Expectations of and Attitudes toward Counseling: A Comparison of Asian International and U.S. Graduate Students

This study examined Asian international graduate students’ expectations of and attitudes toward counseling by using U.S. graduate students as a comparative reference group. Survey data from 189 Asian international and 186 U.S. students were subject to analyses. Results indicated that Asian international students, in comparison with U.S. students, indicated less exposure to counseling, less self-perceived need for counseling, greater discomfort/shame with counseling, less openness to counseling, a greater preference for a directive style, and a greater preference for a flexible counseling format. Language and cultural concerns were barriers to seeking counseling. Implications for culturally responsive services were discussed.     

Predictors of Attitudes Toward Seeking Counseling Among International Students

This study investigated predictors of international students' attitudes toward seeking counseling. One hundred twenty‐one international students responded to mailed questionnaires. Results indicate that being female, having greater openness to emotions, and having had prior counseling experience were significant predictors of more open attitudes toward seeking counseling.     

Counseling International Students in Canadian Schools

International students face many demands as they navigate the cross-cultural transition of living and learning in host countries such as Canada. The cultural diversity represented in this student population poses unique challenges for multicultural counseling. The ways that international students have been represented in the literature may contribute to barriers for effective counseling services. The discussion begins with a summary of the issues faced by international students when living and learning in a foreign country. Several limitations in the counseling literature about international students are addressed, including, the limitations of culture shock as a model of cross cultural transition, the lack of methodological diversity in research involving international students, a focus on group characteristics, and the continued emphasis on the problems experienced by international students. Suggestions for counselors are given to enhance their multicultural counseling competencies for working with international students.     

Research: Korean International Students' Expectations About Counseling

This study examined the counseling expectancies of Korean international students in the United States. The results indicated that Korean students expected to terminate counseling quickly if the process was viewed as unpleasant or did not seem to be immediately helpful. The Korean students expected to approach counseling as a classroom learning situation in which they could present problems, ask questions about the problems, and work on assignments to solve the problems. Implications for outreaching and counseling Korean international students are discussed.     

Training Level, Acculturation, Role Ambiguity, and Multicultural Discussions in Training and Supervising International Counseling Students in the United States

This research partially replicated Nilsson and Anderson’s Professional Psychology: Research and Practice (2004) study on training and supervising international students. It investigated the relationships among international counseling students’ training level, acculturation, supervisory working alliance (SWA), counseling self-efficacy (COSE), role ambiguity (RA) and multicultural discussion (MD) in supervision. In the present study (N = 71), two acculturation variables and RA predicted SWA. SWA and MD did not predict COSE, while language use in acculturation did. Training level differences were only associated with COSE. Findings indicate that supervisors should attend to role ambiguity and multicultural issues when supervising international students, including acculturation issues and their impact on students’ performance. Results are discussed against Nilsson and Anderson’s original study and the implications for supervision of international counseling students.     

Asian International Students’ Willingness to Seek Counseling: A Mixed-Methods Study

Using a mixed-methods survey design that was predominantly quantitative, this study explored Asian international students’ willingness to seek counseling. Participants were 177 Asian international students recruited from a U.S. Midwestern University. After controlling for attitudes toward psychological help-seeking and past counseling experience, academic stress was significantly and positively related to willingness to seek counseling for academic problems. Qualitative data were also collected using one open-ended question in the survey: “What comes into your mind when you think about ‘counseling’ or ‘mental health counseling’?” The qualitative analyses revealed positive perceptions of counseling as well as a personal reluctance to seek counseling.     

Group Counseling with International Students: Practical,Ethical, and Cultural Considerations

International students in higher education represent a diverse population with unique mental health needs. Foreign students commonly experience a host of adjustment issues, including acculturative stress, language difficulties, cultural misunderstandings, racial discrimination, and loss of social support. Despite their challenges, few international students seek individual counseling. The purpose of this article is to present counseling groups as a treatment modality for addressing international students' adjustment concerns. Special attention is directed to the practical, ethical, and cultural challenges of conducting group counseling with this population, in addition to presenting recommendations for future practice and research.     

Students’ Perceptions of Mental Health Counseling in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Counseling services in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have focused on counseling in the elementary and secondary schools. To date, the idea of the private practitioner of mental health counseling has been virtually nonexistent. However, education officials at the University of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been exploring the option of following the international trends of preparing students for mental health counseling services, with special emphasis in marriage and family. A counselor education degree would allow individuals to operate private practices to address various concerns that impact individuals within the society at large. No instruments that measure perceptions of counseling from an international perspective were found for the purposes of this study. Therefore, it was necessary for the authors to devise and test a new tool. Surveys were completed by a sample of 141 undergraduate students regarding their perceptions of the importance of counseling in UAE society and the role of the counselor in society and other general questions regarding perceptions of counseling. With this initial effort, psychometric properties of the ‘Perceptions about Counseling Survey’ appeared promising. Results revealed that students had a favorable view toward the role of the counselor in UAE society. Results further revealed that students perceived the counseling profession as favorable. Given that the participants were predominately female, the results were analyzed from the social and cultural perspective of women in Arab society and the social psychological theory of ‘attitude’ is considered as a contextual backdrop.     

Multicultural Discussion as a Moderator of Counseling Supervision-Related Constructs

International students’ needs and experiences in counseling training and supervision has been an area of interest for several decades; however, there is a lack of research regarding effective approaches for supervising international students. Previous studies concerning the international counseling student population have mainly utilized bivariate analysis, and inconsistent results have been observed among studies examining the same relations, which makes applied implications questionable. More complex analysis to determine the relationships among constructs, which will assist in applied implications, are long needed. Thus, this study was a response to the need to determine if a moderation effect could be observed among key counseling supervision-related variables. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether international counseling supervisees’ perceptions regarding the degree to which the construct of multicultural discussion occurring in their university supervision moderated the relationship among key supervision-related variables, including acculturation, counselor self-efficacy, supervisory working alliance, and role ambiguity in supervision.     

