Counseling International Students. Clients from Around the World

Transcription

1 Counseling International Students Clients from Around the World

2 International and Cultural Psychology Series Series Editor: Anthony Marsella, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii ASIAN AMERICAN MENTAL HEALTH Assessment Theories and Methods Edited by Karen S. Kurasaki, Sumie Okazaki, and Stanley Sue COUNSELING INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS Clients from Around the World Nancy Arthur THE FIVE-FACTOR MODEL OF PERSONALITY ACROSS CULTURES Edited by Robert R. McCrae and Juri Allik PSYCHOLOGY AND BUDDHISM From Individual to Global Community Edited by Kathleen H. Dockett, G. Rita Dudley-Grant, and C. Peter Bankart TRAUMA INTERVENTIONS IN WAR AND PEACE Prevention, Practice, and Policy Edited by Bonnie L. Green, Matthew J. Friedman, Joop T.Y.M. de Jong, Susan D. Solomon, Terence M. Keane, John A. Fairbank, Brigid Donelan, and Ellen Frey-Wouters A Continuation Order Planis availablefor thisseries. A continuation order will bringdeliveryof each new volumeimmediately uponpublication. Volumes are billedonly uponactualshipment.for further information please contact the publisher.

3 Counseling International Students Clients from Around the World Nancy Arthur University of Calgal}' Calgal}" Alberta, Callada Springer-Science+Business Media, LLC

4 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Arthur, Nancy, Counseling international students: clients from around the world/by Nancy Arthur. p. cm. - (International and cultural psychology) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI / I. Students, Foreign-Counseling of. 2. Counseling in higher education. 3. Cross-cultural counseling. I. Title. II. Series. LB2375.A ['94-dc ISBN Springer Science+Business Media New York Originally published by Kluwer / Plenum Publishers, New York in 2004 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition A c.t.p. record for this book is available from the Library of Congress All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.

5 To my daugher, Caitlin, 2 years old, and son, Travis, I year old. Your arrival into our family brings job and laughter every day. As you grow up, I hope that you will explore the world as international students.

6 Preface My first encounter with international students was in 1978 when I moved 2000 miles away from home to pursue a graduate degree program. Even though I moved within Canada, there were many new transition demands-a change in university systems, differences between undergraduate and graduate programs, a new city, and I did not know anyone in this new place. The university had advised students who were traveling to arrive a week early to prepare for classes. The residence was not open yet, so students were temporarily lodged in a dorm. It was there that I met students from many different countries, many whom had left home for the first time. The university had nothing planned for students that week and the days seemed to last forever. We decided to create our own schedule of activities and took advantage of the time to see the new city. I enjoyed getting to know students from other countries. Several cried themselves to sleep at night. I remember thinking about how hard it must be to leave family and friends behind in another country. I also remember thinking that campus services for international students need to be better planned during the first weeks in a new country. My experience working with international students was gained during 15 years ofcounseling and teaching at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, Calgary, Alberta. Students attended this post-secondary institution in existing diploma programs and in customized training programs. Students came from diverse backgrounds, including individual students who actively pursued international education, students who were sent abroad to resolve family or political issues, experienced professionals who were updating their training for specific employment positions, and groups of professionals who pursued customized training programs. It was a ritual to post the flags of the source countries and we soon filled the room with the symbols ofnations joining together for international education. Counseling international students has been full ofchallenges. First, I felt unprepared to address the cultural diversity in this population. Although international students face many similar adjustment concerns as local students, their situations are more complex due to living and learning across cultures. There were many times that I did not feel a strong connection in my work with clients and I wondered if they found counseling to be useful. This challenged me to deconstruct the values and methods that I had been taught in graduate counseling curriculum. It also challenged me to learn about the groups who were attending our institutions. This was a time of trial and error practices to try to make counseling more responsive to the needs of vii

7 viii COUNSELING INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS international students. When I was asked to coordinate international student services, it was timely to take a serious look at the responsiveness of the campus for hosting international students. Working with a dedicated group of student services and academic professionals helped to consolidate our approaches and expand the direction ofservice provision. During the past 7 years, my professional roles have changed from counseling in post-secondary education to a faculty position as a counselor educator at the University of Calgary. In that capacity I have continued to interact with international students through instructional and research roles. As a teacher, I look forward to the exchange of learning that can occur between international and local learners in the classroom. As counseling expands professional borders and becomes more global in nature, international students are tremendous assets in counselor education programs. Perspectives can be shared and compared. It provides students with the opportunity to examine values in counseling paradigms and to exchange practices between countries. As a researcher, I am trying to gain better understanding about the strengths of international students and move a research agenda away from a focus on their problems to the coping strategies that support positive adjustment. I am also interested in how international students integrate their international experience into career development, upon the completion oftheir academic programs. Many times I have heard my colleagues comment that they wished they had a guidebook for working with international students. This book was written to fill a gap in the professional counseling literature. It is the book that I wish I had access to during early years of trying to make the most of counseling international students. The book was written to provide counselors with background information about cross-cultural transitions and culture shock to appreciate the context of issues faced by international students as they learn in a new culture. The common issues are reviewed to help counselors normalize the experience of students and to help them increase their repertoires of coping strategies. Counseling international students inevitably involves counseling across cultures. Readers are invited to apply the multicultural counseling competencies as a framework for appreciating the unique influences of culture on both counselors and international students' experiences. In selecting the case examples for the book, I tried to select a broad range of client issues and counseling interventions. Counseling international students requires comprehensive approaches to service delivery that extend beyond individual counseling. Counselors have a key role to play in supporting campus internationalization and in helping to improve the educational climate for international students. I hope that readers will find the book to be a useful resource for designing and delivering culturally responsive counseling services for international students.

