The Counseling Psychologist

Cross-cultural transitions can evoke reflections about existential concerns. Yet, the literature on international students’ adjustment has neglected this important aspect. To explore existential concerns that may arise during acculturation, we conducted semistructured interviews with six Iranian international graduate students studying in Canada. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, we identified three overarching themes: (a) Migration as a Boundary Situation, (b) Facing Existential Concerns, and (c) Coping with Existential Concerns. Results highlighted a connection between feelings of not-being-at-home or uncanniness in an unfamiliar host culture and existential reflections. Results also revealed that existential inquiries may be masquerading as adjustment problems. Overall, the findings challenge pathologizing views of cross-cultural adjustment difficulties and highlight the lack of attention to geopolitical factors affecting international students’ experiences. We call for practitioners to consider the possible presence of existential concerns during acculturation, and the sociopolitical contexts into which international students acculturate.

Indigenous mental health research is beginning to address colonization, however, Indigenous approaches to wellness have largely been overlooked. There is a paucity of research exploring psychological trauma interventions with Indigenous peoples. The Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs recognize the profound impacts of historical trauma among their people and are utilizing Indigenous focusing oriented therapy (IFOT), a trauma model that is collective, land-based, and intergenerational, as a part of their wellness framework. This collaborative research study explored the question: How is IFOT shaped by Wet’suwet’en ways of knowing and mobilized by individuals, families, house groups, and the Nation? Wet’suwet’en IFOT practitioners participated in sharing circles for data collection and interpretation. The exploratory findings revealed that the strategic application of IFOT by Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs created a culturally relevant model for land-based healing wherein Wet’suwet’en people were able to experience greater connection with their own yintah (land) and c’idede’ (history).

Using a sample of 815 sexual minorities (SMs) with current or historical engagement with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we examined (a) how many empirically distinct ways there are to navigate SM and religious identities and (b) whether these ways were related to health. A latent profile analysis, which grouped participants by religious/spiritual (i.e., religious commitment, service attendance, Christian orthodoxy) and SM identity (i.e., outness, identity centrality, sexuality support) variables, yielded a three-group solution: engaged Latter-day Saint (LDS) individuals, moderately engaged LDS individuals, and lapsed LDS individuals. Participants in these three classes did not significantly differ in SM variables or in physical health, mental health, or life satisfaction. Engaged LDS participants reported less substance use and more meaning in life than lapsed LDS participants, likely due to their religious engagement.

A common assumption is that upward mobility produces positive psychological outcomes. However, status-based identity framework and social class worldview model propose that perceived social mobility in either direction will lead to increased distress. Based on this claim, we examined relations among subjective social mobility, life satisfaction, and mental health using polynomial regression with response surface mapping. In Study 1, groups that experienced both subjective downward and upward mobility reported more depressive symptomatology than groups that remained in middle or upper social statuses in a sample of 567 adults. We did not find significant relations between subjective social mobility and life satisfaction. In Study 2, both groups that experienced subjective downward and upward mobility reported more depressive and academic distress symptomatology than groups that remained in middle or upper social social statuses in a sample of 7,598 clients from college counseling center data. The results provide insights relevant to multicultural counseling and training.

We examined the potential anticipatory response (rumination, vigilance) associated with online racism and its impact on psychological distress, loneliness, and alcohol use severity. With a sample of 407 racial minority adults, we conducted a path analysis to examine the indirect relation of online racism on our outcome variables via online racism-related rumination and offline racism-related vigilance. Online racism was significantly linked to psychological distress, alcohol use severity, and loneliness. Rumination and vigilance explained significant indirect relations between online racism and psychological distress and loneliness. Only rumination explained the significant indirect relation between online racism and alcohol use severity. Posthoc multigroup analysis suggested that the path model estimates for the full sample applied equivalently to the African American/Black, Asian/Asian American, and Latinx/Hispanic American groups. Online racism is likely an unjust burden for racial minority individuals that may give rise to prolonged rumination and anticipation about facing racial discrimination in their offline world.