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Mental Health Careers Academy Mentor Onboarding
Mental Health Careers Academy Mentor Onboarding
Project completed by Team AHEC as part of the Boise State University OPWL program
Background
Background
The Southwest Idaho Area Health Education Center (AHEC) is developing the Mental Health Careers Academy (MHCA), a 14-month program for 11th and 12th grade students in rural Valley County, Idaho. The program is designed to address limited access to behavioral health services by introducing students to mental health topics and careers in the field.
Each student is paired with a near-peer mentor, a college student in a behavioral health program who meets with them virtually throughout the program. While this model provides meaningful support, it also creates challenges. Mentors must navigate conversations related to mental health while maintaining clear profressional boundaries, despite being close in age to their mentees.
This context created a need for more support than a one hour onboarding training would be able to deliver. Mentors needed to be prepared to make appropriate decisions in ambiguous situations, including recognizing when to provide support and when to escalate concerns.
Analyses of Learners, Environment, Tasks, and Learning Requirements
Analyses of Learners, Environment, Tasks, and Learning Requirements
Before starting the project, we conducted a learner, environmental, and task analysis to understand the conditions shaping mentor performance.
Learners & Environment
Learners & Environment
Mentors are behavioral health students at Boise State University who have academic background knowledge but may have limited experience with mentoring and applying boundaries in real interactions. They may rely on clinical or peer like responses instead of staying within the mentor role.
The mentoring takes place virtually through Zoom in one on one meetings, which requires mentors to work independently while navigating sensitive conversations.
Design Decision: Training needed to focus on practice and application, not just explaining expectations.
Task Analysis
Task Analysis
Mentors are expected to make decisions in unclear or complex situations, such as maintaining boundaries, responding to mentee behavior, and deciding when to escalate concerns.
These tasks require judgment rather than following a set procedure.
Design Decision: Training needed scenario-based learning to help mentors practice making decisions, rather than relying on information-heavy instruction.
Learning Requirements
Learning Requirements
At the start of the project, there was no exisiting onboarding structure or support materials, and some processes, like escalation procedures, were still being developed. A single 60-minute training would not be enough to support long-term performance.
Design Decision: We designed a combined approach that included a focused training session and a digital mentor guidebook to provide ongoing support during mentoring interactions.
Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan
We designed a 60-minute virtual onboarding training focused on preparing mentors to navigate boundaries, communication, and escalation decisions. Given the limited time, we did not attempt to cover all possibile mentoring situations. Instead, we prioritized high-risk decision points identified during analysis.
The training follows a structured sequence from role clarity to guided discussion to scenario-based application. Mentors are introduced to key concepts and apply them through polls, discussions, and breakout scenarios focused on boundaries and escalation. Mentors are given repeated opportunities to interpret situations and make decisions in real time rather than just view examples.
We used a scenario-based approach because mentor performance depends on judgment, not recall. Mentors are asked to explain their responses during discussions and scenario activities which allows facilitators to address misconceptions and reinforce expectations in real time. The training also integrates the digital guidebook, reinforcing it as a tool for ongoing support rather than something to memorize.
MHCA Mentor Onboarding_ Detailed Lesson Plan Outline.docx.pdfInstructional Materials
Instructional Materials
Presentation Slides
Presentation Slides
The presentation slides were created to structure the onboarding training and guide instruction by introducing key concepts and framing scenario-based activities. The slides were intentionally designed to minimize cognitive load and keep the focus on discussion, interaction, and decision-making. This was important given the limited training time and the complexity of the mentor role. It allows mentors to focus on applying expectations in real time.
Script & Facilitator Notes
Script & Facilitator Notes
The script and facilitator notes provide facilitators a structure for delivering the onboarding training and ensuring that key concepts, scenarios, and expectations are introduced consistently. The script includes guided prompts for discussion, polls, and scenarios, which helps faciliators know when and how to engage mentors in applying concepts. The notes help the facilitator maintain focus on critical topics like boundaries and escalation while still focusing on mentor interactions.
Mentor Guidebook
Mentor Guidebook
The mentor guidebook is the primary performance support tool for mentors after onboarding. Since mentors only participate in one training session and then work independently, the guidebook was designed to provide real time support during mentoring interactions.
The guidebook was designed for easy navigation, with clearly organized sections. It was also built in Microsfot Word so it can be easily updated and maintained without additional design support. It includes resources like boundary guidelines, escalation procedures, a first meeting checklist, and discussion prompts. Without an ongoing support tool, mentors would be more likely to rely on memory or instinct, which increases the risk of inconsistent or inappropriate responses.
Performance Assessment
Performance Assessment
The performance assessment was designed to evaluate whether mentors can apply expectations in realistic situations. It includes scenario-based tasks focused on boundary decisions, escalation judgment, and use of performance support tools, along with a short knowledge check and reflection on active listening strategies.
Since mentor decisions can have real consequences, any scenario involving safety concerns requires a correct response. Assessment results are reviewed before mentors begin their meetings with mentees, and those who do not meet expectations will receive targeted follow-up support.
Reflections
Reflections
I found one of the biggest challenges in this project was designing for a program that was still in the process of being developed. Key elements like escalation procedures and what ongoing mentor support would look like were not fully defined during the early stages of the design process. Early on, I was also concerned about how easily boundaries could become unclear and the potential impact that could have on both mentors and mentees. Instead of waiting for complete clarity, we had to make design decisions with incomplete information and focus on preparing mentors to make decisions using available resources rather than relying on established procedures.
This pushed me to shift my approach. Initially, I was thinking more about what content needed to be included, but I realized that the main challenge was supporting mentor performance in ambiguous situations. This is what led our team to emphasize scenario-based practice and the use of a guidebook as a primary support tool.
Another realization was the limitation of a single, 60 minute training session. It became clear that no amount of instruction would fully prepare mentors for every situation they might encounter. I also recognized that one training would not address the performance gap. This influenced our decision to focus less on covering all topics and instead focus more on high-risk scenarios while designing resources that could support mentors after the training ended.
This project reinforced for me that effective instructional design is not about covering all content, but about identifying where performance is more likely to break down and designing support for those moments.
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