"Out of the circle" : international students and the use of university counselling services

Abstract

In this paper, we attempt to gain a greater understanding of the adjustment experiences of international students from Mainland China in their first year at university. Three themes emerge from our data: lack of confidence in speaking English; the preference for using family, partners and close friends as their support networks to deal with problems; and the lack of knowledge of university counselling services. The participants did not view the university counselling services as a support service they would use to assist them with their personal difficulties