Toward multiculturalism: An exploration of the unique experiences and needs of international doctoral students in a professional psychology program

This study explored unique experiences and needs of international doctoral students in an APA-accredited Doctor of Psychology program. Minimal research has been done with this particular population; therefore, a qualitative research method with an emphasis on phenomenology was utilized in order to explore this topic and discover the meanings of complex process and experiences of this population. Six international students, who were either currently enrolled in or had graduated from an APA-accredited Psy.D. program, participated in semi-structured phone or in-person interviews. The International Student's Demographic Questionnaire (ISDQ) was developed by this researcher in order to gather demographic information about the international doctoral students in a training program. The participants were also asked to describe the experiences gained while enrolled in a training program, based on a set of International Student's Experiences in Clinical Psychology Doctoral Training Questions that was created by this researcher. The International Student's Experiences in Clinical Psychology Doctoral Training Questions incorporates 12 specific topics: financial challenges; immigration-related legal challenges; providing therapy; conducting psychological assessment; supervision and or supervisory relationship; achieving in academic areas; communicating with faculty, clinical, research, or multidisciplinary teams, and peers; using written and spoken English in related settings; emotional aspects; building relationships with faculty and or classmates or peers; establishing social support; and overall adjustment. Participants were also asked to make suggestions for each topic. The specific steps taken in this data analysis included identifying specific statements relevant to the experiences of the participants in the database, clustering those statements into themes, and synthesizing the themes into brief description of the participants' experiences. The results highlighted the following themes: need for social support in various areas, a need to further foster multiculturalism at the various levels in a training program, and essential processes of acculturation of both international students and others. Furthermore, the findings indicated that the experiences of receiving or lacking perceived, actual, emotional, and structural support largely impact on acculturation process, acculturative stress, and professional development of international doctoral students. Suggestions were also made based on the participants' responses.