When the Odyssey of Life Calls for Mentors

Paula R. Gassmann

I recently had the occasion to experience the devastating reality of four suicidal young adults in the 21-23 age range. One young man, a talented poet and songwriter, slit his throat and succeeded in ending his life; another, a gifted artist/sculptor, experienced an “accidental” overdose of heroin and also succeeded in ending his life; the third, in recovery from substance abuse, jumped in front of a car (mine!) in the middle of the night on a deserted road, in a mad, impulsive moment, and miraculously survived. The fourth teetered on the edge in substance abuse-driven hallucinations, haunted by questions about the meaning of life, whether he had a soul, and whether he could go on. He ended up being hospitalized. What these unstable young people could have benefited from, but did not have, were mentors.

The concept of mentor comes to us, like many wonderful things, through the Greek myths. When Odysseus sailed off to the Trojan War, he left his son in the care of his servant Mentor. No one realized how long Odysseus would be gone, but as the years passed, Mentor stood by his oath and taught Telemachus, by word and deed, the ways a civilized man should act. When Odysseus returned home, he was impressed with the way his son had turned out: courageous, with integrity and respectability. Because Mentor modeled integrity, was an excellent friend, and could speak out if necessary, the goddess Athena respected him too and assumed his shape many times in order to give wise counsel to those she wished to help. How wise of Odysseus to know his son would need some guidance!

These suicidal young men were in the college-aged developmental stage, building competence, developing autonomy and responsibility, managing emotions, developing interpersonal relationships, defining purpose and values. At the novice phase in their early adult transition (Levinson, 1978), they were questioning the nature of the adult world and their place in it. There are four major tasks of this novice phase: forming a dream and giving it a place in the life structure; forming mentor relationships; forming  an occupation, and forming love relationships, marriage and family. Levinson explains that mentors can play a significant role throughout early adulthood. A mentor may act as a teacher, a sponsor, a host and guide, an exemplar. But most importantly, the mentor fosters the young adult's development by believing in him or her, sharing the dream and giving it his blessing, helping to define the newly emerging self in its newly discovered world, and creating a space in which the young adult can build a satisfactory life structure to hold his/her dream.
 
It is a relationship of adulthood, on both sides, one that is related to Erikson's psychosocial crisis of generativity and marked by care. Levinson articulates the importance of mentoring in midlife, when one's expertise gets recognized and is applied to the fostering of the dreams of the less experienced. One is older, stable, and may be reflecting on the value of what has accumulated. This aspect of Levinson's work can be traced to the work of Carl Jung. Jung, best noted for his work with adults, believed that at midlife, the psyche undergoes transformation. It is a time of increasing inwardness and evaluation, when the goals and values of the second half of life begin to take form. It is the time to resist pressure of conventional roles and face the neglected and unrealized parts of the personality. It is a time of a necessary inner journey leading to new personal integration. t is a time of reclaiming the underdeveloped parts of the self, in movement towards completion, wholeness and individuation. s such, it is an opportunity to contribute to society and pass on knowledge.

According to Levinson, such a person will serve as a transitional figure, and is ideally 8-15 years older. This is a real relationship, one where the two come together with purpose.  It has deep and significant psychological impact. Mentorship relationships come in many types--primary, secondary, structured, active/passive, long-term/short-term, group, and momentary. They cover any number of crucial areas, including career, family, spiritual, health, educational, social graces, philanthropic, ethical, and financial. Regardless of the type or area, they require commitment. Mentoring is associated with a host of benefits and positive outcomes for both parties. Excellent mentoring requires careful attention to ethical concerns. A mentor gives time unselfishly, possesses a desired skill and is willing  to share knowledge. But above all, to respond to the moral ambiguity of the day, a mentor must possess certain character virtues: integrity, courage and caring (Wilson and Johnson, 2001).

While Levinson articulates a specific age and nature for his concept of mentoring, and notes that it has traditionally involved older men with younger men, the idea of mentoring has trickled into many different age groups and circumstances. Moon and Callahan (2001) describe a collaborative research effort between a university and a large urban school  district where mentoring is used as a specific intervention for at-risk elementary school students. The goal of increasing academic achievement in students from low socioeconomic environments was achieved. Barron-McKeagney, Woody, and D'Souza (2001) describe the Family Mentoring Project, which provided approximately one year of mentoring for at-risk 10-year old Latino children and their parents. Again, this was a university-community partnership. Analysis revealed positive gains in social skills for mentored children and decreased problem behaviors, suggesting that bicultural competence may be fostered by programs that provide consistent and long-term mentoring, involve the families, include group educational components, and bring families and mentors together for social/recreational events.