Counseling Students on the Move: The Effects of Culture of Origin and Permanence of Relocation Among International College Students

This study reports on the differential effects of cultural background and permanence of relocation on the expectations of counseling, the kinds of support sought when approaching a counselor, and the acculturation attitudes among 219 international students from English‐speaking countries and the former Soviet Union attending an Israeli university. Implications for counseling international students are discussed.     

Clinical Supervision of International Supervisees: Suggestions for Multicultural Supervision

An increase of international students in various settings has been noted in a range of disciplines including counseling and other mental health professions. The author examined the literature on international counseling students related to their experiences in counseling training, particularly in supervision. From the counseling literature, five different themes were identified: (i) acculturation and cultural difference, (ii) language barriers, (iii) social isolation, (iv) cultural perceptions of the profession and transferability, and (v) multicultural discussions. In addition, a critical lens is provided to situate the literature through a holistic and ecological perspective.     

Training International Social Change Agents: Transcending a U.S. Counseling Paradigm

Recommendations are offered for training counseling students to address international issues. The authors discuss, for instance, the importance of learning about cultures outside the United States, the role of bias in international work, the dangers of implementing mental health delivery systems based on models derived in the United States, how to broaden one's research methodology, and the role of social change. Through this article, the authors hope to inspire counseling social change agents to consider the practice of counseling beyond the borders of the United States.     

An Outreach Support Group for International Students

International students often face challenges in adjusting to their new environment without the use of local supports such as counseling. This article suggests how universities can form an outreach support group that encourages the participation of international students by minimizing the stigma associated with using mental health services and by addressing relevant practical and emotional issues that international students face.     

Counseling and the Internet: Asian American and Asian International College Students' Attitudes Toward Seeking Online Professional Psychological Help

This study examined Asian American and Asian international college students' attitudes toward seeking online professional psychological help as well as traditional face‐to‐face professional psychological help. Results suggest that students had less favorable attitudes toward seeking help online than toward seeking help by traditional face‐to‐face means. Implications for counseling center services for Asian American and Asian international college students are discussed.     

International Immersion in Belize: Fostering Counseling Students’ Cultural Self-Awareness

International cultural immersion provides an in vivo, authentic, cross-cultural experience that can enhance multicultural awareness, knowledge and skills. This article examines the impact of an international immersion on graduate counseling students’ cultural self-awareness using a qualitative approach. Five graduate counseling students participated in a 3-week study abroad in Belize where they interacted with persons from diverse cultural backgrounds and settings. Four major cultural self-awareness themes emerged from the analysis of participants’ journals, (a) discrimination and prejudice, (b) cultural pride and appreciation, (c) cultural sensitivity, and (d) self-awareness. The findings are presented along with implications for future research and the use of international immersion as a viable experiential teaching strategy to enhance counseling students’ cultural self-awareness.     

Seeking Help in a Foreign Land: International Students' Use Patterns for a U.S. University Counseling Center

This archival study examined the use of a university counseling center's services by international students during a 5‐year period. Variables analyzed included clients' presenting concerns, students' demographic characteristics, number of counseling sessions attended, and reasons for termination. Implications for counselor training, outreach activities, and counseling services on college campuses are discussed.     

Counselor Educators’ Perceptions of and Experiences with International Students

Thirty-six counselor educators’ perceptions and experiences with international student trainees were examined in this online survey research. Findings support the issues identified in the literature as confronting international students and also surface some issues specific to students in counselor training. International counselor education students tend to experience more difficulties in areas related to language, clinical training, adjustment, and cultural differences. Similarities and differences were also found within international student categories involving western and non-western countries and between international and domestic students. Counselor educators in general reported favorably on working with international students. Findings support attention being given to further examine the specific training and supervisory needs of international counseling students.Portions of this article were presented at the 2003 Southern Association of Counselor Education and Supervision Conference, Chattanooga, U.S.A. and at the 2004 American Counseling Association Convention, Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.A.     

The Relationships Among Perfectionism,Acculturation, and Stress in Asian International Students

This study examined relationships among perfectionism, acculturation, and stress in 76 Asian international students. Results showed that perfectionism and acculturation predicted stress, together accounting for 50% of the variance in stress. Furthermore, acculturation explained students' experience of stress above and beyond perfectionism, and 1 specific acculturation variable examined, perceived prejudice, revealed the strongest relationship with stress. Implications for providing counseling services to international students and for future research are described.     

Social Support and Demographic Correlates of Acculturative Stress in International Students

A sample of 141 international students from different U.S. colleges completed surveys related to social support, demographic variables, and acculturative stress. Findings indicated that social support and English proficiency uniquely contribute to the variance in students' acculturative stress. Results also indicated that students who primarily socialized with non‐Americans and that students from Asian countries experienced more acculturative stress compared with other subgroups. Implications are discussed and suggestions for counseling practice are provided.     

国际学生辅导员队伍建设若干思考

International student counselors play an important role in guaranteeing international education functionality, management standardization and service professionalization, and in upgrading the management level of international education, the sustainable growth of high quality overseas students in China, thus enhancing the competitiveness of China’s higher education in the international education market. This research highlights that international student counselors should be well-staffed to bear responsibilities in the areas of international students’ organization, management, counseling, education and guide. For that purpose, counselors should be selected from professionally, ideologically and politically qualified faculty members, as a part of the whole ranks of student affair workers.