This is the second time the Journal of Mental Health Counseling has published a special issue on international counseling. The first was in 2005, when Guest Editors Gerstein and Ægisdóttir published both a special issue and a separate special section. With the goal of introducing readers “to a host of unique and innovative counseling models used around the world” (Gerstein & Ægisdóttir, 2005, p. 98), the guest editors selected 11 articles that described the field and process of counseling in Brazil, China, Fiji, Ghana, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, and Ukraine (Ægisdóttir & Gerstein, 2005). Together, these articles provided readers with a brief overview of the similarities and differences in counseling history, status, and practices throughout the world. The guest editors also expressed their hope that the special issue and section would encourage continued discussion and collaboration among counseling professionals, with the goal of providing culturally competent services worldwide (Ægisdóttir & Gerstein, 2005, Gerstein & Ægisdóttir, 2005).
In the almost 20 years since the special issue and section were published, international counseling has, in many ways, become a flourishing global initiative. For example, the counseling field is currently engaging in a “World Mapping of the Counselling Profession,” which seeks to provide detailed information about the status of counseling in every country (International Association for Counselling, 2023). International students are increasingly seeking training from accredited counseling programs in the United States (see Um et al., 2023); they comprised 1.1% of master’s students and 5.6% of doctoral students in 2022 (Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, 2023). Additionally, several counseling journals have seen an increase in the percentage of published articles with international first authors since 2000, including the Journal of Counseling & Development (Anderson et al., 2021), the Journal of Employment Counseling (Siegler et al., 2020), and Counseling and Values (Alder et al., 2021).
The Journal of Mental Health Counseling seeks to contribute to this global initiative by publishing a second special issue on international counseling. The articles in this issue focus on practical ways that readers can become involved in international counseling on a broad level, whether by working in their countries of residence with clients who hold various international identities (e.g., international students, third culture kids) or by pursuing international employment and collaborations in other countries. I am grateful to the authors, reviewers, and guest editor of the special issue for their dedication to this important topic, and I echo the sentiments shared by the guest editors of the first special issue that readers will find these articles “stimulating, revealing, and useful” (Gerstein & Ægisdóttir, 2005, p. 101) in their own work as international counselors. It is my hope that, as an international collaborative community, counselors can be at the forefront of providing culturally competent and humble services to persons throughout the world.
