Exploring Counseling Dropout Rates Among International College Students with Disabilities

Abstract

Little is known about the experiences of international students with disabilities in counseling services. Due to challenges for international students, higher levels of distress and cases of dropout from counseling at university counseling centers are expected. Researchers used data from the Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH) to explore the interaction between international student status and disability status on counseling dropout. Data collected represented treatment received between August 2014 and May 2019 and represented a total sample of 159,537. Participants were categorized into four groups: international students with disabilities (n = 331), international students without disabilities (n = 8,059), domestic students with disabilities (n = 11,362), and domestic students without disabilities (n = 139,785). Data were collected from the Standardized Data Set (SDS) and counseling center final report. A hierarchical binomial logistic regression was conducted. Disability was found to have an effect on counseling dropout. More support and better understanding of disability is needed for effective counseling.

Keywords:

• International students
• disabilities
• college counseling center
• counseling drop-out

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Angélica Galván

Angélica Galván, PhD, NCC, is Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling, California State University, Northridge, Northridge, California. She has a background in clinical mental health counseling and working with students with disabilities. Her interests include multicultural counseling, building a sense of belonging for minoritized students, bilingual counseling, and the effects of language use on the counseling relationship.

Aazi Ahmadi

Aazi Ahmadi, MS, MA, is a doctoral candidate in Counselor Education and Supervision in the Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education at Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania. She received her first master’s degree in Educational Psychology and obtained her second master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling (CACREP-accredited). She has completed the National Counselor Examination and been awarded the title of Licensed Professional Counselor-Associate. Her interests include multicultural counseling and supervision, measurement development and evaluation, and trauma among diverse populations.

Fanghui Zhao

Fanghui Zhao, PhD, is in the Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania. She recently graduated from the Counselor Education and Supervision program at Pennsylvania State University and began her role as an assistant professor in the clinical mental health counseling program at Seattle University in September 2023. Her research focuses on two primary areas: (1) exploring cross-cultural counseling processes and outcomes, and (2) investigating the development of Multicultural Social Justice Counseling Competencies (MSJCC) among counselor trainees.

Kyesha Isadore

Kyesha Isadore, PhD, NCC, CRC, is Assistant Professor, Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin. Her primary work centers on how intersectionality impacts mental health with special attention to race/ism, gender, and disability. Her current research includes examining therapeutic outcomes for marginalized populations, exploring the experiences of racially/ethnically minoritized college students with psychiatric disabilities, and enhancing multicultural and social justice competencies for counselors-in-training.

Amber O’Shea

Amber O’Shea, PhD, is Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania. She focuses on identifying sociocultural factors and malleable characteristics of learning environments that impact health and well-being among postsecondary students, particularly among students with psychiatric and non-psychiatric disabilities.