circumstances
- training is Eurocentric1
- many diverse religious beliefs and values are insufficiently integrated into the curriculum
Too often, responsibility falls on students to share their EDI lived experiences in the learning environment. We want to offer current trainees support in their learning and development, while they train to become qualified therapists.
We鈥檙e looking for mentors and mentees who have shared understanding, expertise or lived experience of being from a diverse, marginalised or underrepresented background.
We aim to match 25 to 30 pairs of mentors and mentees to take part in up to six mentoring sessions per pair, over the period of six to nine months. The scheme will start in September 2025 and will end in August 2026.
What is mentoring?
Mentoring is a developmental dialogue and confidential partnership between two people based on understanding and trust. It鈥檚 a process of support and development, helping mentees tackle issues and achieve their goals. The partnership is driven primarily by the mentee, but it鈥檚 a two-way learning relationship where the mentor can learn from the relationship as well.听
Testimonials from the pilot mentoring scheme:
"Stronger Together" an article written by two of participants of our pilot mentoring scheme Roya Rahmanzadeh (mentee) and Vedia Maharj (网爆门 member and Roya's mentor) printed in Therapy Today in May 2025 p. 57 to 59.
Find out more in听Therapy Today, May 2025听by logging in or subscribing to view the content.听听
From catering to counselling:听the story of Pepe
Our members Anissa Chung (mentor) and Pepe Sarpong (mentee) talk about Pepe鈥檚 journey to counselling and how the mentoring scheme was a beneficial step along that journey.
References
1. Charura and Lago, 2021