Mentoring Do’s and Don’ts

If you have a SCI peer mentor, or if you’ve become a SCI peer mentor, it’s important to know the rules of peer mentoring. It will make sure everything goes smoothly, as well as help you maintain professionalism and ensure both parties of the peer mentor relationship – the mentor and the mentee – get their needs met. See our helpful “do’s” and “don’ts” for successful SCI peer mentoring below.

Tips for SCI Mentees

As you work with a SCI peer mentor, you will learn how to thrive with a spinal cord injury, as well as other information that you will likely never learn in rehabilitation, hence SCI peer mentoring being so invaluable. These mentoring rules may even save your life, as it has been proven that SCI peer mentoring even helps prevent hospital re-admissions in people with paralysis during their first year home.

– Do: Ask for help from your peer mentor on things like transfers, dressing, and other mobility techniques.

– Do: Ask for advice on caregiving (if you need it), how to find and maintain quality caregivers.

– Do: Find a SCI peer mentor with similar interests as you.

– Do: Ask for advice on sexuality, changes in self-confidence and self-image

– Do: Ask how to advocate for yourself.

– Do: Ask for advice on how to make your home accessible.

– Do: Ask for pointers on community resources.

– Don’t: Ask for explicit medical advice, as peer mentors are not medical professionals.

– Don’t: Ask for tips on serious mental health issues, as peer mentors are not psychologists or counselors.

Tips for SCI Mentors

There are many opportunities to become a SCI peer mentor, whether through a local hospital or a spinal cord injury organization. It is an honorable and tremendous public service that can change lives. Here are some hopeful pointers on how to make sure you are the best peer mentor possible.

– Do: Be reliable and meet at the agreed upon times consistently.

– Do: Make sure whatever is discussed between you and your mentee stays confidential.

– Do: Offer multiple solutions to issues/problems discussed.

– Do: Accept your mentee as they are.

– Do: Maintain contact regularly.

– Don’t: Directly help with favors, ie, rides, babysitting, or errand running.

– Don’t: Abandon your mentee.

– Don’t: Dominate or preach the conversation.

– Don’t: Judge or try to change your mentee.

– Don’t: Explicitly tell a mentee what to do.

– Don’t: Impose your own solutions.