Developing Cross-Cultural, Online Group, and Digital Counseling Competencies through Experiential Learning in Thailand’s Southern Border Provinces

Background/ problem: Rapid digital transformation and cultural complexity demand that counselor education evolve to foster integrated competencies for online, multicultural, and technologically mediated practice. This is critical in Thailand's southern border provinces, where online counseling serves communities with distinct traditions amid limited access to mental health services. Despite this urgency, little is known about how counseling students cultivate cross-cultural, digital, and group counseling skills through real-world engagement.Objective/ purpose: This study aimed to explore and describe the lived experiences of graduate students in counseling psychology regarding the development of cross-cultural, online group, and digital counseling competencies through experiential learning during an online practicum.Design and Methodology: This qualitative phenomenological study involved 12 second-year graduate students, purposively selected to participate in online group counseling and supervision in Thailand's southern provinces. Data was collected one month after the practicum through semi-structured group interviews and online reflective surveys. Qualitative experts reviewed instruments, and data were analyzed using content analysis.Findings: Counselor identity development was a relational and transformative process rather than a linear acquisition of skills. Three themes emerged: (1) cross-cultural competence as a lived experience; (2) humanistic values as foundational to online group counseling; and (3) digital counseling competency as an emotionally attuned and ethically grounded practice.Conclusion and Implications: The study highlights the value of integrating virtual practicum, culturally responsive training, and digital ethics in counselor education and supervision. Embedding these elements can guide training programs, strengthen supervision, and inform policy to prepare future practitioners better to serve diverse populations with competence and integrity.