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Abstract
Reentry research has received much less attention than research on cultural adjustment in a foreign country, especially in the marriage and family therapy (MFT) field in the United Stated. International MFT graduates often lose contact with their American colleagues and mentors; the MFT faculty also does not initiate follow-ups with international graduates and evaluate the influence of MFT training on the international students clinical work during reentry. This study was intended to extend the reentry literature and specifically to understand personal and professional reentry experiences and cross-cultural transformation of MFT returnees in Taiwan. Thirteen participants were interviewed and the resulting data were analyzed using constructivist grounded theory. Analyses results demonstrated macro contextual factors that situated unique personal and professional reentry phenomena for international MFT graduate in Taiwan. The returnees strived to explore their MFT identity and interpret cross-cultural differences by developing four coping strategies (e.g., not wanting to fit in, doing what you were supposed to do or could do, processing with others, and therapists multicultural awareness ) that were associated with three conditions, such as personal networks linking to professional networks, supervision, and training in MFT. Findings suggested that reentry adaption was varied and fitting into Taiwanese society might not be the final goal for the returnees.