Guidance
Aspire is a mentoring scheme created by the University of Essex Clinical Psychology Doctoral programme. The scheme is funded by NHS as part of their racial equity initiative. It aims to provide mentoring for ethnic minority aspiring psychologists who are interested in applying to a clinical psychology doctoral programme in the UK.
Aspiring mentees please sign up via Qualtrics
If you have any questions or urgent queries, please contact: Denise Green (Lead Administrator for the Aspire Mentoring Scheme and Targeted Outreach Project) dagreen@essex.ac.uk
Mentees and mentors are expected to meet for personal and professional development. As part of the scheme, mentees will have access to a peer support platform via Mighty Networks and opportunities to access upcoming free clinical and research skills-based workshops.
Mentoring can help to widen support networks by connecting mentees with qualified and trainee clinical psychologists who can draw on professional and personal experience. A mentor can fulfil many roles and adapt their support based on mentees' changing needs and goals. They can help to support mentees aspirations and build on their strengths and skills.
The purpose of mentorship is to provide advice and encouragement to support mentees at the current stage of their professional journey. Topics can range from:
Mentees will be allocated to a qualified clinical psychologist and if possible one trainee.
Sessions will occur virtually on Zoom/MS teams/Google Hangout. We kindly ask that mentees are actively involved in the scheme and any opportunities provided. Outside of the formal mentoring sessions, we encourage mentees to use the peer support platform to ask their peers questions, share resources, arrange peer support meet-ups or use the space to practice interview scenarios or entry tests etc.
Please review the Independent Personal Adviser (.docx) Scheme guidance before making an application.
If you have any questions or urgent queries, please contact: Denise Green (Lead Administrator for the Aspire Mentoring Scheme and Targeted Outreach Project) dagreen@essex.ac.uk
Scope of Group:
To review current anti-racist, anti-discriminatory practice for all aspects of the course and placements and identify gaps and areas for ongoing development to develop scope for working group to forward anti-racist, decolonising process. The HEE Equity of Access and Inclusion Action plan was used as focus for the meeting.
Currently the DClinPsych course is developing an Equality, Diversity and inclusion (EDI) following successful bid to HEE. This working group can help to promote and track this programme. The trainee presence of the group will help to ensure a “feedback loop” so that initiatives are reviewed and ongoing issues can be named.
The working group has been meeting every 3 months since January 2021.