Training and educating international students in professional psychology: What graduate programs should know.

Abstract

International graduate students in professional psychology face specific challenges, such as language barriers to the counseling process and legal restrictions on their ability to work and study. However, this group has received little clinical, research, or educational attention. Because they face formidable difficulties while receiving limited support, these students are vulnerable to unjust and exploitative treatment, but their voices are rarely heard. This article contains a brief review of the literature on the challenges that international students face, and emphasizes four specific areas of challenge for this population: financial difficulties, language barriers, career concerns, and cultural differences. Specific recommendations for each of the areas are made after each section. This article also highlights the specific challenges faced by international students who are applying to the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers, and suggests training techniques that can be adopted by programs to prepare international student applicants for this process.