Becoming a Mentor

Mentoring is the process of one person overseeing another person’s work. It has been a traditional way of transmitting knowledge and skills from the trained to the untrained or the experienced to the inexperienced practitioner. Mentoring also involves a relationship between a mentor and candidate that promotes the development of skill, knowledge, responsibility and ethical standards in the practice of biofeedback. Through mentoring, the candidate learns to apply knowledge to specific practice situations.

BCIA believes that mentoring is essential to ensuring quality in the delivery of biofeedback services and that it is critical to the training of beginning biofeedback providers. We recognize that each state has its own definitions and regulations for professionals who offer clinical biofeedback services. Both the mentor and the BCIA candidate should operate within applicable local, state, and federal laws; the rules and regulations of their profession/occupation; and the BCIA Ethical Principles. Mentoring does not substitute for supervision required for professional licensure or supervision required for insurance reimbursement.

BCIA’s mentoring requirements include:

- contact hours: the time spent working with the candidate and

- practical experience: personal training to demonstrate the candidate’s self-regulation skills, patient/client contact time, and case conference presentations

The following criteria must be fulfilled to be eligible to mentor BCIA candidates for certification:

- appropriate BCIA certification

- active in clinical practice for a minimum of two years

BCIA requires that all mentors file a Mentor’s Application and candidates should file their certification application prior to beginning to work together. A sample Mentoring Agreement letter is posted as an example of how to outline a successful mentoring relationship.

If a non-certified professional can demonstrate equivalent education, training, and experience in providing clinical biofeedback, they may apply to BCIA to be considered as a Non-certified Mentor. Please refer to the Non-certified Mentor’s Application.