The lived experiences of international counselor education students during their field-based clinical supervision in the United States of America

Supervision is an essential principle of the counseling field and a distinct intervention (Bernard & Goodyear, 2009). The primary goal of supervision is to provide counselor-in-training professionals with knowledge, support, and useful feedback; at the same time, it assures that attention is paid to the welfare of clients. Mandatory clinical supervision is a significant resource for counselors-in-training, and receiving supervision is considered essential to the professional development of master's-level students. Such is certainly the case for international students pursuing a master's degree in professional counseling. In the counseling field, however, the cultural differences that most often cause role ambiguity also may negatively influence international counseling students' clinical work with their clients as well as their future careers in their countries of origin. Although clinical supervision is a critical factor in trainees' professional development, international trainees' supervision experiences have received little attention in the literature of the counseling field. The intent of this study was to provide a rich description of international trainees' experiences of clinical supervision during their training in the United States.;The purpose of this phenomenologically oriented study was to examine the lived experiences of international counselor education students during their training in the United States of America. Specifically, this study focused on examining the effectiveness of clinical supervision in supporting international counseling students according to their special needs and expectations during their training in the United States and upon returning to their countries of origin.;This qualitative inquiry used van Manen's (1997) four lifeworld existentials, Bronfenbrenner's bio-ecological model of human development (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, 2005), and the integrated developmental model (IDM) of supervision (Stoltenberg, McNeill, & Delworth, 1998) as the theoretical framework. An analysis of relevant themes that emerged from interviewing nine international counseling students, in a focus group and in individual interviews, provided a rich description of the participants' supervision experiences during their training at American universities.;The findings in this study indicated that international supervisees face significant challenges during their clinical training. The previous literature also suggested that international counseling students have not been satisfied with the supervision services provided to them. However, risk and protective factors that enhance or inhibit international counseling supervisees' development have been illuminated in this study. The author has provided special recommendations for counselor education programs and clinical supervisors to prepare and support international counselor education students.