Psychology Space

Situations Facing People in Tokyo and Japan

Do you find it is easier for Japanese to talk about their problems in English rather than Japanese?

Yes, sometimes. This can be the case even with people of varying levels of fluency if they are given sufficient time to formulate what they want to express in their minds before responding verbally and providing that the counselor or group facilitator can speak Japanese.

When speaking in Japanese people may ‘hesitate’ to express personal feelings and emotions verbally. Even as very young children people here have been ‘trained’ to suppress, in public and even at times in private, expression of their emotions and individual opinions when they differ from the group view or the views or their elders in order to maintain an impression of social harmony and agreement.

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Situations Facing People in Tokyo and Japan

“I provide counseling to Japanese students who spend a semester abroad here. I was wondering if you have any information about the most common psychiatric or psychological problems facing young 18 - 20 year old women, in your experience”…

Among the most common problems facing young women in this age range and those in their twenties I would definitely include eating disorders, depression, anxiety and obsessive compulsive behavior. Many who come for counseling often give as their reason for doing so as experiencing problems in forming “ningen kankei” which is often directly translated as “human relationships” and covers both personal relationships inside and outside the family and also in more general social environments such as at college or within a company.

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Clinical psychology is the application of psychological theory and research to the alleviation of human problems in living. At one time, the term “mental illness” was used to describe the types of problems of interest to clinical psychologists, but this term no longer describes accurately the broad range of topics with which contemporary clinical psychologists are concerned. Today, clinical psychologists are interested not only in traditional “mental” or psychological problems such as schizophrenia and severe depression but also in more common but important problems in living such as fears, shyness, sexual problems, marital problems, and physical health and illness.

The broad array of topics studied by clinical psychologists makes it difficult to give a concise definition of the field, and considerable overlap can be seen between clinical psychology and other psychology specialties (e.g. learning, developmental, psychopathology, physiological). This overlap, however, is due largely to the fact that clinical psychology is the application of knowledge acquired from research by psychologists in many other specialties.

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The pressures of academic deadlines, worry about grades, juggling relationships and part time jobs can keep you “on your toes”. Throw in angst about figuring out who you are and where you’re heading in life and it’s a lot to deal with. A certain amount of anxiety can be expected for most students. For this kind of situational and developmental anxiety, paying attention to self care (adequate sleep, exercise and eating from food groups other than “fast food”) and learning self help skills such as time management, diaphragmatic (belly) breathing, meditation, positive self talk and clear communication may be enough to help manage the anxiety.

But for 15% of the population, anxiety reaches the point of a disorder that may require professional help. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety disorders as a group are the most common mental health concern in America. They affect 19 million adults each year .

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I am proud to introduce you to the University of Otago. As New Zealand’s first university, founded in 1869, Otago has earned an international reputation for the quality of its research and teaching.

In 2006 Otago will have over 20,000 students enrolled and has a presence in each of the four main cities of New Zealand - Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.

The academic and administrative centre of the University continues to be located in Dunedin, where the majority of students live and work.

The Christchurch and Wellington Schools of Medicine & Health Sciences are both key elements of the University of Otago’s Health Sciences activities, providing clinical teaching for undergraduate medical students as well as conducting thriving research and postgraduate teaching programmes.

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In language your students will understand and enjoy reading, Timothy Trull’s CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY offers a concrete and well-rounded introduction to clinical psychology. A highly respected clinician and researcher, Dr. Trull examines the rigorous research training that clinicians receive, along with the empirically supported assessment methods and interventions that clinical psychologists must understand to be successful in the field. This new edition of Trull’s best-selling text covers cutting-edge trends, and offers enhanced coverage of culture, gender and diversity, and contemporary issues of health care. Written to inspire students thinking of pursuing careers in the field of clinical psychology, this text is a complete introduction.

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While your BS in psychology might help you figure out why your roommate is moody, it won’t get you far professionally. Psychologists and counselors must have graduate degrees, complete supervised internships, and pass state certification exams before becoming eligible for professional licensing. Although requirements to practice vary by state, in all states you’ll need a license to practice as a psychologist. Similarly, counselors are generally required to be licensed, credentialed, or certified, though these requirements vary by state and counseling specialty.

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When they hear the word “psychologist,” many people think immediately of some stereotypical version of a psychotherapist. He meets his patients in a nice office complete with a comfy leather sofa, wearing a well-worn tweed jacket and maybe even fiddling with an unlit pipe while asking them to describe their dreams from the previous night, then asking them about those dreams, “How did they make you feel?”

The only problem with that vision is that there are way too many different kinds of psychologists for any broadly applied stereotype describing them to be valid. While all therapists have among their goals helping their patients cope with the stresses of life and eliminate destructive thought patterns and behaviors, therapists use any of a wide range of types of therapy to try to achieve that goal. You can choose from Jungian analysis, Adlerian psychotherapy, existential psychotherapy, transactional analysis, family therapy, feminist therapy, gestalt therapy, and many other schools of therapy. And therapy can take place in a tremendous variety of settings, from hospitals to schools to professional sports teams’ locker rooms.

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Our newspapers and televisions are rife with stories of crisis, violence and crime, echoing common concerns across the nation. As first responders and primary caregivers we are often confronted with situations calling upon personal skills and coping abilities which may be taxed by an onslaught of competing demands. Navigating those incidents which challenge our abilities and training can produce stress related disorders likely to manifest in psychological and/or physical symptomology resulting in burnout.

A review of the literature suggests that there is limited understanding of the role which desperation plays in the precipitation or expansion of crisis situations. As casual observers we are all familiar with newsworthy events concerning incidents which became unmanageable and explosive when participants became desperate subsequently losing the ability to focus and/or make effective decisions. Once the line of desperation has been traversed it is likely that the crisis has been elevated in an exponential fashion. The resulting shifts in perceptions are likely to promote decisions which are largely ineffectual and may produce life-threatening situations for those involved.

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Our newspapers and televisions are rife with stories of crisis, violence and crime, echoing common concerns across the nation. As first responders and primary caregivers we are often confronted with situations calling upon personal skills and coping abilities which may be taxed by an onslaught of competing demands. Navigating those incidents which challenge our abilities and training can produce stress related disorders likely to manifest in psychological and/or physical symptomology resulting in burnout.

A review of the literature suggests that there is limited understanding of the role which desperation plays in the precipitation or expansion of crisis situations. As casual observers we are all familiar with newsworthy events concerning incidents which became unmanageable and explosive when participants became desperate subsequently losing the ability to focus and/or make effective decisions. Once the line of desperation has been traversed it is likely that the crisis has been elevated in an exponential fashion. The resulting shifts in perceptions are likely to promote decisions which are largely ineffectual and may produce life-threatening situations for those involved.

More…