Dissertation Mentorship for Helping Professionals
Doctoral education can be intellectually meaningful and personally demanding. Many students experience isolation, overwhelm, self-doubt, difficulty maintaining momentum, and challenges balancing academic work with clinical, professional, and personal responsibilities.
I provide dissertation mentorship and research consultation for doctoral students in counseling, psychology, marriage and family therapy, and related helping professions who are seeking additional support outside of their university structure.
My approach combines accountability, mentorship, structure, encouragement, and professional guidance within a supportive and collaborative environment.
Areas of Support
Support may include:
- Dissertation accountability and structure
- Qualitative research consultation
- Literature review development
- Theoretical and conceptual clarity
- Professional identity development
- Counselor educator identity exploration
- Dissertation process support
- Burnout prevention and self-care planning
- Academic confidence and imposter syndrome support
- Clinical-to-academic transition support
- Systems-oriented conceptualization and thinking
- Consultation regarding presentation and professional development goals
Please note: Dissertation mentorship and consultation services are designed to provide support, structure, and professional guidance and do not replace university faculty advisors, dissertation chairs, or institutional review processes.
Who I Work Best With
I especially enjoy supporting:
- Counseling doctoral students
- Marriage and Family Therapy doctoral students
- PsyD and PhD students
- Working professionals completing doctoral programs
- Clinicians balancing private practice and academic work
- Students completing qualitative or relationally-oriented research
- Helping professionals seeking mentorship and accountability throughout the dissertation process
My Mentorship Approach
My mentorship style is collaborative, relational, and structured. I strive to create an environment that balances accountability with encouragement while helping students remain connected to both their academic goals and professional identity.
I understand that many doctoral students are simultaneously balancing:
- clinical work
- family responsibilities
- burnout
- perfectionism
- imposter syndrome
- financial stress
- academic pressure
About Sarah Harris, LMFT-S
Sarah Harris is an AAMFT Approved Supervisor & Mentor, Trained Play Therapist, and owner of Serenity & Grace Therapeutic Services (SGTS). She has extensive experience mentoring therapists, graduate students, interns, and helping professionals through clinical development, systems thinking, professional identity formation, and structured growth processes.
Her approach integrates relational understanding, systems-oriented thinking, ethical awareness, and supportive accountability.
Consultation Options
Support may include:
- Individual mentorship sessions
- Ongoing accountability meetings
- Research and writing consultation
- Professional identity development support
- Systems-oriented consultation
- Goal-setting and structure planning
Services are individualized based on the student’s needs, stage of dissertation work, and professional goals.
Consultation Fee
Dissertation mentorship and research consultation sessions are offered at:
$200 per session
Session frequency and structure are individualized based on the student’s needs, stage of dissertation work, and professional goals.
Interested in Dissertation Mentorship?
Please submit:
- Brief introduction
- Resume or CV
- Current doctoral program
- Dissertation/research stage
- Areas where support is desired