With organizations such as Big Brother/Big Sister, mentoring has also been effective across a range of ages. In a study involving Little Sisters in third grade through high school (Westhues, Clark, Watton, St. Claire-Smith, 2001) who participated in weekly one-to-one mentoring relationships with Big Sisters over a 6-8 week period, results showed significant positive changes in self-esteem levels.
The research shows that mentoring works best with specific goals and structure. Regular meeting times, planned discussions, record-keeping, confidentiality, and meeting expectations of the program are factors in success. In studies being conducted on the  effect of mentoring on African-American high school students (Ferguson, 2000), students expressed appreciation over having someone to talk to about such issues as teachers, performance, and expectations around homework. African-Americans are underrepresented at the top of the achievement distribution and overrepresented at the bottom. Other ethnic or immigrant groups, students from low-income families, and students with diagnosed disabilities are frequently targeted for failure. Results indicate that good teachers, for all students, use words the students can relate to and who separate the person from his/her academics. For African-American students in traditional high school setting, issues such as stereotype anxiety on performance and homework completion tend to impact teacher perceptions. Leisure reading, vocabulary, homework, help seeking/giving, and review of grading practices are areas being studied, as well as the impact of parental education, ambition, and the effect of music culture on leisure reading in this population. Improvements in academic achievement require high quality time on task; accountability through a mentoring relationship serves to encourage this.

Peyton, Morton, Perkins, Dougherty (2001) show that graduate students in mentoring relationships frequently benefit from opportunities and experiences provided to them that may be otherwise unattainable. Mentoring can help in academic, personal, and professional development. Factors related to success in academic publishing for women in health education (Ransdell, Dinger, Cooke, Beske, 2001) include personal attributes such as self-discipline and effective time management, and situational factors, such as talented collaborators, access to mentoring, and grant funding. Mentoring relationships often develop in university settings, where one generation is "passing the batton" on to another generation. Mentoring relates to the teaching and learning cycle.

Mentoring continues beyond the university walls, in a variety of settings, as a way of assuaging the awkwardness, inadequacy and humility associated with being green in a new venture. In the elementary/secondary education field, for example, where new teachers are quite young and inexperienced, school systems offer mentoring programs as part of a comprehensive recruitment, hiring, and induction program. In such a program, new teachers are matched with veteran teachers, and development is monitored. 

Attitudes toward teaching, dealing with parents, awareness of diversity issues, and development of teaching practice are areas which the mentoring relationship aims to develop through regular interaction (Ribas, 2001).

Mentoring thrived in the 1970's as a concept and a practice adopted by corporations to train young managers (Wickman and Sjodin 1997). Since then, downsizing, thinning ranks, increased numbers of women in the work force and the complications raised across gender lines, and younger people becoming CEO's created the need for some adjustments in the mentoring practice in the corporate domain. While a primary mentorship can affect short-term career outcomes for both genders, such as work satisfaction and intentions to remain with the corporation, it is the composition and quality of an individual's entire constellation of developmental relationships that account for long-term career outcomes, such as organizational retention and promotion (Higgins and Thomas, 2001). In a study of 231 female lawyers, having a mentor was found to be instrumental for career success in terms of earnings, promotional opportunities, procedural justice and social integration. In addition, in terms of the emotional outcomes, female proteges reported greater career satisfaction than nonproteges. While female proteges with male mentors earned significantly more than those  with female mentors, those mentored by women reported more career satisfaction, more intent to continue practicing law, greater satisfaction of professional expectations, and less work-nonwork conflict than those who were mentored by men (Wallace, 2001).

