Mentoring in AGPA:
An Interview with Virginia Reiber, PhD, CGP

Mentoring is very important in AGPA. In this second part of our series on mentoring, the Chair of the Membership Committee Subcommittee on Mentoring, Virginia Reiber, PhD, CGP, talks about the program with Eleanor Counselman, EdD, CGP, FAGPA, Editor of The Group Circle.

EC: Why did you see the need for this type of program in AGPA?
VR: Because it is not easy to come into a meeting or organization and feel as though you belong, the Membership Committee has focused on a program of inclusion—making spaces and conduits into the organization so that people had ways in. We felt that developing a specific program was essential, and last year we started to develop a mentoring system for new members.

The system we are putting into place begins with asking people who have been around AGPA for a while to become mentors. We’ve asked these members to give us a three-year commitment. I approach these people. Some I know, while others have been recommended to me. I have had only two refusals, both from people who were ill and felt they couldn’t give what they wanted to give. People have been very excited about becoming mentors. Last year, we were able to match 35 mentees with mentors.

One challenge we faced in matching people up was their location. How do you find who is near Lake Tahoe, for example? We also have many people from Europe and Asia who attend the AGPA Annual Meeting. Some are psychiatric residents or psychology interns in the United States. Others were interns and have returned to their country. Because they want to retain their connection to AGPA, they come back each year to the Annual Meeting. For our international mentors, we have selected very senior members. 

EC: What is characteristic of a good mentor?
VR: There has to be a collegiality even though the mentee is generally younger—at least in terms of experience. I don’t think you have to be a very senior person to mentor, by the way. Young members at AGPA can be terrific mentors. 

EC: What do you ask mentors to do?
VR: The first function is to make contact with their assigned mentee. We request that mentors initially pursue the new member. They can offer general support, information about the organization, and assistance about the new member’s professional development. What I suggest they say to mentees is "I’m from AGPA. You just joined; is there anything I can tell you about the organization?" I suggest they reach out, offer themselves, and follow the mentee’s needs. 

I tell mentors that new members of AGPA are like new members of any group. Some find their way in easily, while others need more help. I also encourage new members to join committees because it is a wonderful way of learning the ins and outs of an organization. And, of course, the more that members participate, the fuller the experience it is for them.

It is clear e-mail is not the way to communicate with a mentee. New members need to hear a voice. There needs to be some dialogue so the mentor can understand what the mentee wants and does not want. This requires a conversation. What we’ve found is that personal, face-to-face contact or telephone communication is the key to these developing relationships.

EC: Can you give an example of how mentoring has worked well for someone?
VR: One mentor in the Midwest received four names of new members. Two of them agreed they would like some mentoring. There were several personal meetings, which was impressive because they lived quite a distance from each other. One of them presented a workshop at this year’s Annual Meeting in Boston with the mentor.

EC: Have there been any problems with the program?
VR: The usual personality problems. One mentor, for example, called me suggesting that because his mentee was from a particular culture he thought a different mentor, who was more sensitive to the nuances of that culture, would make a better match.

EC: Do you have a formal evaluation procedure?
VR: Not really. So far, we are just gathering vignettes. I want to have a more formal evaluation. We should find out what people wanted in their mentor relationship and then see if they got it. We need to find out what about the process was effective. What was it about the communication that seemed to create a bond? 

EC: What does your Committee need?
VR: The Committee needs to be larger. What we need are people in discrete geographical areas around the world to be local coordinators. They would communicate with me and Michael Frank, MA, MFT, CGP, my Co-Chair, about who would be good mentors in their area. I hope that they will have small subgroup meetings in their area to help people feel they belong.

EC: If people want to be mentored or to be a mentor, what should they do?
VR: They can get in touch with me by email at VDReiber@aol.com or telephone at 781-446-7528 (voice mail) or 781-329-1159 (answering service).

We are also thinking about putting a notice in with the annual dues for people to fill out if they want someone to shepherd them through the organization, or if they want to volunteer to be a mentor. This is a new program. The biggest problem is that not enough people know about it.

Editor’s Note: Much of AGPA’s mentoring activities take place locally within the Affiliate Society level. Future issues of The Group Circle will include highlights about these activities.

This article was published in the June/July 2001 issue of The Group Circle.

AGPA salutes the following members who have volunteered to be mentors.

International Mentors
Fern Cramer Azima, PhD, CGP
Wendy Hanson, Cand Psy 
Howard Kibel, MD, CGP, DFAGPA

United States Mentors
California
Alexis Abernathy, PhD, CGP
Geraldine Alpert, PhD, CGP, FAGPA
Elinor Grayer, MSW, PhD, CGP 
Joshua Gross, PhD, CGP
Michael Frank, MA, CGP
Marvin Kaphan, MSW, CGP

Colorado
J.J. Levy, MSW, CGP

Connecticut
Mary Nicholas, PhD, CGP, FAGPA

Georgia
Barbara Turner, PhD, CGP

Illinois
Constance Geiss, MA, CGP
Leon Hoffman, PhD, CGP, FAGPA

Kansas
Leonard Horwitz, PhD, CGP, DFAGPA 
W. Pearl Washington, RN, MS, MSN, CGP

Louisiana
Karen Travis, MSW, CGP

Maryland
Trish Cleary, MS, LCPC-MFT, CGP

Massachusetts
Theodore Anderson, MD, CGP
Suzanne Cohen, EdD, CGP, FAGPA
Richard Tomb, MD

Michigan
Lawrence Kron, PhD, CGP

Minnesota
Marla Kennedy, MA
Patricia Orud, MA, CGP

Missouri 
Bonnie Buchele, PhD, CGP, FAGPA
Brenda Potz, MA, CGP

New Mexico
Alice Powsner, MSN, CGP

New Jersey
Emanuel Shapiro, PhD, CGP

New York
Lawrence Grolnick, MD, CGP
Howard Kibel, MD, CGP, DFAGPA
Roberta Slavin, PhD, CGP
Hillel Swiller, MD, CGP, FAGPA

North Carolina
David Hawkins, MD, CGP, FAGPA
Russell Hopfenberg, PhD, CGP

Ohio
Walter Stone, MD, CGP, DFAGPA

Oregon
Cindy Miller Aron, 
Jonathan Emerson, MSW, CGP

Pennsylvania
Myrna Marcus, MSS, MA, CGP

Tennessee
Susan Ewing, MSW
Carol Walton, PhD, CGP

Texas
Patricia Barth, PhD, CGP, FAGPA
Nanine Ewing, PhD, CGP, FAGPA
Aaron Fink, MD, CGP, FAGPA
Dale Godby, PhD, CGP
Alan Griffin, PhD, CGP
Sara Hunt-Harper, PhD, CGP
Jeanne Pasternak, MSW, CGP, FAGPA

Virginia
Emily Lape, LCSW, BCD, FAGPA
Virginia Schneider, MA, LMHC, CGP

Washington
Maxine Nelson, MSW, CGP