Introduction
Many international students face many problems as they try to cope with the transition. The western counselors face a challenge in trying to help this group because of its unique characteristics. All students require adjusting to the educational environment International students need help to ease their adjustment to new cultures (Mori, 2000). However studies have shown that they usually do not use counseling services provided in the universities (Kilinc & Granello, 2003; Zhang & Dixon, 2003). Domestic students are more likely to utilize the services for instance in the UK domestic students’ usage of these services was higher. But this does not suggest appropriate usage rates by the domestic students. Using ethnic evaluation with domestic students more Caucasian American students utilize the services more than their Asian American counterparts (Kearney, Draper, & Baron, 2005).
Main
Most of the international students have a negative attitude towards counseling. According to several studies done females have a more positive attitude towards counseling compared to men. However other studies did not find gender differences towards seeking help. This attitude is related to culture and acculturation. For instance the students from Vietnam students are reluctant to seek counseling help due to the stigma associated with mental problems (Atkinson, Ponterotto, & Sanchez, 1984).
The other reason for the negative attitude is due to cultural beliefs. Asian students fail to use counseling facilities because they are afraid of their families’ disapproval. The families would be embarrassed by them by seeking counseling. This is due to the stigma associated with mental health. They belief such problems should be solved in the family and yet because their family members are far way they keep their problems to themselves (Zhang & Dixon, 2003). It is embarrassing to seek counseling. There is a stigma associated with emotional openness in their cultures. Their cultures encourage collectivism and depending on one another for support. The family authority must be respected and this includes not giving personal information to strangers.
These students are also put off by the counselors who are from another ethnic group. They feel that they would not understand their problems due to their different beliefs. Thus most choose to deal with their problems alone while some may seek help from friends in the same social network (Uba, 1994). The cultural differences make some students uncomfortable and this leads to doubts of whether the service would help. Asian students would prefer to be helped by a counselor who is older from their own or similar ethnicity. Asians insists on privacy and this discourages them from seeking help from people outside their families. Language may also be another problem that keeps students from visiting counselors. When they find it difficult to express themselves in English they keep problems to themselves. Others choose to talk to their friends or even their professors.
The negative attitude leads to low utilization of counseling services in universities due to the belief of many non-western cultures. They stigmatize the usage of counseling, especially the Asian cultures (Kilinc & Granello, 2003) as well as other cultures (Constantine, Kindaichi, Okazaki, Gainor & Baden, 2005b). This is because they value group cooperation (Mori, 2000). When seeking counseling one has to go alone and this to many non western cultures is individualism. Hence people are discouraged from visiting facilities. It is better to seek help for members of their family or culture.
In some cultures disclosing personal problems to strangers is taken as a sign of weakness, immaturity and disgracefulness (Uba, 1994). This leads to the negative attitude towards counseling because if one were to visit a counselor this would be associated with mental illness. To avoid the scorn of the society any psychological problems are concealed as this would probably mean the child was not raised properly. For instance the Turkish would not utilize counseling services for fear of stigmatization. This would explain why few Turkish students seek college counseling when in western countries (Kilinc & Granello, 2003). Thus to avoid stigma such students when in foreign lands would never reveal any psychological problems they might be experiencing. They suppress these emotional problems and would rather express them as physiological disorders (Kou &Kavanagh, 1994). Most international students readily accept to seek help for physical illnesses.
In many non-western cultures emotional problems are referred to traditional healers, herbalists, fortune– tellers etc. They do not have therapy given through talking as counselors are non existent in their cultures (Mori, 2003). This explains why most of these students shun counselors as they would have to talk to them. They believe that emotional problems are caused by forces beyond the human control. Hence only interventions by higher powers would help thus they do not seek help from counselors (Kilinc & Granello, 2003).
Some international students are unfamiliar with counseling and may have a negative attitude towards the service. Some lack information about how to book an appointment and that the services are free. Hence many keep off due to fear of the high cost. They may also have unrealistic expectations of the counseling sessions. Lack of information about the concept of counseling in western countries may lead some students to have negative attitudes toward counseling services. Some are suspicious of the motive behind the counselors helping them the minority. This is because most of the counselors are from the American culture. Some students become suspicious of the motives for being helped and some may as well see this as mind control. Furthermore, some students think they look as failures for seeking help and assume they would be sent away from colleges (Kilinc & Granello, 2003). They should be assured that the information they share with the counselors will remain confidential and cannot be shared with other people.
There is a general negative perception associated with mental problems in many non western cultures. Even doctors in those cultures were reluctant to refer patients to seek mental health aid. This leads to strengthening of the stigma when one is actually referred then they are considered crazy. This leads to many international students to avoiding any visits to these facilities. Mental illness is associated with evil. This leads to most of the international students from keeping away from the counseling facilities. This is more so where he facilities are located where they are likely to run into people they may know. This would lead to stigma and thus a lot of embarrassment. When they do they are more likely to stop therapy when they feel it is not effective (Mori, 2003) this is specially observed with the Korean students (Mitchell, Greenwood, & Guglielmi, 2007). This could be the reason why many international students seek help mainly for academic related issues while their personal or psychological issues go untreated. This makes it harder for them to cope with life in the foreign land.
Students with low acculturation levels have a higher negative attitude towards counseling. This is because they do not understand they new culture well and are skeptical of psychological counseling. They value modesty and it would be a shame to confess one has problems. This would be a disgrace to the students and families (Zhang & Dixon, 2003). However, students who are acculturated were more open to psychological counseling and could tolerate stigma associated with counseling. They are more likely to be open with the counselors.
The attitude of the international students is generally negative towards counseling services. The service is treated with suspicion and mistrust.
There is also the cultural factor involved that prohibits many international students from using counseling services. This implies that university counseling services must be overhauled so as to cater for the international student body. The services must consider the cultural differences and the divergent world views. The services “must be culturally congruent” (Kilinc & Granello, 2003).
Information about mental illnesses should be given to the international students. This will help them change their negative attitude towards counseling services for example Turkish students come for studies with a mindset of dealing with their problems without professional help. Those given information are more open to professional help. The programs should include orientation to the counseling centre to familiarize themselves. The services providers should work hand in hand ‘with international students who are more acculturated to mentor new students’ (Kilinc & Granello, 2003).
Conclusion
The attitude of the international students is generally negative towards counseling services. The service is treated with suspicion and mistrust. Cultural factors involved prohibit many international students from using the counseling services. This implies that university counseling services must be overhauled so as to cater for the international students. Information about mental illnesses should be given to the international students. This will help them change their negative attitude towards counseling services and make it easier for them to adapt to changes in the new environment. It is vital to consider the differences within the groups that constitute international students. This will help to avoid generalizations when dealing with the international students. Each group is unique and needs to be treated as such.
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