Abstract
Using consensual qualitative research methodology, this study examines the challenges doctoral-level international students encountered in counselor education programs, during supervisor training, specifically. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight participants and revealed a variety of difficulties. Despite the wide variability in terms of national/ethnic origins and program locations, most of the participants perceived a lack of discussions on culture and diversity issues in the class and the absence of multicultural supervision models, with unsupportive peers and course instructors as the most challenging parts of their supervision training. Grounded in the themes emerging from the interview data, suggestions for supervision training were made as to constructing a supervision course and addressing international students’ needs for understanding cultural and environmental contexts found in the U.S. Given the exploratory nature of this study’s findings, future studies need to be conducted with a large representative sample of international doctoral students in supervisor training.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ancis, J. R., & Ladany, N. (2010). A multicultural framework for counselor supervision. In N. Ladany & L. J. Bradley (Eds.), Counselor supervision (4th ed., pp. 53–94). New York: Routledge.
Bernard, J. M., & Goodyear, R. K. (2009). Fundamentals of clinical supervision (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Borders, L. D. (2001). Counseling supervision: A deliberate educational process. In D. C. Locke, J. E. Myers, & E. L. Herr (Eds.), The handbook of counseling (pp. 417–432). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Borders, L. D., Bernard, J. M., Dye, H. A., Fong, M. L., Henderson, P., & Nance, D. W. (1991). Curriculum guide for training counseling supervisors: Rationale, development, and implementation. Counselor Education and Supervision, 31, 58–82.
Burkard, A. W., Johson, A. J., Madson, M. B., Pruitt, N. T., Contreras-Tadych, D. A., Kozlowski, J. M., … Knox, S. (2006). Supervisor cultural responsiveness and unresponsiveness in cross-cultural supervision. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53, 288–301. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.53.3.288.
Chung, R. C., & Bemak, F. (2002). The relationship of culture and empathy in cross-cultural counseling. Journal of Counseling & Development, 80, 154–159.
Constantine, M. G. (2001). Multiculturally-focused counseling supervision: Its relationship to trainees’ multicultural self-efficacy. The Clinical Supervisor, 20, 87–98. doi:10.1300/J001v20n01_07.
Constantine, M. G., & Sue, D. W. (2007). Perceptions of racial microaggressions among black supervisees in cross-racial dyads. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 54, 142–153.
Cresswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Dao, T. K., Lee, D., & Chang, H. L. (2007). Acculturation level, perceived English fluency, perceived social support level, and depression among Taiwanese international students. College Student Journal, 41, 287–295.
Falender, C. A., Burnes, T. R., & Ellis, M. V. (2013). Multicultural clinical supervision and benchmarks: Empirical support informing practice and supervisor training. The Counseling Psychologist, 41, 8–27. doi:10.1177/0011000012438417.
Falender, C. A., Cornish, J., Goodyear, R., Hatcher, R., Kaslow, N. J., Leventhal, G., et al. (2004). Defining competencies in psychology supervision: A consensus statement. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 60, 771–785.
Fouad, N. A., Grus, C. L., Hatcher, R. L., Kaslow, N. J., Hutchings, P. S., Madson, M. B., …, Crossman, R. E. (2009). Competency benchmarks: A model for understanding and measuring competence in professional psychology across training levels. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 3(4, Suppl.), S5–S26. doi:10.1037/a0015832.
Garrett, M. T., Borders, L. D., Crutchfield, L. B., Torres-Rivera, E., Brotherton, D., & Curtis, R. (2001). Multicultural supervision: A paradigm of cultural responsiveness for supervisors. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 29, 147–158.
Gazzola, N., De Stefano, J., Thériault, A., & Audet, C. T. (2013). Learning to be supervisors: A qualitative investigation of difficulties experienced by supervisors-in-training. The Clinical Supervisor, 32, 15–39. doi:10.1080/07325223.2013.778678.
Green, D., & Dye, L. (2002). How should we best train clinical psychology supervisors? A Delphi survey. Psychology Learning and Teaching, 2, 108–115.
Helms, J. E., & Cook, D. A. (1999). Using race and culture in counseling and psychotherapy: Theory and process. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Hill, C. B., Knox, S., Thompson, B. J., Williams, E., Hess, S. A., & Ladany, N. (2005). Consensual Qualitative Research: An update. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52, 196–205.
