Mentoring, Coaching and Clinical Supervision: Their Similarities and Differences

Mentoring and coaching are all part of educational training to develop people in the professions. There are several similarities and differences in the main issues involved in mentoring and coaching. They are related to the selfdevelopment, professional growth and career development of the mentee/coachee. In establishing the approaches to be used, care must be taken to ensure that each person understands the limits or boundaries of the relationship. Indeed, it may be as important to indicate that there is a way out of the relationship as it is to encourage its development in the first place. Supervisory approaches vary and depend on the people involved, the place of meeting and the terms of the relationship. Not only do mentors/coaches have to play their role but the mentees/coachees too, and all this must be placed within the specific institutional context. Therefore, this paper will be reviewing the literature on mentoring and coaching. In this, roles and practices of mentor/coach and mentee/coachee will be described.