INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL COUNSELORS’ EXPERIENCES WITH CLIENTS FROM DIFFERENT CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS IN THAILAND: AN INTERPRETATIVE PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
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Abstract
Thailand’s growing globalization has led to an increasing number of foreign educators and counselors working in international schools, which serve students from diverse cultural backgrounds. While multicultural counseling has been widely studied in Western contexts, research in Thailand, especially on foreign counselors in international schools, remains limited. This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of counselors working in international schools with clients from different cultural backgrounds. An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used. Informants consisted of five foreign counselors working in international schools; in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect the data. The findings revealed three main themes that addressed the research question. First, encountering cultural differences in the counseling context captured counselors’ experiences of navigating diverse cultural norms, values, and communication styles. Second, counselors’ internal transformation reflected how cross-cultural encounters fostered self-reflection, and adaptation. Third, counselors’ personal growth represented the long-term professional and personal development resulting from these experiences, including enhanced cultural sensitivity and broader worldviews. These findings suggest that counselor training should emphasize self-awareness, bias recognition, and openness to clients’ worldviews. Schools should support counselors in developing skills to navigate cultural diversity. Further research focusing on counselors from specific cultural contexts is recommended to deepen understanding of culturally responsive counseling approaches.
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