A core mission of the Society for Black Neuropsychology (SBN) is to promote the science of brain-behavior relationships as it relates to Black populations, particularly given that Black professionals are underrepresented in the field of clinical neuropsychology. Furthemore, communities across the African diaspora are disproportionately burdened by adverse health outcomes, including neuropsychological syndromes. To address these issues, the SBN Mentorship Program was founded in 2021 to support the professional development of neuropsychology trainees across all training levels in order to increase the representation of Black neuropsychologists.

The SBN Mentorship Program consists of four components: (1) mentorship pairings, where mentees are paired with a more experienced mentor based on clinical/research interests and other desired characteristics; (2) professional development webinars; (3) access to application materials and other professional development resources; and (4) virtual social hours. Each mentorship cohort runs for 12 months, with surveys distributed at six months and upon completion of the mentorship program to evaluate the benefits of the mentorship pairings, webinars, and resources. In addition, the 2022 SBN Virtual Symposium provided mentees with opportunities to present research and network with pioneers in Black neuropsychology. To lessen the financial burden of graduate school, we also created two scholarships including a travel award to attend the International Neuropsychological Society Annual Meeting and a scholarship to cover the cost of internship applications. 

A total of 88 mentees (71.6% women) and 79 mentors (75.9% women, 59.5% Black) have enrolled in the program across three cohorts. The mentees have consisted of undergraduate students (17.1%), postbaccalaureate trainees (11.8%), terminal master’s degree students (13.2%), doctoral trainees (43.4%), interns (5.3%), postdoctoral fellows (2.6%), and professional neuropsychologists (1.3%). In the end-of-year survey for the 2022-2023 cohort, 46% of mentee-mentor pairs met one to five times in 12 months, and 38.5% met 11 times or more. 83.3% of mentees reported meeting goals set with their mentor, such as gaining research experience, identifying research interests, and securing admission to doctoral or internship programs in clinical neuropsychology. 91.7% of trainees reported feeling satisfied with their mentorship pairing.

Mentorship programs represent a vital but often overlooked component of trainee success. The SBN Mentorship Program is well-positioned to help increase the representation of Black neuropsychologists culturally trained to provide service to underserved populations, particularly Black communities.