International Student-American Counselor Dyadic Relationships

Over the last few decades the number of international students in the U.S. has increased considerably. According to Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) statistics, the number of international students reached 1.18 million as of May 2017 (Smith, 2017). Whereas both first year international and domestic students experience difficulties associated with their status as university students, international students appear to be more vulnerable to experience psychological distress, as compared to their domestic peers (Edmond, 1997). Research has shown, that international students report higher levels of stress related to social difficulty as opposed to domestic students (Edmond, 1997). Given these patterns, it is not surprising that international students entering U.S. universities may be more likely to seek and receive counseling services than before. A study conducted with students, both international and domestic, compared trends from 2004 to 2006 of students utilizing counseling services; results revealed a 10 percent increase in international students' utilization of counseling services. (Cheng, Mallinckrodt, Soet, & Sevig, 2010). Such increase in the number of international students seeking counseling services appears to necessitate current and future practitioners to be well-equipped to work with this unique and diverse client population of international students. The goal of this study is to explore the experience of two current day American counselors working with international students using grounded theory of analysis to analyze the transcriptions of semi-structured interviews and to ultimately inform current and future practice in the treatment of international students undergoing counseling