TPC Journal Volume 11 Issue 2

173 S Anandavalli, L. DiAnne Borders, Lori E. Kniffin “I Am Strong. Mentally Strong!”: Psychosocial Strengths of International Graduate Students of Color Positioned at a unique intersection of managing academic pressures and embodying racial and ethnic minority identity status, international graduate students of color (IGSCs) are frequent targets of multiple stressors. Unfortunately, extant counseling literature offers counselors little information on the psychosocial strengths IGSCs employ (e.g., strong familial bond, friendships) to cope with such stressors. To address this gap, interviews with eight IGSC participants were conducted and analyzed using interpretive phenomenological analysis and the lens of the intersectionality framework. Five psychosocial strengths were identified—familial support, social connections, academic aspirations and persistence, personal growth and resourcefulness, and resistance and critical consciousness. Recommendations for employing an asset-based approach in counseling and counselor education are offered. Keywords: international graduate students of color, psychosocial strengths, racial and ethnic minority, intersectionality, interpretive phenomenological analysis Over 1 million international students were enrolled in higher education programs in the United States in 2020 (National Association of Foreign Student Advisers [NAFSA], 2020). Thousands of them are confronted with varied stressors, including linguistic barriers (Mori, 2000), isolation (Sato & Hodge, 2015), and xenophobia (Pottie-Sherman, 2018). The recent COVID-19 pandemic has added to their mounting stress, pushing them toward symptoms of severe mental illness, including chronic fear and anxiety (Chirikov & Soria, 2020). Extant literature offers strong evidence that international graduate students of color (IGSCs) are particularly vulnerable to stressors because of their academic responsibilities and experiences in the racialized society of the United States (George Mwangi et al., 2019; Lee & Rice, 2007; Lemieux et al., 2020). To support IGSCs as they confront multiple challenges, scholars have been called to examine this population’s psychosocial strengths (Pendse & Inman, 2017; Straker, 2016), as strengths-based counseling empowers and builds resilience among members of marginalized communities (Craig, 2013; Day-Vines & Terriquez, 2008; Toporek & Cohen, 2017). Regrettably, a thorough literature review yielded no peer-reviewed counseling articles that specifically addressed the strengths of IGSCs. The only related counseling study was by Yakunina and colleagues (2013), who offered insight into the strengths of international students. However, they failed to examine the specific strengths of IGSCs and gathered data only on the overall international student experience. Thus, to explore the psychosocial strengths of IGSCs, we used interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA; Smith, 1996) and adopted the lens of the intersectionality framework (Crenshaw, 1989). We review the literature addressing IGSCs’ psychosocial strengths and offer results professional counselors can use in an asset-based approach with this community. The Professional Counselor™ Volume 11, Issue 2, Pages 173–187 http://tpcjournal.nbcc.org © 2021 NBCC, Inc. and Affiliates doi: 10.15241/sa.11.2.173 S Anandavalli, PhD, NCC, LPC (Intern), is an assistant professor at Southern Oregon University. L. DiAnne Borders, PhD, NCC, ACS, LPC, is a professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Lori E. Kniffin, PhD, is an assistant professor at Fort Hays State University. Correspondence may be addressed to S Anandavalli, Southern Oregon University, 1250 Siskiyou Blvd, Ashland, OR 97520, anandavas@sou.edu.