Exploring campus mental health support for international graduate students in Arizona

Service providers’ perspectives

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32674/0ejy4n70

Keywords:

Culturally responsive support, Help-seeking, International graduate students, Mental health, University mental health services, University International Student services

Abstract

International students face elevated mental health risks linked to acculturative stress, academic pressure, sociocultural adjustment, and structural barriers in higher education. Although these challenges are recognized, less attention has been given to how universities design and deliver support for this population. This study used a descriptive phenomenological design to examine perspectives on international graduate students’ mental health across Arizona universities. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with counseling professionals and international student services staff at Northern Arizona University, with perspectives from the University of Arizona and Arizona State University. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings showed that students’ mental health challenges were cumulative and linked to cultural, academic, and social transitions. Cultural beliefs shaped help-seeking, with stigma, self-reliance, and fear of burdening others contributing to delayed use of formal services. Participants also described services as uneven in accessibility and cultural responsiveness, while staff often served as gatekeepers to care

Author Biographies

  • Collins C Ezea, Northern Arizona University

    Collins C. Ezea, is a master’s student in the Applied Sociology Program at Northern Arizona University. He holds a bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria. His research focuses on mental health, student well-being, and he has authored and co-authored several works in this area, with plans to continue advancing scholarship in this field.

  • Dr. April Petillo , Northern Arizona University

    April Petillo, is an Associate Professor of Public Sociology in the Department of Sociology at Northern Arizona University and Interim Co-Director of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program. She is also affiliated with the Applied Indigenous Studies Department and the Ethnic Studies Program. Her research and teaching focus on public sociology, gender, and intersectional approaches to social issues. She serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief of Feminist Anthropology and co-edited Researching Gender-Based Violence: Embodied and Intersectional Approaches (2022). She is currently Collins’s thesis chair and advisor 

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Published

2026-08-29

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 19 (2026): Online First - Journal of International Students

Section

Global Mobility, Policy, and Internationalization

Categories

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Collins C Ezea, Dr. April Petillo

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

How to Cite

Ezea, C. ., & Petillo, A. (2026). Exploring campus mental health support for international graduate students in Arizona: Service providers’ perspectives. Journal of International Students, 16(19). https://doi.org/10.32674/0ejy4n70