While Levinson's work relates to men, perhaps because of the timeframe during which the book was written, it is clear that a mentor relationship is also important for women's development. Complications can arise because of what an intimate relationship with an older person or a cross-gender relationship may imply to others. In both cross-gender and same-gender relationships there can be problems with sexualizing the relationship, or with competition. Despite the slight twists due to female psychology and cross-gender considerations, the importance of mentoring remains steady for both genders. In the  absence of readily available mentors, women have done very well in groups of other women. Adult female development grew out of the group consciousness-raising movement during the 1960's; because of their need and natural inclination to relate and communicate, women have found a way to continue their development in groups. While groups are not the same as mentor/protege arrangements, personal growth groups, thematic structured groups and self-help groups have been effective options. Research has shown that the roots of female depression can be found in the importance and quality of relationships in their lives. Relational theory maintains that there is no self, in both women and men, unless there is a relationship (Jack, 1991). Ties to others are essential. "For everyone, individual development proceeds only by means of a connection" (Miller, 1976, 1986 pg. 83). Mentoring, which can be understood as a form of love, works for both males and females, as there is a basic human need for relationships and guidance, which is part of the developmental process. The nurturance moves from mother to father to outside source. Mentor relationships imply a fluid motion, a back and forth, an exchange of somewhat invisible energy, full of caring, challenge and authenticity. These relationships address the universal human need for connection and guidance during critical junctures.

It is clear from the research that mentor-protege relationships have value across the lifespan. The mentoring relationship can make a difference at many ages, but in terms of developmental psychology, the question is when would they be more valuable? What developmental juncture would call to mentoring as an intervention? I contend that the  critical periods of life outlined by the phases of Saturn are important benchmarks where a mentoring relationship would have the most impact.
 
Saturn, according to the tradition of astrology, is the planet that relates to the archetype of the teacher. It rules one's place in society, one's standing in the world, the sense of honor,  ambitions. It represents the father, the outside world, the real world of practicality--the mentor. It represents the limitations we grow beyond as we develop and differentiate as individuals (Rudhyar, 1976), and it is about form and structure. While universally myth and fairytale have described the darker side of this energy, Saturn in the astrology of personality development symbolizes a psychic process natural to all human beings that offers opportunity to utilize the experience of discipline, perseverance, and concentration as a means of greater development (Green, 1976).

As with all the planets, Saturn has a cycle based on its astronomical revolution around the sun in the solar system. Saturn's cycle is 28-30 years; at best, one would experience three Saturn cycles in life. Because this cycle coincides with the lunation cycle of the Moon in progression, a simple formula following the structure of the four key phases of the Moon (Meyer, 1974), shows the critical period for Saturnian energy to be released. Crisis benchmarks occur at the phase cycle developmental ages of 7, 14, 21, and 28, and spiral upward to the next cycle in another 7 years and so on through the three cycles over the lifespan. These are time periods of great learning, and present opportunities for integration.

This is clearly a stage theory. The first phase is at latency (age 7, new moon to first quarter) and represents the search for a definite sense of self. The second phase, at adolescence (age 14, first quarter to full moon) represents the building of a firm basis for personality (identity development). The third phase, at young adulthood (age 21, full moon to third quarter) represents a review of meaning and significance with growth and expansion of consciousness. The fourth phase, at transition to full adulthood (age 28, third quarter to new moon) is a reality check, a wake-up call, a breakdown of old images, an assimilation of experience and a challenge to social structures. At each point of crisis, themes can be experienced as a haunting and daunting echo where the structure of the life is called into question; the hand of the teacher or mentor who can hold the light to the darkness is often most welcome. This phase cycle concept resonates with Levinson's idea that a mentor  relationship is finite and can be outgrown. The period of emphasis when particular concerns unique to the individual at one of these developmental ages would be  prominent is approximately 2 1/2 years. It may take that long to integrate or learn what is necessary. Levinson also talks about the age 30 transition:

The Age Thirty Transition gives him an opportunity to reconsider the early choices and to make changes, large or small in his situation and his self. At the end of the Age Thirty Transition, a man must begin the second structure and form a niche in the worth, especially regarding occupation and marriage and family. he structure that starts to emerge at the end of the novice phase has tremendous consequences for future living and development.  (Levinson, (1978) p. 72)

The “Age Thirty Transition” Levinson describes is what we all know and love - "the Saturn Return."
Consider this uncited quote: "Show me the child at 7, and I will show you the man." Age 7 is the time of latency, according to Freud. It is the time when all the developmental issues of prior years, all the experiences jumble around beneath the surface and begin to solidify. How secure the attachment is, how the child fared during Mahler's stage of reproachment (age 15-24 months) when father enters the consciousness, how personally complex the emotional dependence on the mother is, how well the child negotiated the psychosexual and psychosocial crises, all slip into the abyss, unseen. None of it really goes away, though, and during these incremental phases of the Saturn cycle they rear up and call for attention. Life issues are never resolved once and for all. They may be quelled, but at these benchmark periods of development, the themes reemerge so the person can adjust and reinforce learning in a kind of spiral motion.

