What is the Pathfinder - West Midlands Mentoring Scheme?
We are aware that certain ethnic minority groups are currently underrepresented on our Clinical Psychology Doctoral Training programme and within the profession of Clinical Psychology at a national level.
The Pathfinder – West Midlands Mentoring Scheme is aimed at addressing ethnic inequity within the profession through supporting Aspiring Clinical Psychologists at various stages of their career journey.
Successful Aspiring Clinical Psychologists (Mentees) will be allocated to a mentor. Mentors will be Clinical Psychologists who are familiar with our Doctoral Training Programme and/or have some experience of working clinically within the West Midlands.
All Mentors have undergone some training in how to support Aspiring Clinical Psychologists identify and work towards achieving a meaningful and relevant set of career goals.
Mentoring will be conducted on a one-to-one basis and will be delivered online through a videoconferencing platform (for example, MS teams).
Why Ethnicity?
In the United Kingdom, around 20,000 people graduate with an undergraduate degree in psychology each year.
A significant proportion want to find a career in health and care but can find it challenging to identify a pathway into the profession.
Relevant entry-level posts are often poorly connected into the profession, which often means that there are high levels of risk for graduates taking this route with no guarantees of success.
Many graduates find that they have no option but to take on unpaid or voluntary work in order to gain the relevant experience required for higher level qualifications such as a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology.
These uncertainties and a volunteer culture have contributed to disproportionate disadvantage for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic psychology graduates, as well as graduates who come from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Who is running the scheme?
In partnership with the Universities of Coventry, Warwick, and Staffordshire, The University of Birmingham, Clinical Psychology Doctorate Programme has co-developed the scheme as part of a wider Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) initiative.
Our training programmes have pooled resources to ensure that there is consistency and parity across the West Midlands region in what Aspiring Clinical Psychologists can expect from the scheme.
Each of the three West Midlands Clinical Psychology Doctorate Programmes has its own Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) project lead. The EDI leads work closely together to run, manage and support the scheme, with the assistance of the wider Clinical Psychology Doctorate training teams and the associated Universities.
The mentoring scheme is being funded by Higher Education England (HEE) as part of a plan aimed at addressing ethnic underrepresentation within Clinical Psychology.