DIGEST - Volume 10, Issue 3-FULL DIGEST

13 TPC Digest Read full article and references: Anandavalli, S., Harrichand, J. J. S., & Litam, S. D. A. (2020). Counseling international students in times of uncertainty: A critical feminist and bioecological approach. The Professional Counselor , 10 (3), 365–375. doi :10.15241/sa.10.3.365 | TPC Digest Given the impact of systemic and structural inequities on international students’ well-being and the multiple levels of stressors they face, it is imperative that all counselors, especially college counselors, are equipped to support this community’s mental health from a critical feminist and systems perspective. A critical feminist perspective allows practitioners to understand the mental health experiences of a minoritized community, including international students, in the context of structural racism, biased policies, and intersecting identities of privilege and oppression (e.g., citizenship status, race, ethnicity, language). In other words, mental health distress of a marginalized individual is seen as potentially symptomatic of larger structural unfairness. Similarly, a systems perspective, specifically Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological systems perspective, offers counselors an opportunity to examine the multiple levels of influences on international students’ mental well-being. R egrettably, despite an exhaustive review, we found no peer-reviewed counseling article that addressed international students’ mental health from a critical feminist and systems perspective. The present article is the first of its kind in the counseling profession. Situated within the critical feminist lens, we offer counselors multiple strategies to offer support to their international student clients. Organized along the framework of bioecological systems theory, these recommendations range from individual client scale or microsystem level (e.g., compassion meditation to counter the deleterious effects of racism and xenophobia) to large scale or macrosystem level (e.g., public policy initiatives) advocacy for counselors to better support international students. Opportunities for potential collaboration with various stakeholders are also described. Finally, we also offer recommendations for future research and clinical work. S Anandavalli, PhD, NCC, LPC-I, is an assistant professor at Southern Oregon University. John J. S. Harrichand, PhD, NCC, CCMHC, ACS, LPC, LMHC, is an assistant professor at State University of New York at Brockport. Stacey Diane Arañez Litam, PhD, NCC, CCMHC, LPCC, is an assistant professor at Cleveland State University. Correspondence may be addressed to S Anandavalli, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Southern Oregon University, 1250 Siskiyou Blvd, Ashland, OR 97520, anandavas@sou.edu.