A Phenomenological Study of East Asian International Students’ Experience of Counseling

Abstract

Although research has identified factors associated with U.S.-based Asian international students’ psychological help-seeking attitudes, there is scant research addressing how those who have sought counseling services perceived their counseling experiences. Therefore, this is the first known qualitative study to examine the experiences of East Asian international students who had sought mental health counseling in the United States. Using an interpretative phenomenological approach, the authors examined East Asian international students’ perceptions of (a) factors that facilitated or inhibited their decision to seek counseling; (b) their positive and negative experiences in counseling, and (c) the role of culture in their decision to seek counseling as well as in their overall experience of counseling. Five Chinese and four Korean international students who had sought counseling services at U.S. universities were interviewed. Six themes emerged: (1) Perceived Influence of Social Networks on the Decision to Seek Counseling, (2) Perceived Stigma, (3) Expectations of a Medical Model of Counseling, (4) Perceived Cultural Incompetence of Counselors, (5) Positive Experience of Counseling, and (6) Expectations of the Counselor’s Background. The findings provide an account of East Asian international students’ experiences of counseling that align with the extant literature on counseling in some respects but also diverge in others, thus contributing to a more complex and less stereotypical view of East Asian international students’ counseling needs.