8 Acknowledgements I would like to thank the many international students that I have worked with at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and the University of Calgary. We have learned together about the diverse experiences involved in crossing cultures. Completion of this book was partially funded through a standard research grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council ofcanada.

9 Contents Chapter 1. Introduction to Counseling International Students... I I. International Students in Higher Education I 1.1 Internationalization ofhigher Education Values within Internationalization Contributions ofinternational Students The Response ofeducational Institutions Creating a Supportive Campus Environment The Importance ofculturally Responsive Counseling Myths and Misconceptions about International Students Myth # I: Locals Subsidize International Students Myth #2: Foreign Students Take "Seats" Myth #3: International Students Are "Cream ofthe Crop" II Myth #4: Any Student Can Become an International Student... II Myth #5: International Students Come from Wealthy Families. II Myth #6: Travel Experience Prevents Culture Shock Myth #7: International Students Do Not Use Counseling Myth #8: International Students Are Difficult Clients Overview ofthe Book Chapters 13 Chapter 2. International Students: Learners in Transition The Psychology ofcross-cultural Transition Defining Cross-Cultural Transition Culture Shock and Cross-Cultural Transition Limitations ofearly Models ofculture Shock Culture Shock Revisited Cultural Learning Culture Shock as a Syndrome OfStress Normalizing Culture Shock Symptoms ofculture Shock Culture Shock Can Be Positive Chapter Summary 29 xi

10 XII COUNSELING INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS Chapter 3. The Transition Issues of International Students International Students as Learners in Transition Reasons for Becoming an International Student Academic Preparation Common Transition Issues Academic Goals as a Central Concern Communication Problems Building Social Support Costs ofliving in a Foreign Country Discrimination and Racism Gender Role Expectations Family Matters The Interrelationship between Common Issues 49 Chapter 4. Re-Entry Transition The Transition from Host to Home Cultures The Nature ofre-entry Transition Returning to a "New" Culture Re-Entry Transition Issues Leaving the Host Culture to Return Home Social Adjustment Re-Entry and Gender Issues Changes in the Home Environment Change Has Reciprocal Influences Career Concerns Integrating International Experience Preparing International Students for the Re-Entry Transition Psychoeducational Approaches to Re-Entry Programming Critical Incidents Central Messages Taking International Experience Home 62 Chapter 5. Multicultural Counseling Competencies Counseling International Students across Cultures Universal and Culture-Specific Perspectives Multicultural Counseling Competencies Multicultural Counseling Competencies: Self-Awareness Cultural Encapsulation and Unintentional Oppression Multicultural Counseling Competencies: Knowledge Increasing Knowledge about International Students Knowledge about Cultural Influences 73

11 CONTENTS xiii Holding Cultural Knowledge in Tentative Ways Multicultural Counseling Competencies: Skills Culturally Responsive Communication Skills Multiple Counselor Roles Adapting Counseling Interventions Multicultural Counseling Competencies Internationalizing Counseling Services Bridging Domains of Multicultural Counseling 82 Chapter 6. Case Examples Introduction to Case Examples Ramon: Miles Away from Family Mindy: Love between Cultures Mikael: Honesty in Academic Work Hiroshi: Whose Life Is It?, Ronnie: Home Is Where My Heart Lies Mannie: Defining Masculinity Jenine: Breaking Away from Gender Roles 98 Chapter 7. Enhancing Counseling Services for International Students Expanding the Scope of Counseling Services Directions for Counseling Services Expanding Counselor Roles International Students' Use of Counseling Services Counseling Styles Marketing Counseling Services Negotiating Cultural Influences on Helping Values Regarding Help Seeking Cultural Inquiry Cultural Norms in Counseling Practices Group Approaches to Counseling Suggestions for Psychoeducational Workshops III 7.5 Counselors as Cultural Therapists Including Family Members Addressing Culture Shock Interpreting Cross-Cultural Communication Making Decisions Across Cultures 114

12 xiv COUNSELING INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS Conflict Mediation Language Proficiency and Counseling Language Proficiency and Individual Counseling Language Proficiency and Group Counseling Helping Students Manage Their Views of Cross Culture Keeping Cultural Learning in Sight Ethical Issues Professional Competence Boundary Issues Exchanging Gifts Confidentiality Future Directions in Counseling International Students Expanding Perspectives about Cross-Cultural Transition Reciprocal Learning in Cross-Cultural Transition Expanding Research Methodology Shifting from Problems to Strengths and Resources Re-Entry and Integrating International Experience Concluding Comments 126 References 129 Index 147