Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2020

Abstract

This study uses Lent, Brown, and Hackett’s (1994) Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) as a framework for understanding the career barriers and coping efficacy experienced by master’s counseling psychology international students. Grounded in SCCT, we described coping efficacy as international students’ perceived capability to navigate career barriers. Using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis (2006), we explored the career barriers and coping efficacy of 12 master’s counseling psychology international students. The first focus area, “international journey with multiple barriers,” includes five themes: interpersonal stress; language barriers; financial pressures; advising concerns; and visa and immigration-related stress. The second focus area, “agents of change in the midst of barriers,” includes five themes: self-regulating; stepping into discomfort; cognitive reappraising; becoming a change agent; and social support seeking. Findings demonstrate participants’ coping efficacy and perceptions of themselves as agents of change. This study deepens our understanding of career development among master’s counseling psychology international students.

ORCID

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9410-1002

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Psychology Commons

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