The existential perspective says that a sense of meaninglessness is one of the four ultimate human concerns, along with terror of death, freedom and the responsibility to create it for ourselves, and isolation (May and Yalom in Corsini and Wedding, 1995). In an unpatterned world, an individual is acutely unsettled and searches for a pattern to  explain and give meaning. From meaning, a hierarchy of values is generated, and values are necessary as measures against which conduct is gauged. There is some association of the capacity and demand for meaning with the idea of faith. Faith is "the activity of seeking
and discovering meaning in the most comprehensive dimensions of our experience" (Parks 2001 pg.7).
 
Young adults in faith discover the limits of inherited or socially received assumptions about how life works, what is true and trustworthy, and what counts. This is a cumulative process, and this is where a mentor can make a huge difference. The major solution to the problem of meaninglessness is engagement. Engagement in some aspect of life enhances the possibility of patterning events into some coherent creative form and structure. Engagement allows for enrichment and also a reduction of anxiety. At Saturn's four development phases and in its three cycles over the life span, existential issues are salient.

Each benchmark offers a crisis time frame to confront the limits of destiny. With desire to engage and make meaning, to access a dream, particularly at these Saturnian benchmarks, the mentor can assist by engaging with the protege, listening, staying attentive to the overall focus, flaws, and direction of the protege's life. The mentor may open the door that makes the engagement with the dream possible, but also may work to fortify the foundation. True caring for another means caring about the other's growth and wanting to bring something to life in the other. Unfolding is a term that can apply to the protege, but it also relates to the mentor. The goal is to uncover what was there all along, to meet it in existential communication. Young adults must make meaning in the midst of intense personal complexity, but also in a world that is rapid and changing, and ever challenging to values.

Reconsider the suicidal cases mentioned earlier. Here they were at their third phase--meaning and significance were not taking form. The young man who ended up in hospital, the only one of the four capable of conversation, talked about how he remembered joy when he was a child. He had felt loved. "And what happened? Did  something happen when you were 7?" he was asked. Pause, twisting of hair, visible signs of anxiety. "Yeah, that's when my father threw me down the stairs."

Who among us has not had some form of education like this at some point in those first seven years of life, albeit not as dramatic, that somehow pulled the rug out from under us? In these cases, there is a need to return to earlier joy, which lies dormant, waiting to be added to the foundation upon which the life is built. In all stages, mentors give crucial forms of recognition, support, and challenge. Mentors are open, can listen and communicate well. Mentors accept the stage the protege is at, and also where s/he might be stuck. Mentors model continuous learning. Mentors care about the soul of a person. "Whatever the immediate challenge or subject matter, good mentors know that all knowledge has a moral dimension, and learning that matters is ultimately a spiritual, transforming activity, intimately linked with the whole of life (Parks, 2001 pg. 128)."

Regardless of age or phase, human beings have a need to belong. "If a person is conscious of their own spiritual search and commitments, s/he seeks places of belonging that can embrace the whole self as it is emerging in its new integrity (Parks, 2001 pg. 202)." A mentor can help the protege find that place of belonging. A sense of belonging is necessary for high productivity and happiness with life direction. Indian wisdom suggests that people must perform a job that matches their "Guna" or inner qualities (Satapathy, 2001). Faith, joy, belonging are all a part of one's inner qualities. They are parts of the whole self.
Mentoring is a way of nurturing the development of the self in someone else. It is truly about other, yet has a mirroring effect of positive return. Not only is it a mutually beneficial relationship, but it is one whereby meaning is taken to new levels. The idea is that with meaning comes social consciousness. This is Saturnian integration, in its highest sense, the sense of making a contribution to society. Like a good novel, there are  a number of levels happening simultaneously as we embark on the odyssey of life. Personal development runs parallel with professional development, and with spiritual development, and finally with social development. Mentoring is about nurturing a sense of belonging in the world, finding one's place in the world. Wickman and Sjodin (1997) suggest that one of the goals of mentoring relationship is the generativity itself, that the two parties create something together that neither could have done on their own. The combination of the fresh perspective and the wisdom of experience can combine in an experience of true creativity. Mentoring is about self, and it is about other. In its highest form, it is visionary and evolutionary, because the result can impact the culture.


