Objective: The authors developed mentorship programs to train minority junior faculty and advanced graduate students in mental health services research.
Method: The programs target "mentees" in the Southwest United States and offer long-term mentoring, seminars, group supervision, seed funding for peer reviewed research proposals, peer interaction, and week-long institutes that feature presentations and mentoring by recognized experts.
Results: Evaluations suggest that these programs have influenced participants' career development. Most mentees have continued to evolve in their research careers, submitted research grant applications, and obtained postdoctoral fellowships, and/or have advanced in faculty positions. Some mentees have expressed an opinion that without the support network that these programs provided, they would have abandoned their academic careers.
Conclusions: Future training efforts should take into account a series of challenges and tensions that affect mentees' careers and personal lives, including the emotional legacy of discrimination and historical trauma.