Emergency:                                                                                                                                                

• If you feel you are in imminent danger, please call Japan's emergency number: 119                                                                  

• Japan Helpline: 05-7000-0911. www.jhelp.com. 

• TELL Lifeline: 03-5774-0992. 9am to 11pm. They are Tokyo based and offer "Free, anonymous, confidential telephone counseling, every day" as well as other counseling services. www.telljp.com.

English Speaking Psychiatrists in Kansai Area:

• Dr. Nakajima. Tel 075 462 3700. Office in Kyoto.

• Dr. Yumi Nakao. http://yumi-clinic.com/English.html . Based in Osaka, integrates Chinese medicine as well. Fluent in English.

• Dr. Junko Takaishi. Tel 06 63460777. Osaka Ekimae dai 2 building, 2-2-200 Umeda 1, kita-ku, Osaka. 

• Dr. Takahashi at Terauchi clinic in Ashiya.

Bibliotherapy (Recommended Readings):

• Internal Family Systems Therapy (Second Edition). By Richard Schwartz and Martha Sweezy. I use IFS woven throughout most sessions, so if you are interested in deepening this method or using it more independently on your own, this is the book to go to.

• Focusing. By Eugene Gendlin. A truly helpful self-help book. The book shows how to tune in to and listen to the body so that shifts in the way we hold and process information can happen.

• Inner Work: Using Dreams & Active Imagination for Personal Growth. By Robert A. Johnson. Johnson's books (including He, She, and We) are very accessible and go straight to the heart of things. He worked with Jung himself, learned primarily through life experience rather than books, and provides practical expertise.

• Memories, Dreams, Reflections. Carl Jung's autobiography. Fascinating and mind-opening. One of my favorite books.

• Getting the Love you Want: A Guide for Couples. By Helen Lakelly Hunt and Harville Hendrix. Highly recommended! Based on Imago therapy. Solid theory at the beginning, then practical tools at the end.

• The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work. A straight forward and very helpful aid for any couple by the godfather of modern couples therapy, John Gottman. I use his principles extensively in my practice.

• The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. By Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk who is a leading researcher and clinician on trauma, explores various ways of understanding and treating trauma, including EMDR.

• Brain Lock: Free Yourself from Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior. By Jefferey M. Schwartz. There are good books out there on OCD, including The Woman Who Thought Too Much, and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder for Dummies, but this one is straight forward, presents good case examples, and some of the core components, such as "labeling," and be applied to other issues such as anxiety.

Sleep is more important than you realize! Here’s why:

This video is a stand-alone meditation based on Internal Family Systems (IFS therapy) to help access the Self:

On poetry’s relation to life:

Robert Sapolsky’s overview of depression:

The role of environment on addiction: 

A useful powerpoint for preparing for EMDR therapy: 

A philosophy of life and death :