Portable Mentor

Mitchell J. Prinstein, Ph.D. is a Bowman and Gordon Gray Distinguished Term Professor and the Director of Clinical Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He received his doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Miami and completed his internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the Brown University Clinical Psychology Training Consortium. Mitch’s research examines interpersonal models of internalizing symptoms and health risk behaviors among adolescents, with a specific focus on the unique role of peer relationships in the developmental psychopathology of depression and self-injury. He is the PI on several past and active grants from the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Child and Human Development, and several private foundations. He has served as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, an editorial board member for several developmental psychopathology journals, and a member of the NIH Study Section on Psychosocial Development, Risk, and Prevention. Mitch has received several national and university-based awards recognizing his contributions to research (American Psychological Association Society of Clinical Psychology Theodore Blau Early Career Award, Columbia University/Brickell Award for research on suicidality, APA Fellow of the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology), teaching (UNC Chapel Hill Tanner Award for Undergraduate Teaching), and professional development of graduate students (American Psychological Association of Graduate Students Raymond D. Fowler Award).

From the reviews of the second edition: "The Portable Mentor (2013) was well written and easy to understand for anyone with an undergraduate level of education. ... this is certainly a resource I will point students to when they are considering a career in psychology. It would be a shame if it wasn't available at your local library. If you are looking for a present for your high school student or graduate school student, this might be it!" (Courageous Psychology, karenlipsychology.blogspot.com.au, May, 2013)

• Part I. Applying to Graduate School.- Before you Apply to Graduate Programs in Psychology:  Knowing When You’re Ready, and Gaining Post-Baccalaureate Experiences.- Deciding to Apply and Successfully Gaining Admission to Graduate Schools in Psychology.- Part II. Beginning your Career.- The Whys and Hows of the Scientific Path in Applied Psychology.- Advancing Understanding of Cultural Competence, Cultural Sensitivity, and the Effects of Cultural Incompetence.- Developing and Practicing Ethics.- Balancing Career and Family.- Psychologist and Parent:  Advice from Professionals in Different Career Tracks.- Part III. Your Research/Academic Career.- Writing a Literature Review.- Presenting Your Research.- Publishing Your Research.- How to Write an Effective Journal Article Review.- Recommendations for Teaching Psychology.- Part IV. Your Career as a Practitioner.- Gaining Clinical Experience In and After Graduate School.- Training to Begin a Private Practice.- Navigating the Internship Application Process.- Obtaining a License to Practice Psychology.- Specialty Certification in Professional Psychology.- Becoming a Competent and Ethical Clinical Supervisor.- Part V. Your professional service career.- Getting Involved in Professional Organizations: A Gateway to Career Advancement.- Advocacy: Advancing Psychology and Public Wellbeing .- Public Education of Psychology: An Interview with Philip G. Zimbardo, Ph.D..- Strategies for Successful Interactions with the News Media.- Part VI. Your Career after graduate school.- Recommendations for a Postdoctoral Fellowship.- Applying for NIH Grants.- The Job Search.- Employment and Trends in Psychology.