The experiences of non-native English-speaking international students in clinical supervision: a narrative inquiry

Clinical supervision research has focused on diversity issues and the influence of cultural factors on the supervisory process in cross-cultural and multicultural clinical supervision. As higher education in Canada and the United States continues progressing toward internationalization, the number of international students in counselling and applied psychology programs is on the rise as well. Therefore, there is an increasing number of international trainees in clinical supervision as it is an integral element of clinical training. As a result, researchers and supervisors have become concerned about clinical supervision with international students. It is documented in the literature that challenges encountered by international trainees in supervision were associated with factors in the context of supervision, such as supervisors’ multicultural supervision competencies. Additionally, it is documented that factors in the cultural transition process, including language barriers, discrimination, and acculturative stress are encountered by international trainees. However, no definitive conclusions have been drawn about the unique needs of international trainees, and specifically, non-native English-speaking international student (NNESIS) trainees in clinical supervision. To address this gap in the literature, the current dissertation aimed to investigate the experiences of NNESIS trainees in training programs and in the context of clinical supervision. Manuscript one explored the cultural and professional adjustment phenomenon of NNESIS in counselling and applied psychology programs in Canada and the United States. Data analysis resulted in four major themes, namely graduate students’ lives as non-native English speakers, perceptions of local educational institutions, responses to distress, and reflections on personal changes and growth. Findings of this study further revealed the systemic nature of barriers facing NNESIS during their academic pursuit in the host society. Moreover, the transitioning process wherein NNESIS integrated professional identity and international student identity was delineated. Manuscript two investigated the experiences of NNESIS in supervision throughout their clinical training in Canada and the United States. Utilizing narrative inquiry through the epistemological lens of intersectionality theory, the results captured the strengths and challenges facing participants during their clinical training. Further, the study identified that participants’ dissatisfaction with supervision was related to supervisors’ neglectful attitudes toward cultural factors, supervisors’ pathologizing of participants’ cultural background, and students’ experiences with discrimination in supervision. Additionally, the study’s findings necessitated the need to openly discuss supervisors’ and trainees’ intersecting identities, through which any biases and power differentials were addressed and thus, ameliorated. To sum up, clinical supervision – the critical and crucial element in the professional development of counsellors and psychologists – should integrate international competencies. Therefore, supervision could be culturally tailored to the needs of international trainees. Specifically, it is imperative that supervisors be equipped with knowledge of international trainees’ cultural and professional transitioning processes as well as skills to facilitate a smooth transition. Implications for initiatives to infuse international competencies into program administration, teaching, and clinical supervision were discussed. Keywords: international students, non-native English-speaking, clinical supervision, counselling and applied psychology, cultural transition

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