Global Links and Gaps in Counselor Education Programs: Establishing a Baseline

Abstract

As world grows more connected, counseling has developed significant focus on multicultural concerns and internationalization (the incorporation of international perspectives), but extent of this phenomenon is currently unknown. The current pilot study established baseline data concerning how counselor education programs encouraged and supported international opportunities for students and faculty. Representatives from 62 of 215 (as of spring 2011) programs accredited by Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs completed survey describing their institutions' and departments' commitment to incorporating student and faculty international activities into their counselor preparation programs, and nature of such activities in faculty involvement and counselor training. Two primary themes emerged from data: (1) disconnect between commitment to and execution of international activities, and (2) one-sided approach to internationalization and cultural exchanges. Implications for research and counselor preparation are considered.Keywords: internationalization, counselor preparation, cultural exchanges, baseline data, international activitiesHeppner, Leong, and Chiao (2008), writing from perspective of counseling psychology, observed that increased global dialogue and incorporation of international perspectives has resulted in shift toward viewing counseling as part of larger global movement. In introduction to special issue of Journal of Counseling & Development focused on counseling around world, Hohenshil (2010) asserted that growth of this movement is one of major and most exciting emerging trends in counseling profession (p. 3). The importance of this trend was underscored by Leung et al. (2009), who provided an extensive rationale for and discussion of internationalization in counseling. However, Leung et al. (2009), along with other authors, notably Pedersen (2003), Leong and Ponterotto (2003), and Heppner (2006), noted that internationalization is still fresh concept and that understanding and implementing it is work in progress.Ng and Noonan (2012) asserted that internationalization is a multidimensional movement in which professionals across nations collaborate through equal partnerships to advance practice of counseling as worldwide profession (p.ll). These collaborations will likely include many who identify as professional counselors, but must be inclusive so as to encourage contributions from those of other identities and traditions who promote mental health, wellness and development from different, though compatible, perspectives. In order to foster such collaborations, Leung et al. (2009) have advocated for the nurturance of global perspective in counseling scholarship, through our teaching, research, and (p. 112). Numerous authors have promoted such perspective through articles that focus on nature of counseling in various countries (e.g., Remley, Bacchini, & Krieg, 2010; See & Ng, 2010; Stockton, Nitza, & Bhusumane, 2010), those that explore counseling-oriented topics across borders (e.g., Chung, 2005; Furbish, 2007) and several that describe challenges that international students face in Euro-American counseling training and supervision (e.g., Crockett & Hays, 2011; Yakunina, Weigold, & McCarthy, 2010).The global aspects of counseling, teaching and service also are central to research that explains and analyzes involvement of extended cultural immersion experiences in counselor education programs (e.g., Alexander, Kruzek, & Ponterotto, 2005; Canfield, Low, & Hovestadt, 2009; Ishii, Gilbride, & Stensrud, 2009; Shannonhouse & West-Olatunji, 2013; Tomlinson-Clarke & Clarke, 2010). Throughout this cultural immersion literature, primary emphasis is use of cultural exchanges as an avenue toward increasing multicultural counseling competence. …