Date of Award

Spring 5-16-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Major

Expressive Therapies

First Advisor

Nicholas Suchecki

Abstract

International students navigating cultural transition often experience disruptions not only in social adjustment but also in their sense of identity, belonging, and meaning-making. Grounded in expressive arts therapy, cross-cultural psychology, and mythopoetic frameworks of transformation, this thesis explores how creative processes can support international students in reflecting on and integrating their evolving identities during periods of cultural transition. A four-hour trauma-informed expressive arts workshop, structured around the Hero’s Journey arc of departure, initiation, and return, was facilitated across two sessions at a university in the northeastern United States. Seven international students from diverse cultural backgrounds engaged in multimodal practices including guided imagery, visual self-portraiture, embodied movement, collage-based oracle card creation, and reflective writing. Findings suggest that expressive arts processes supported identity exploration as an ongoing, open-ended inquiry rather than a problem requiring resolution. Participants accessed embodied and symbolic dimensions of experience beyond verbal expression and engaged in shared meaning-making within a relational group context. Transformation emerged not as closure, but as a reorientation toward self. The findings offer insight into how expressive arts therapy and university support services can better support international students in navigating identity and transition.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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