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Article Excerpt
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.
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Recently, counselors have begun to serve the diverse needs of people around the globe (Aegisdottir, Gerstein, & Canel, in press; Gerstein, 2005; Gerstein & Kirkpatrick, 2005; McWhirter, 1988a, 1988b; Pedersen & Leong, 1997; Rogers, 1987a, 1987b; Rogers & Sanford, 1987). Some counselors have traveled outside of the United States to enrich themselves, study different cultures, and, more important, to offer educational (e.g., lectures, courses, workshops, research) and applied (e.g., counseling, consulting, conflict resolution) services. Perhaps the most visible evidence of this fact is reflected in the experiences of counselor educators who were awarded Fulbright scholarships to visit the former Soviet Union, the former West Germany, Turkey, Estonia, Russia, England, Sweden, Iran, Norway, Australia, Italy, Iceland, Peru, Malaysia, and Zambia (see Hedlund, 1988; Heppner, 1988; Hood, 1993; McWhirter, 1988a, 1988b, 1988c; Nugent, 1988; O'Neil, 1993; Skovholt, 1988).
Our observation has been that there is considerable interest among counseling professionals in and students of international issues (e.g., collaborating with scholars, educators, practitioners, and administrators outside the United States; training students to serve international clientele and to teach and consult overseas; conducting appropriate and valid cross-cultural research; and demonstrating an appreciation and understanding of international cultures and models of counseling). We suspect this interest has resulted from the experiences of the Fulbright recipients mentioned previously; the enhanced communication, contact, knowledge, and information shared by people worldwide; the consequences of globalization; and the number of international students and scholars affiliated with U.S. universities.
Consistent with all these developments, there appears to be a slight increase in publications in counseling periodicals that deal with the role of counseling outside of the United States (Aegisdottir & Gerstein, 2005; Gerstein & Aegisdottir, 2005a, 2005b, 2005c; Leong & Blustein, 2000; Leong & Ponterotto, 2003), and there has been greater attention paid to counseling individuals with an international background who are living in the United States (Fouad, 1991; Pedersen, 1991). Although there appears to be a growing interest in expanding the scope of counseling to include international issues, very little has been written or discussed about how to train students to successfully address such issues. In this article, we, therefore, briefly highlight some recommendations offered by others (Giorgis & Helms, 1978; Leong & Ponterotto, 2003; Leung, 2003; Takooshian, 2003). On the basis of reflections on our experiences, we also introduce new strategies to strengthen and modify the current training paradigms in counselor education. The importance of training counseling students to effectively serve the needs of international populations cannot be underestimated as the population in the United States becomes increasingly diversified and the concerns of people worldwide become ever more apparent, immediate, and connected to our day-to-day experiences and aspirations in the United States.
Training Related to International Issues: Previous Recommendations
Over the years, only a handful of authors have provided concrete recommendations on how to prepare students and professionals to successfully and appropriately function as scientists, practitioners, and educators in international settings. Most frequently, these authors have stressed the importance of students and professionals (a) learning about differences and similarities between cultures (Aegisdottir & Gerstein, 2005; Gerstein & Aegisdottir, 2005c; Gerstein, Rountree, & Ordonez, in press); (b) facing, confronting, and modifying, if necessary, their cultural assumptions, values, biases, and behaviors (Aegisdottir & Gerstein, 2005; Gerstein & Aegisdottir, 2005c; Gerstein et al., in press); (c) embracing a multidisciplinary perspective of culture (Hepprier, 2006; Leung, 2003; Pedersen, 2003; Varenne, 2003); (d) taking appropriate and immediate action in response to the needs of the international community instead of simply describing and discussing the issues faced by such communities (Pedersen, 2003); (e) promoting indigenous psychologies (Pedersen, 2003); (1) being cautious about generalizing findings and constructs across cultures (Pedersen & Leong, 1997; Varenne, 2003): and (g) remaining open to various cultures and learning from different professionals around the world (Leong & Blustein, 2000).
Leong and Ponterotto (2003) focused on many of the same recommendations just listed but also outlined some specific suggestions for how counseling training programs might prepare students to function in international settings. These authors encouraged training programs to (a) support students traveling to international conferences and countries outside of the United States for short periods of time and as exchange students; (b) value bilingualism and once again require a modern language competence; (c) "promote externship and internship experiences at local international-focused sites (e.g., campus inter national student center, community refugee or immigration center) and in other countries" (Leong & Ponterotto, 2003, p. 391); and (d) integrate international publications into the curriculum.
Regarding the last recommendation, Leung (2003) claimed that counseling graduate students could earn a doctoral degree without ever reading an article published outside of the United States. If counseling is to truly embrace a multicultural and global framework of theory, research, practice, and training, it is essential that students and professionals broaden their reading habits and develop a deep appreciation and ability to comprehend, analyze, integrate, and apply literature published around the world. Leung also stated that students in the counseling field must think globally and expand their knowledge beyond U.S. borders.
Takooshian (2003) also stressed the importance of counselor training programs preparing students to function globally. Takooshian stated that programs should encourage "cocurricular international activities" (p. 424) through various programs on campus, studying abroad, and collaborative international research. Furthermore, he suggested that students become involved in student groups that have an interest in international issues.
Last, Giorgis and Helms (1978) offered excellent ideas on how to train international students enrolled in psychology courses in the United States. Many of their recommendations are also relevant to the task of training international students enrolled in counselor education programs to work in international settings. First, international students should be encouraged to secure internships in settings similar to those in their native countries. By doing this, international students may learn about the unique concerns experienced by persons from their native countries. Second, faculty should urge international students to pursue research relevant to their home country and also to collect their data in their own country. Conducting such studies can help students to strengthen their understanding about the specific challenges of performing research in their own countries and the particular needs of persons in such countries. And third, students should be taught about the similarities and differences of educational systems throughout the world and provided with opportunities to gain firsthand experiences in such systems. This will help to better prepare future educators who are interested in teaching outside the United States.
Training for International Issues: New Recommendations
Learning About Cultures
Like others, we cannot stress enough the importance of recognizing and confronting one's cultural biases and behaviors. This is an essential first step to truly comprehending and respecting the uniqueness of a culture and learning how to conceptualize and assist with international issues and needs brought to the attention of professional counselors working with...
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