Linguistic Minority International Counseling Psychology Trainees’ Experiences in Clinical Supervision

Abstract

The present study discusses clinical supervision from the perspectives of 20 international counseling psychology trainees with a focus on English-specific experiences in training. Using concept mapping, we identified four clusters of sociolinguistic experiences in clinical settings: Growth and Strength Through Embracing Vulnerability, Barriers to Showing Clinical Potential, Fear of Being Seen as Incompetent, and Self-Doubt About Therapeutic Performance and Relationships. Helpful supervisory events included seven clusters: Genuine Curiosity and Understanding, Exploration and Validation Regarding Linguistic Identity, Affirmation and Illumination of Strengths, Facilitation of Clinical Communication, Multicultural Awareness and Cultural Humility, Humanity and Compassion, and Externalization and De-emphasis of the Act of Language use Itself. Lastly, unhelpful supervisory events fell into seven clusters: Seeking Understanding From a Deficits-Lens, Lack of Self-Awareness and Cultural Humility, Acts of Disrespect, Disregard and Lack of Interest, Judgment and Over-Correction, Disempowerment, and Superficial Fixes. Implications for practice and advocacy and suggestions for future research are discussed.