The Adultspan Journal Fellowship Program: A Structured Mentorship Experience

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2026

DOI

10.33470/2161-0029.1216

Publication Title

Adultspan Journal

Volume

25

Issue

1

Pages

1

Abstract

This qualitative study used reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) to explore how the Adultspan Journal Fellowship Program, a structured, cohort-based mentorship initiative, supports the development of doctoral students and early-career counselor educators. Grounded in Social Learning Theory, the program integrates hands-on journal management, guided peer review, collaborative writing, and monthly didactic sessions within multi-layered mentorship. Data from asynchronous email interviews and document analysis with seven fellows across two cohorts (2022–2024) yielded four themes: (1) Cultivating Belonging Through Structured Mentorship, highlighting affirming guidance that reduced isolation and built peer networks; (2) Building Confidence and Professional Identity, reflecting growth in scholarly voice, self-efficacy, and faculty readiness; (3) Developing Scholarly and Editorial Expertise, showing gains in peer review, editorial decision-making, and publication workflows that enhanced research and writing practices; and (4) Refining the Fellowship Experience, emphasizing fellows’ calls for clearer onboarding, extended duration, and expanded professional development. Findings suggest that structured, cohort-based mentorship can address gaps in doctoral training by blending authentic editorial tasks with identity-affirming support, offering a replicable model for counselor education programs and editorial boards seeking to build inclusive pipelines of emerging scholars.

Rights

© 2026 Marshall Digital Scholar.

The following uses are always permitted to the author(s) and do not require further permission from Marshall Digital Scholar provided the author does not alter the format or content of the articles, including the copyright notification:

Posting of the article on the internet as part of a non-commercial open access institutional repository or other non-commercial open access publication site affiliated with the author(s)'s place of employment (e.g., a Phrenology professor at the University of Southern North Dakota can have her article appear in the University of Southern North Dakota's Department of Phrenology online publication series)

ORCID

0000-0002-8898-3499 (Robins)

Original Publication Citation

Robins, L. B., Dockery, N., Chester, C. T. K., Morris, C., Moore, T., Liu, Y. Z., & Johnson, K. F. (2026). The Adultspan Journal Fellowship Program: A structured mentorship experience. Adultspan Journal, 25(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.33470/2161-0029.1216

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