International Students’ Counseling Expectations and Experiences in Accessing Mental Health Services

Abstract

Elmwater University’s International Students and Scholars Office and the Counseling Center wished to find what barriers existed that prevented international students from utilizing mental health services on campus. Through a mixed methods study of a counseling expectations survey and interviews with respondents, the most common barrier found was lack of knowledge of counseling services due to social and cultural stigma. Student respondents recommended advertising at new student orientation, assigning mentors to guide international students, and training advisors and deans to recognize the signs of mental illness to refer struggling students to the counseling center.