Better meeting the counselling needs of ethnic Chinese
international students: Exploring the relationship between
cultural backgrounds and counselling expectations

Compensating for reduced public funding, Australian universities actively recruit full-fee paying East Asian international students. University staff, aware of international students having difficulties coping with cultural and emotional issues, often encourage them to seek university counselling services. However, East Asian international students under-utilise counselling services. This paper is based on the findings of a study seeking to offer empirical support for Draguns's hypothesis that related "individualism" and "power distance" to attitudes towards counselling. Using the Singelis Individualism Collectivism Scale (ICS) and the Tinsley Expectations about Counselling-Brief Form (EAC-B) questionnaire, the study explored the relationship between levels of vertical and horizontal individualism and collectivism and attitudes towards the roles of counsellors, the roles of clients, and the process and goals of counselling among ethnic Chinese, Australian, and American students. The findings from the study supported Draguns's model indicating that individuals endorsing collectivistic attitudes expressed a strong preference for counsellors who were direct, expert-like, and helped clients seek concrete solutions to their problems. The findings have implications for universities to provide funding for an adequate and diverse counselling staff to meet the needs of the international students they so actively recruit.