Hill, C. E., Thompson, B. J., & Williams, E. (1997). A guide to conducting consensual qualitative research. The Counseling Psychologist, 25, 517–572.
Inman, A. G., & DeBoer Kreider, E. (2013). Multicultural competence: Psychotherapy practice and supervision. Psychotherapy, 50, 346–350. doi:10.1037/a0032029.
Killian, K. D. (2001). Differences making a difference: Cross-cultural interactions in supervisory relationships. Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 12, 61–103.
Koyama, M. (2009). The collective voices of Asian international doctoral students in counseling psychology in the U.S.: Recommendations for faculty and training programs. Unpublished dissertation, Western Michigan University.
Ladany, N., Inman, A. G., Hill, C. E., Knox, S., Crook-Lyon, R., Thompson, B. J., … Walker, J. A. (2012). Corrective relational experiences in supervision. In L. G. Castonguay & C. E. Hill (Eds.), Transformation in psychotherapy: Corrective experiences across cognitive behavioral, humanistic, and psychodynamic approaches (pp. 335–352). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Liu, X., Chung, M., & Crowell, R. (2006). Examining experiences of international students in counseling supervision. Paper presented at the meeting of the Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Conference, Orlando, FL.
Majcher, J., & Daniluk, J. C. (2009). The process of becoming a supervisor for students in a doctoral supervision training course. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 3, 63–71. doi:10.1037/a0014470.
Mittal, M., & Wieling, E. (2006). Training experiences of international doctoral students in marriage and family therapy. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 32, 369–383.
Mori, S. (2000). Addressing the mental health concerns of international students. Journal of Counseling and Development, 78, 137–145.
Nelson, K. W., Oliver, M., & Capps, F. (2006). Becoming a supervisor: Doctoral student perception of the training experience. Counselor Education and Supervision, 46, 17–31.
Ng, K. M. (2006). International students in CACREP-accredited counseling programs. Journal of Professional Counseling: Practice, Theory, and Research, 34, 20–32.
Ng, K. M., & Smith, S. D. (2009). Perceptions and experiences of international trainees in counseling and related programs. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 31, 57–70.
Nilsson, J. E. (2007). International students in supervision: Course self-efficacy, stress, and cultural discussions in supervision. The Clinical Supervisor, 16, 35–47.
Nilsson, J. E., & Anderson, M. Z. (2004). Supervising international students: The role of acculturation, role ambiguity, and multicultural discussions. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 35, 306–312.
Nilsson, J. E., & Dodds, A. K. (2006). A pilot phase in the development of the International Student Supervision Scale. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 34, 50–62.
OECD. (2013). OECD Factbook 2013: Economic, environmental and social statistics. New York: OECD Publishing. doi:10.1787/factbook-2013-en.
Padgett, D., Mathew, R., & Conte, S. (2004). Peer debriefing and support groups. In D. Padgett (Ed.), The qualitative research experience (pp. 229–239). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
Pattison, S. (2003). Cultural diversity: Mapping the experiences of students on an international counselor training programme. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 3, 107–113.
Pettifor, J. (2007). Toward a global professionalization of psychology. In M. J. Stevens & U. P. Gielen (Eds.), Toward a global psychology: Theory, research, intervention, and pedagogy (pp. 299–332). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Russell, R. K., & Petrie, T. (1994). Issues in training effective supervisors. Applied and Preventive Psychology, 3, 27–42.
Sangganjanavanich, V., & Black, L. L. (2009). Clinical supervision for international counselors-in-training: Implications for supervisors. Journal of Professional Counseling: Practice, Theory & Research, 37, 52–65.
Smith, R. A., & Khawaja, N. G. (2011). A review of the acculturation experiences of international students. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 35, 699–713.
Smith, S. D., & Ng, K. M. (2009). International counseling trainees’ experiences and perceptions of their multicultural counseling training in the United States: A mixed method inquiry. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 31, 271–285.
Acknowledgments
This paper was supported by Wonkwang University in 2012.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendix
Appendix
See Table 1.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jang, Y.J., Woo, H. & Henfield, M.S. A qualitative study of challenges faced by international doctoral students in counselor education supervision courses. Asia Pacific Educ. Rev. 15, 561–572 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-014-9342-9
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-014-9342-9