Hartini Abdul Rahman __________________________________________________________________________________ NTERNATIONAL COUNSELING AND SOCIAL WORK SYMPOSIUM 6 – 7 January 2009 EUREKA COMPLEX, USM 12 The Supervisory Working Alliance with International Student Trainees in Counseling Programs Hartini Abdul Rahman & Dini Farhana Baharudin Western Michigan University, USA Abstract: Little is known about the training needs of international student trainees in counseling and psychology programs. Supervision as one of the training components may serve as an important medium to identify and support international student trainees' developmental needs. Supervisors may serve as an important role in supporting the development of international student trainees' counseling self-efficacy through the creation of supervisory working alliance between the supervisors and supervisees. However, to what extend does the quality of this supervisory working alliance serves as a support to these students' growth is unknown. This paper will attempt to explore the effectiveness of this supervisory working alliance from the student trainees' stand point and to what extend the alliance has served to assist them in becoming culturally competent (be able to provide counseling effectively in two cultures). Introduction this exploratory pilot study, four international students who are enrolled in a mid-western university shared their story of their counseling supervision experience. Qualitative analysis of transcripts of audio- taped semi-structured interviews revealed four themes: (a) experiential learning, (b) personal growth, (c) relationships and (d) language. Results may provide supervisors and counselor educators with direction in facilitating international students into the counseling profession. Supervision has long been recognized as a critical element of counselor training. Supervision is viewed as the primary vehicle in the counseling profession though which trainees provide services to clients in a monitored environment. Supervisors provide an endorsement of their supervisees’ fitness and ability to work as counseling practitioners (Bernard & Goodyear, 2004). In other words, along with facilitating their supervisees’ growth, they also play a role as gatekeepers for the counseling profession. Vast attention has been given to issues and dynamics associated with cross-cultural supervision in the past decade. Cross-cultural supervision generally refers to situations in which the supervisee, supervisor, and /or clients differ from each other culturally, such as in race, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, or other cultural variables. The dynamics associated with these cultural differences can affect the content, process, and outcome of supervision (e.g. Bernard & Goodyear, 2004; Brown & Landrum-Brown, 1995; Garrett et al., 2001; Constantine, 1997). One group of supervisees that has yet to gain attention in the literature is international students. International students are students on U.S. campuses who are not U.S. citizens, permanent citizens, or refugees (Chin, 2002). The exact number of international students in counseling education and applied psychology programs is unknown, yet the number may be sizeable given that 3% of the students in U.S. colleges and universities are international students. Of the international students, it is estimated that 22% are enrolled in master’s-level degree programs and 18% in doctoral degree programs (Institute of International Education, 2005). Although the numbers of international students enrolled in counseling and psychology training programs have not been regularly recorded and reported, it is probable that their presence is significant. Leong and Blustein