Education Conference Cites Int'l Students Run Higher Risk for Mental Health Issues

The recent recommendation that universities adopt mental health “first aid” programs for international students may be particularly relevant to Harvard, according to both international students on campus as well as those who have studied abroad.

At November’s Canadian Bureau for International Education conference in Ottawa, several international education leaders said that the risk factors for mental health issues are higher for international students and students studying abroad.

Rebecca R. Gong ’08, president of Harvard’s Woodbridge Society, said she agreed with the conference’s assessment of the higher mental health risks run by internationals.

“Internationals are much more susceptible to homesickness and the stress of adjusting to Harvard life, college life, and American culture,” Gong said, adding that loneliness and homesickness are major risks that international students face that can trigger more serious mental health problems.

“All students feel the same about missing their homes,” said Evgenia K. Peeva ’08, an international student from Bulgaria. “It’s just harder [for internationals] to react and go home.”

Gong, who is from Beijing, said that international students can have trouble adjusting culturally and may carry the burden of being the sole representative of their country at Harvard. She added that students from some cultures might also be less willing to accept counseling.

Woodbridge has established several programs help student from abroad acclimate to their new environments, including the Freshman International Program (FIP), mentor-mentee counseling, and activities designed for students who can’t go home over Thanksgiving and winter breaks.

Other counseling resources for students include Harvard University Health Services (UHS), the Bureau of Study Counsel, and a host of peer counseling groups. Several administrators from UHS did not return requests for comment yesterday.

Peeva said that when she suffered from homesickness, it did not occur to her to utilize counseling services.

“I wasn’t really thinking that [counseling] could help me,” she said. “I wasn’t as aware of the opportunities as I am now.”

Students studying abroad, who are abruptly removed from this network of counseling support, may also be at higher risk for mental health issues.

Julia E. Rozier ’08, who studied abroad in France, said counseling there was not as accessible as it is at Harvard.

“There weren’t any counseling programs unless you went to find them,” Rozier said. “I could have definitely used more transitional help.”

The Director of the Office of International Programs (OIP), Catherine H. Winnie, said that her office helps students find “physically and mentally healthy” abroad programs. The OIP does not itself run any counseling programs at Harvard or abroad.

While many agree that internationals are more susceptible to stress and homesickness, others, such as Jovana Sljivancanin ’11 from Montenegro, do not believe that this is the case.

“I feel like other U.S. students feel more homesick that I do,” Sljivancanin said.