Why the IMHPJ Membership List Is a Useful Resource

Finding Professional Counselors and Therapists in Japan can be a challenge. The decision to seek counseling or psychotherapy is one that takes courage and can be difficult but is usually done at a time when you may not be thinking too clearly. Firstly you will need to know “Are there any mental health professionals in my area who speak my language and understand my culture?” Many “counseling” services aimed at the international communities offer practical information about daily life and legal matters, but few offer assistance for emotional distress, marital conflicts, depression or addictions. So you will face questions like “How do I choose?” “Which person can best help me? ” “How do I know who is qualified? ”. These are important and questions which this website listing aims to assist you with.

In addition, for those of you living in the Kanto and Kansai areas, you can choose from counselors based on a variety of information provided in this Membership List such as area of speciality, services offered, language and closest train station. For those outside of Kansai and Kanto it should be noted that many therapists offer phone counselling.

What Is Special about IMHPJ Members

IMHPJ members are in one of two categories: Clinical Membership or Associate Membership. All IMHPJ Clinical Members are trained mental health professionals who must provide proof of their education and home-country (or state) credentials, and sign a pledge to abide by a comprehensive code of ethics. If someone is still a student or hasn't met their home country's qualifications, they can join and be listed as an Associate Member. While these are not guarantees, they do provide some critically important safeguards for clients choosing a therapist.

As mentioned above, all Clinical and Associate Members must sign and live up to the code of ethics. This is an essential part of our profession. Our code of ethics is a combination of the best parts of the codes of ethics appropriate to Japan from a number of mental health provider associations around the world. As well as spelling out the rules of ethical behavior, the IMHPJ Code of Ethics also provides a method for clients to lodge complaints of unethical treatment against Clinical Members. It is not enough to provide therapy to clients. We must also assure, to the best of our ability, that all therapy is provided in a safe and ethical manner.

Some Definitions

The terms “counselor” and “psychotherapist” are often used interchangeably. Since IMHPJ members have been trained in different places all over the world, the distinction we care most about is whether a person has appropriate clinical training and experience in the field of mental health. That usually means someone with a master's degree, a Ph.D. (or other doctorate), or an MD. The important factor is that it is not just an academic degree it must be a degree with good supervised clinical or practical therapy training.

Briefly: in the US a master's degree (MA, MS, or MSW, Masters in Social Work) leading to a clinical credential usually takes two to three years to complete. In Australia and the UK a Clinical Psychologist must have a Clinical Masters followed by 2 years of supervised clinical experience for a total of 4 years post undergraduate degree training. A doctorate (Ph.D., Psy.D. or Ed.D.) in a clinical field generally requires 4 to 5 years. A Psy.D. is a doctoral degree that requires a case study rather than a research dissertation. An Ed.D in counseling is a doctorate in education which includes training in mental health service.
A psychiatrist is a medical doctor (M.D.) who has specialized in psychiatry. If your IMHPJ therapist is not a doctor him or herself they can refer you to a medical practitioner for further assessment for the appropriate use of medication as part of your treatment. All IMHPJ therapists are also well versed in the availability other community resources and can assist with other referrals/recommendations as part of your treatment.

In all cases it is important to be clear that your potential therapist has the proper clinical skills, education and training for the issues you want help with such as in adult, couple or family work training and experience as well as specific training and skills in dealing with the problem you are seeking assistance for.

We hope that this IMHPJ List of Members will help you make the best choice.