International counseling students: acculturative stress, cultural distance, and the process of counseling with U.S. clients

Much research has highlighted the salience of acculturation to the experiences of international students, yet very little research has examined whether and how acculturation factors influence international counseling students and, in turn, their experiences in counseling with U.S. clients. In the present study, self-report data were gathered from 104 international counseling students enrolled in training programs accredited by the American Psychological Association and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs across the U.S. Two factors reflecting acculturation experiences (acculturative stress and cultural distance) were examined as potential predictors of four variables germane to the participants’ counseling work (real relationship, working alliance, session quality, and session depth) with their most recent U.S.-born client. Contrary to what was hypothesized, results indicated that acculturative stress and cultural distance were unrelated to the counseling process variables. Implications for theory, practice, and research on cross-cultural processes in counseling are discussed.