International Students: A Minority Group at Risk in Need of Psychological Support

This article aims to provide an insider and outsider account of psychological vulnerability of international students when encountering cultural diversity. The term international students is used in this paper to indicate the specific population of young adults who spend a part of their undergraduate studies abroad. Despite the rising number of students moving between countries and an increased research interest in international mobility, few studies focus on the particular state of physical and emotional transition that this population can experience while abroad. This state of transition can cause unforeseen psychological difficulties and as a result it may affect their experience abroad and indeed their life thereafter. The paper explores possible causes and consequences of psychological discomfort experienced by individuals during a period of study abroad; it highlights some of the current therapeutic approaches available for culturally diverse minority groups, such as international students, and calls for more consideration of this particular group of vulnerable students that are still largely neglected from research and practices which take account of cultural dimensions in therapeutic and educational settings. Indeed, it argues that the transitory experience of international students who live in new social and cultural surroundings can be fostered by appropriate emotional support.