IJSP Number 4, 2022

12 remaining silent because as long as “visa slavery still exists, no one can really give me the courage and security to do anything differently (#1). ” Others reported that “I fear repercussion (#7), ” “I felt indebted to my supervisor because she offered me a job which allowed me to stay in the U.S. (#2), ” and “I feel uncomfortable to address needing a visa (#1,#6). ” International trainees ( n =7) also shared challenges involving their supervisors ’ lacking knowledge about their supervisees ’ cultural backgrounds and values in that they did not demonstrate adequate levels of cultural sensitivity to their issues, were unfamiliar with the supervisee ’ s cultural values, and did not understand how the supervisee ’ s worldview and cultural values affected their learning styles. A trainee reported (#1) lacking supervisor validation of her/his international experiences: “Supervisor had limited experience in supervising international trainees befor e me, so I do feel that they don ’ t fully understand the unique developmental trajectory of an international trainee, and easily attribute all kinds of challenges to the trainee as being incompetent, rather than considering other contextual factors. ” A participant reported that they were asked by supervisors to assimilate to the US culture, which resulted in the response of “not feeling safe to show genuine emotion due to that the supervisor cannot understand/contain it (# 3). ” Supervisee 9 also reported her own status (young, female of color, international) diminished her credibility in her supervisor ’ s eyes. Virtually all of the international supervisees in our sample reported challenges that their supervisors “did not understand my point of view or the rea sons of my decision-making when it came to maintain the peace and not confronting clients directly (# 6). ” Similarly, supervisees (#1, 3, 6, & 7) reported that their supervisors made insensitive comments and ignored their cultural values (e.g., being humble, staying open for different possibilities, indirect communication to save face), such that supervisees perceived that their cultural value of humility was “wrongly perceived as lack of self-advocacy (#4). ” Supervisee 9 also reported that she embraced self-disclosure in a professional setting with her supervisor inherent to her own Latinx culture, and yet, it was perceived as inappropriate by her supervisor. All international trainees also reported experiencing challenges due to their cultural beliefs and developed patterns for learning . They reported that the high level of reverence they usually have for authority figures often became a barrier to relate genuinely with supervisors and made communication more difficult. Several supervisees(#1, 3, 6, &7)described that when it comes to learning, they would trust authorities more than themselves because their culture has taught students to “reflect on errors of myself and to trust authorities, so even when there was really nothing wrong I did, I still comply (#1). ” As a result, international trainees often experienced a heightened level of anxiety, as stated by another participant that “I felt threatened as if they were going to kick me out of the program (#1). ” Another common response from many supervisees ( n =7) associated with their cultural beliefs is their hesitation in bringing up concerns during supervision. Supervisees reported several reasons, all related to their cultural beliefs, including not wanting to be a burden to others, worrying about hurting the supervisory relationship, and hoping that the supervisor (the authority figure) would take the initiative to address their needs/concerns.