Cross-Cultural Collaboration for Counselor Education

Eight counselors-in-training traveled thousands of miles for a life-changing experience.

Jeremiah Peck, PhD, NCC, ACS, LMHC, a former Assistant Professor of counseling at Western Seminary, knew he wanted to give his students a meaningful international experience. Instead of a traditional study abroad program, he wanted students to serve and apply their helping skills. Dr. Peck connected with NBCC’s Global Capacity Building Department in 2024 to plan an NBCC Institute.

“I think it’s really meaningful to counselors and training students, because while we can talk about counseling competencies in the classroom, giving them a hands-on experiential cultural experience is so meaningful to their development,” he shares.

The NBCC Institute was hosted in May 2025 at Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU) in Manila. This is the first time NBCC has hosted an institute specifically for a counselor education program. Carolyn Quiba, RGC, director of the Counseling and Testing Center at LPU, facilitated activities and was instrumental throughout the institute.

Service learning is a highlight of the NBCC institutes, and Western Seminary students prepared for months before their trip. Dr. Peck became a master trainer for the Mental Health Facilitator (MHF) program, which teaches foundational mental health skills that anyone can use. Dr. Peck’s students became trainers so they could offer the MHF program at LPU and exchange professional expertise with attendees.

Western Seminary students led the training for two groups: LPU faculty and staff, and LPU students. The groups provided feedback to the presenting students and shared how the mental health topics applied to communities in the Philippines. This experience emphasized cultural humility, as Western Seminary students presented with the understanding that the attendees are experts of their lived experiences.

“The entire trip was truly immersive,” Dr. Peck says. “Students weren’t spectators, they were participants in the culture. That’s something that students don’t typically get when they simply study abroad.”

The trip included a lunch with the president and other officials from the Educational Counselors and Psychologists of Asia Pacific (ECPA-APECA Philippines), where students learned about mental health challenges in the Philippines.

“Hearing from the professionals in the country directly was not only eye-opening for the students, but in some ways life-changing,” Dr. Peck says. “That’s why partnering with NBCC was so meaningful, because we recognize that we’re part of—as counselors—a bigger movement, that we’re all in this together.”

As of August 2024, there were 4,993 Registered Guidance Counselors in the Philippines (Villar & Pabiton, 2024), which has a population of 120.1 million (U.S. Census Bureau, 2025). A requirement to earn a master’s degree from costly programs poses a significant barrier to becoming a counselor in the Philippines. Additionally, only 5% of the Philippines’ health budget goes toward mental health (Lally et al., 2019). Low compensation, limited clinical opportunities, and countrywide underemployment rates contribute to counselor shortages and mental health challenges (Tuason et al., 2021). Quiba explains that peer-to-peer support is especially important, and the MHF program addresses critical needs.

“I understand that for mental health programs to be effective, the community must be engaged and empowered,” Quiba says. “A person has to feel safe within the community to be able to share and to facilitate the healing process. I see this principle reflected in NBCC’s Mental Health Facilitator (MHF) training program.”

Western Seminary and LPU students collaborated throughout the NBCC Institute, including a trip into the mountain areas of the Ayta community of Maguisguis and Patar in Botolan, Zambales. Students shared a meal with Rev. Giovanni, a Catholic priest who runs a retreat center and provides educational scholarships. Students also enjoyed a boat ride to visit the live Taal Volcano.

Quiba introduced students to community members, where they could ask questions and discuss mental health, after getting approval from a community elder. Students connected with local families and their children, even playing games with the younger children.

“I believe the visiting students were able to witness firsthand the joy, resilience, and strong spirit of the people in these communities—and I hope they carry those insights with them,” Quiba says.

Wendi Schweiger-Moore, PhD, NCC, LCMHC, is the director of the NBCC Foundation’s Global Capacity Building (GCB) Department. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Schweiger-Moore; Eugenie Yang, MS, NCC, GCB’s program manager; and NBCC’s executive leadership discussed creating NBCC institutes specifically for counselor education programs. They envisioned creating community in global spaces and facilitating cross-cultural collaborations among students. Once Dr. Peck connected with Dr. Schweiger-Moore, things began falling into place.

“Mental health needs and mental health crises are equalizing experiences,” Dr. Peck says. “If we can help meet those needs, who better to partner with than the organization who’s already been doing this work and has been facilitating trusted relationships?”

NBCC extends deep gratitude to Quiba and LPU for hosting the institute and creating connections between the American and Filipino communities. Mental health is a global challenge, and NBCC is thankful to LPU for increasing global knowledge and understanding.

Dr. Schweiger-Moore shares, “LPU was extremely generous with us, with their time, and with their resources. It would have been really difficult to have such a meaningful experience without their help. Carolyn Quiba was definitely the leader of that, but a lot of people at the university contributed and helped make this happen.”

Quiba adds that hosting collaborative experiences like this plays an important role in advancing mental health.

“I am deeply grateful to NBCC for entrusting the institute to LPU as its host institution. We believe in the importance of collaboration and mutual support—especially as we face the significant mental health challenges affecting us locally and globally,” she says. 

International experiences provide counseling professionals with an enriched perspective to serve clients from different backgrounds. Yang says she’s inspired by the intentionality of professionals to engage in international collaborations.

“It’s from Dr. Peck and his students, and Carolyn and her amazing team behind her, and those who she works with directly at LPU. I can’t even fathom the amount of time and effort that Carol has put in. And from Dr. Peck and his students. They didn’t have to do the MHF training practice before the trip. That was above and beyond on their end. When all of that comes together, it’s magic,” she says.

Some students who attended the institute told Dr. Peck they want to return to the Philippines and continue facilitating mental health conversations.

“It was such a rich and positive experience that I, as an educator, will absolutely do this again. NBCC would be my top choice for continuing these partnerships and relationships,” Dr. Peck says.

Counselor education programs that are interested in offering an NBCC institute to their students can learn more and connect with NBCC at www.nbccf.org/programs/Global/institutes.

Jeremiah Peck, PhD, NCC, ACS, LMHC, is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Graduate School of Counseling at George Fox University. He is also the founder of Ally Christian Counseling in Vancouver, Washington, and a master trainer for the Mental Health Facilitator program.

Carolyn Quiba, RGC, is the director of the Counseling and Testing Center at Lyceum of the Philippines University. She is also a master trainer for the Mental Health Facilitator program.

 **Opinions and thoughts expressed in NBCC Visions Newsletter articles belong to the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or practices of NBCC and Affiliates.  

References:

Lally, J., Tully, J., & Samaniego, R. (2019). Mental health services in the Philippines. BJPsych International, 16(3), 62–64. https://doi.org/10.1192/bji.2018.34

Tuason, T. G., Alvarez, M. H., & Stanton, B. (2021). The counseling profession in the Philippines. Australian Counseling Research Journal, 15, 20–25. https://www.acrjournal.com.au/resources/assets/journals/Volume-15-SW-Issue-2021/Manuscript4%20-%20The%20Counselling%20Profession%20in%20the%20Philippines.pdf

U.S. Census Bureau. (2025). Philippines. U.S. and world population clock. https://www.census.gov/popclock/

Villar, I., & Pabiton, C. (2024, November 21–22). Updates from the Professional Regulatory Board [Conference session]. Education Counselors and Psychologists of Asia-Pacific (ECPA) - APECA Philippines 48th Annual Conference.