The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

UI tries to relieve int’l stress

A+UI+student+studies+at+the+IMU+for+upcoming+finals+on+Sunday%2C+Dec.+14%2C+2014.+The+IMU+provides+students+with+a+number+of+events+and+free+things+to+relieve+finals+stress%2C+including+coffee%2C+popcorn%2C+and+massages.+%28The+Daily+Iowan%2FMikaela+Parrick%29
A UI student studies at the IMU for upcoming finals on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2014. The IMU provides students with a number of events and free things to relieve finals stress, including coffee, popcorn, and massages. (The Daily Iowan/Mikaela Parrick)

By Isabella Senno

[email protected]

Midterms week can be stressful, but for some international students it may just be a small part of a larger problem.

International students are among those more likely to experience higher levels of stress and less likely to seek out professional help for improving mental health.
“For international students, we have to consider [that] we’re living in a foreign country right now, we have to spend time getting used to the environment and sometimes it takes a longer time for some people,” said Jingwen Liu, the president of the Heart Workshop, a student organization centered on mental health. “We also have to get used to the language and the environment, the culture barriers, and there are more things to consider.”

Scott Liu, staff psychologist at the University Counseling Service, said besides having to build connections in a new culture, the lack of an easily accessible traditional support system may also heavily affect international students.

“We are studying here without family support, without old friends, so that’s an issue,” Jingwen Liu said. “Sometimes [international students] believe they can solve everything themselves, but the reality is that they can’t.”

There are also cultural differences that affect how and when some international students may ask for help with their mental health.

“I think that in American culture, we don’t air our dirty laundry in public, and it’s a very similar idea for individuals coming from more collective cultural backgrounds,” Scott Liu said. “Individualists [Americans] will actively pursue their own well-being and ask for help, but they also respect that people have the freedom to choose help or not. With the collective approach if [someone] asks for help, they worry that it’s going to bother people or burden them.”

Scott Liu said students may use the forbearance coping strategy to deal with their stress. The strategy is a minimization or concealment of personal concerns to maintain the social harmony and can often arise from a culture in which an emphasis is placed on prioritizing the sensitivity of others.

This can be harmful to students as they absorb large amounts of stress coming from all angles: academic, interpersonal, and political. Scott Liu said more international students have come to the Counseling Service reporting incidents of microaggressions or acts of discrimination.

Because of certain cultural differences, international students may be less likely to take part in traditional, individual forms of counseling, Scott Liu said.

“Domestic students, they are willing to go there and talk to their doctors or talk about their lives with others, but international students … they don’t go and talk to people, so the issue becomes bigger and that’s a very bad thing,” Jingwen Liu said.

The university offers a variety of programs to help balance these cultural differences and ensure that students feel more comfortable getting assistance if they feel the need.

“The idea of going and talking to a professional about mental-health concerns is somewhat of a Western concept, the idea of sitting, making an appointment and sitting in an office, some folks are just not going to do that,” said Counseling Srvice Director Barry Schreier. “It’s also a fairly individualistic thing to do.”

Schreier said the service does community programs and training sessions to engage with the international student communities.

“Sometimes, it’s just being present in a community where people can informally seek that kind of consultation that helps,” he said.

These accommodations have begun to have an effect.

“The one thing that we did notice that was a change was last year we started these half-hour, same-day appointments, and we found that international students used those appointments more than they used the traditional one-hour assessments,” Schreier said. “We certainly know our international students are juggling a lot more, the language and having to be in a new culture, so we know for sure that adds another layer of things that have to be managed.”

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