Skip to main content

Widening Access - Yorkshire Mentoring Scheme

Background

The Leeds programme has been working for many years as part of our commitments to be more inclusive and has undertaken a range of initiatives to increase diversity in our programme and profession.

The Yorkshire Mentoring Scheme (YMS) was launched in 2019 and is a partnership between the University of Leeds and University of Sheffield DClinPsychol programmes.

Why this scheme is needed

According to HCPC (2025) data, 85% of Clinical Psychologists in the UK identified as White, with 5% identifying as Asian, 1% as Black, 3% as mixed ethnicity and 2% as Other. Compared to the Census Data (2021) data, 82% of England and Wales identified as White, with 9% identifying as Asian, 4% as Black, 3% as mixed ethnicity and 2% as Other.  This indicates that there continues to be an under-representation of those from racially minoritised backgrounds in clinical psychology compared to the populations that we serve.

There are many reasons why the scheme is needed such as the barriers to accessing the clinical psychology profession.

A flowchart showing potential barrier points in pursuing a career in clinical psychology.

A flowchart showing potential barrier points in pursuing a career in clinical psychology. A green circle on the left reads “Barriers to accessing clinical psychology as a career choice.” An arrow leads to a sequence of yellow boxes: “Choosing psychology as an undergraduate course,” then “Choosing clinical psychology as a career,” then “Getting work experience in clinical psychology.” Below these are three additional boxes: Applying for clinical psychology DClinPsychol programmes”, “Being accepted onto clinical psychology DClinPsychol programme,” and “Entry into the clinical psychology profession “. Arrows indicate progression between stages, including an arrow looping back from acceptance to the earlier application stage.

 

The scheme targets barriers at the latter end of this flowchart. We aim to support aspiring clinical psychologists from racialised backgrounds across South and West Yorkshire in applying for/gaining a place on clinical psychology training and eventually enter the clinical psychology workforce.

Inclusion/Eligibility Criteria

In order to be able to access this scheme as a mentee, you must:

  • Self-identify as being from a racially minoritised background/community
  • Live and/or work in South or West Yorkshire
  • Be a Psychology undergraduate or recent graduate with a 2:1 degree that enables Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership with the BPS

Our hopes and aims

  • To give mentees more confidence in themselves and their abilities relating to Clinical Psychology.
  • To feel more empowered to follow the Clinical Psychology path.
  • More aspiring Clinical Psychologists from racially minoritised background applying for Clinical Psychology.
  • More racially minoritised applicants being successful at selection.
  • More racially minoritised applicants becoming qualified Clinical Psychologists.

What to expect

Once you have registered, you will be paired with a mentor/mentee and can start to make arrangements to meet. We request that you meet with your mentor/mentee a minimum of 4 contacts throughout the year.

Together, alongside the University of Sheffield DClinPsychol programme, we organise and facilitate workshops and events. We regularly send out resources and surveys for evaluation and feedback. We also occasionally invite the University of Hull DClinPsychol programme to co-facilitate workshops and events (please note that the Hull programme have a separate mentoring scheme and application process to Leeds and Sheffield).

For more frequently asked questions, please see our Frequently Asked Questions guide (PDF file opens in a new tab)

We are piloting a CPD certificate for mentors and mentees that would include the completion of at least 4 mentoring sessions, a reflective log following your mentoring sessions and the completion of surveys.

Impact

Please see below for information on the number of mentees and mentors we have paired together over the years.

A mustard circle counting up from 1 - 315 mentees to date

  • 2019: 30 mentees
  • 2020: 30 mentees
  • 2021: 38 mentees
  • 2022: 32 mentees
  • 2023: 24 mentees
  • 2024: 58 mentees
  • 2025: 46 mentees
  • 2026: 57 mentees

How do I sign up?

Please register your interest by completing this online form (opens in new window).