IJSP Number 4, 2022

6 Cross-Cultural Clinical Supervision: The Voices of International Doctoral Trainees JIN Ling 1 , WANG Chiachih DC 2 , WATKINS, Jr. Clifton Edward 3 , ZHU Wenzhen 4 , ZAMUDIO Gabriel 5 , LI Shaozhuan 6 1,5 Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada 2,3 Department of Psychology, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA 4 School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China 6 Counseling Center, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA Email: ling.jin1@ucalgary.ca Abstract Supervision with international supervisees is both cross-cultural and cross-linguistic in nature. This study explored international supervisees ’ experiences during the clinical supervision process, with 10 international supervisees (5 females, 5 males; M age =31.60) participating in a qualitative study. Four themes were identified: (1) challenging aspects of being an international supervisee in supervision, (2) the supervisor ’ s multicultural competency or lack thereof, (3) growth-facilitating supervision strategies, and (4) addressing the supervision power differential. Findings provide a broadened vision of supervision with international trainees, helping mental health professionals better understand the unique challenges of supervision process with international trainees from a cross-cultural perspective. Key words: Supervision, international supervisees, qualitative, multicultural, power differential. 1. Cross-Cultural Clinical Supervision: The Voices of International Doctoral Trainees Clinical supervision refers to “…a distinct professional practice employing a collaborative relationship that extends over time, is facilitative, and has the goals of enhancing the professional competence and science-informed practice of the supervisee, monitoring the quality of services provided, and protecting the public ” [1, p. 188]. In this study, we give focus to international supervisees, a student group that has continued to increase in numbers in the United States (U.S.) across counsellor/ therapist/ psychologist preparation programs [2, 3, 4]. We specifically use the term international supervisee to describe graduate students who were born and raised outside of the U.S., currently holding a student visa (F1), and speaking English as a non-native speaker. Notably, most international supervisees are from countries in which their official language is not English, and the dominant cultural values of their home countries are distinct from those promoted by western mainstream society [5]. Accordingly, the nature of clinical supervision with international supervisees is both cross-cultural and cross-linguistic; this nature poses