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Global Grief Network Education Center
Module 5 of 6

Mentorship and Reflective Practice

About 1 hour

If you or someone you know may be in danger right nowCall 988Text 988Immediate danger: call 911

988 is the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in the United States. It is free, confidential, and open 24/7 by call, text, or chat at 988lifeline.org. Veterans: dial 988 then press 1. Outside the US, use your local emergency number or crisis line. This program is education, not crisis care. If you are struggling as you read, please pause and reach out now.

Lessons in this module
  1. Why mentorship matters
  2. Reflective practice
  3. Mentoring others

Objectives

By the end of this module you will be able to:

Lesson

Why mentorship matters

Mentors help practitioners think through hard situations, notice blind spots, and grow. Mentorship also reduces isolation and supports wellbeing.

Reflective practice

After a significant encounter, reflect: What happened? What did I feel? What went well? What would I do differently? What did I learn about myself or the person? Reflection turns experience into growth.

Mentoring others

Experienced practitioners can mentor newer ones by listening, sharing honest reflections, modeling boundaries, and encouraging self care. Mentors do not need to have all the answers.

GGN reminder: Reflection turns experience into wisdom.
GGN practiceReflective journal (about 15 minutes)

Use the five reflection questions from this module on a recent support experience, removing identifying details. If this brings up pain, pause and reach out to someone you trust, or call or text 988.

Fictional composite caseFictional Composite Case 5.1: The new volunteer

This case is a fictional composite written by the Global Grief Network for learning. It does not describe any real person.

Experienced facilitator Rita is mentoring Ben, a new volunteer who left his first group session feeling he said everything wrong. Rita asked him what went well first.

Questions to consider:

  1. Why did Rita start with what went well?
  2. What else might she do?

Discussion: Starting with strengths builds confidence and openness. Rita could then explore what Ben would do differently, share one of her own early learning moments, and plan a follow up.

Reflection Prompts

  1. Who has mentored you?
  2. How do you reflect after hard encounters?
  3. How could you support newer practitioners?

Module 5 Quiz

Choose one answer per question, then check your answers. You need 4 of 5 correct to pass, and every critical item must be correct. You can retake it any time.