Corey, M.S. & G. (2001). Groups: Process and Practice (6th ed.). CA: Brooks-Cole
Corsini, R.J; Wedding, D. (1995). Current Psychotherapies (5th ed.). Itasca, IL: F.E. Peacock Publishers, Inc.
Crain, W. (2000). Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall
Greene, L. (1976) Saturn: a new look at an old devil . York Beach, Maine: Samuel Wiser, Inc.
Jack, D. C. (1991) Silencing the Self Women and Depression . New York: Harper Collins.
Levinson , D. J., et al (1978) The Seasons of A Man's Life. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Meyer, M. R. (1974) A Handbook for the Humanistic Astrologer. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press, Doubleday
Miller, J. B. (1976, 1986) Toward a New Psychology of Women (2nd ed.). Boston: Beacon Press.
Parks, S. D. (2000). Big Questions, Worthy Dreams Mentoring Young Adults in their Search for Meaning, Purpose, and Faith. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
Peterson, J. Vincent and Nisenholz, Bernard (1999). Orientation to Counseling (4th ed). Boston: Allyn and Bacon
Rudhyar, D. (1976) Astrology and the Modern Psyche. U.S.: CRCS Publications.
Rudhyar, D. (1980) The Astrology of Transformation A Multilevel Approach . Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House A Quest Book.
Skinner, J. & Martin, L. (2001) Passing the Word: Writers on their Mentors. Louisville, KY: Sarabande Books
Tatum, B.D. (1997) "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?". New York: Basic Books
Wickman, F. and Sjodin, T. (1997). Mentoring: A success guide for mentors and proteges. New York: McGraw-Hill. 

Parada, C. (2001) Greek Mythology Link [Online]. Available:
Http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Mentor4.html
Articles
Ferguson, R. (2000). Cultivating New Routines that Foster High Achievement for All Students. Discussion Draft . Wiener Center for Social Policy, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and the College Board Council on Inquiry and Praxis.
Higgins, M. C.; Thomas, D.A. (2001) Constellations and Careers: Toward understanding the effects of multiple developmental relationships. Journal of Organizational Behavior. Vol. 22 (3) Special Issue May (2001). 223-247.
Moon, T.R, Callahan, C. M. (2001). Curricular modifications, family outreach, and a mentoring program: Impacts on achievement and gifted identification in high-risk primary students. Journal for the Education of the Gifted. Vol. 24 (4), Sum (2001) 305-321.
Peyton, A.L.; Morton, M; Perkins, M.M.; Dougherty, L.M. (2001). Mentoring in gerontology education: New graduate student perspectives. Educational Gerontology. Vol. 27 (5), Special Issue Jul-Aug (2001) 347-359.
Ransdell, L.B.; Dinger, M.K.; Cooke, C; Beske, S. (2001). Factors related to publication productivity in a sample of female health educators. American Journal of Health Behavior. Vol. 25 (5) Sep-Oct (2001). 468-480.
Ribas, W. (2001). Effective Mentoring of Teachers New to the District . Orientation Booklet Brookline Public Schools
Satapathy, B. (2001) Getting the best out of your people: The Indian way. Social Science International. Vol. 17 (2) Jul (2001) 37-45/.
Wallace, J.E., (2001). The benefits of mentoring for female lawyers. Journal of Vocational Behavior. Vol. 58 (3) Special Issue June (2001) 366-391.
Westhues, A; Clarke, L.; Watton, J; St. Claire-Smith, S. (2001). Building positive relationships: An evaluation of process and outcomes in a Big Sister program. Journal of Primary Prevention . Vol. 21 (4) Sum (2001) 477-493.
Wilson, P.F ; Johnson, W. B. (2001). Core virtues for the practice of mentoring. Journal of Psychology and Theology. Vol. 29 (2) Special Issue Sum (2001). 121-130.

This article first appeared in the Fall 2004 issue of  ISAR’s International Astrologer.