Working with International Students in Therapy
International students are a vulnerable population when it comes to mental health. A study published in the Journal of American College Health found that 45.5% of international students reported high levels of stress.
Han Meimei (apparently, this is an alias) first came to me after her typical go-tos failed to cheer her up. Online shopping, computer games, eating at restaurants seemed no longer interesting. Meanwhile, finals are looming ahead yet she just could not pull herself up to get any school work done. Deadlines, exams, pages of unread textbooks… She stayed in bed and pretended that they all just disappeared—even temporarily. However, deep down, Han Meimei knew that this was not going anywhere. Her academic career was in danger, so was her mental health.
International students are a vulnerable population when it comes to mental health. A study published in the Journal of American College Health found that 45.5% of international students reported high levels of stress.
I was an international student myself when I first came to the U.S. years ago. Academic stress, financial stress, housing and transportation, being far away from my people at home, cultural shock and language barriers, all forced me to realize that the “colorful life of being an international student” was more an imagination than reality.
Now, after years of growing, I feel more hopeful though. More than just “surviving” my years at school, I actually thrived in many aspects—I got a GPA of 3.98, made many friends who are still important support in my life, felt confident and hopeful as I launched my career as a therapist after graduation.
Han Meimei was struggling for surviving, but surviving was not good enough for her. Like many international students, she came here with lots of hopes—and hopes from her family as well. She was scared of telling them what she was really going through.
Seeking help was not easy for her at first, given the stigma surrounding mental struggles in her culture. Nevertheless, the hope for a change motivated her to talk to her school’s counseling center, and eventually, led her to our first intake session.
Receiving a diagnosis can be the first hard thing to deal with. After we processed thoughts and feelings around receiving a mental health diagnosis and how it is related to getting reimbursed by insurance, Meimei was relieved. We met once a week for several months, processing different kinds of challenges in her life — from communicating with her advisor to making new friends at school, from setting boundaries with her parents to low self-esteem as a part of childhood trauma, from coping with procrastination to uncertainties during her internship searching…
Meimei learned to notice triggered parts inside of her and more importantly, to take care of those parts with empathy, compassion, and more effective strategies. She learned to talk to her fear and anger, and as a result, they were softened and calmed down.
Before we terminated therapy, Meimei told me that this journey we took together was enlightening and she felt more in charge of her life now.
Meimei was not alone. Many of my international student clients are making progress in counseling, tapping into the many strengths that brought them to the U.S. in the first place. If you are an international student struggling with stress, don’t hesitate to seek help—the ability to seek professional help is going to make such a big difference in your life here.
(To protect clients’ privacy, Han Meimei’s story is made up from several clients’ cases.)
*Want to learn more about how you can benefit from counseling? Schedule a free consultation with me here.
