NPO Mothers’ Radiation Lab Fukushima

Atelier

TARACHINE
Mental Health CareOur Testimonials:
Narrative Therapy for the Mothers &Children in Fukushima
Reviving Traditional Asian Approaches toMental Health Care

Atelier

TARACHINE

NPO Mothers’ Radiation Lab Fukushima- TARACHINE opened a mental
health care facility, “Atelier TARACHINE” in 2018.
Our aim is to help relieving emotional damages of the survivors of theFukushima’s nuclear accident, especially of the mothers and children
still living in evacuation.

Content
Our Approach - Narrative Therapy
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Background
State of Fukushima’s mothers at the time of the disaster
Current health issues in Fukushima’s children
Testimonials
Future Challenges

Our Facilities and Programs
Therapeutic Camping Retreats for Kids
Cesium in the urine before/after the retreats

Pediatric Clinic & Record-keeping Booklet

Our approach
1. Background

Narrative Therapy

The huge earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown in 2011
left deep emotional scars on us, especially parents and children
living in Fukushima. Even now, 13 years later, many people arestill suffering from anxiety and living with a sense of guilt. In away, we have had the experiences that are comparable to war
zones. It’s still continuing to this day.
In order to provide a safe place for mothers and children to telltheir stories and be healed, we provide a narrative therapy
through various fun activists for both adults and children.

We, care providers who also have had
similar painful experiences support
them and heal each other throughnarrative therapy.
This is modeled after the peer
counseling conducted by the local
mothers after the 1986 Chernobyl
nuclear disaster.

2. State of Fukushima’s mothers at the time ofthe disasterA 6-month pregnant motherwith a infant“ Without no gasoline in the car
and no destination to go to, I was
fearful and chose to remain athome in Fukushima.
In the chaotic situation, I wasstressed out and restless because
so many disagreements within thefamily.
I was really worried about
whether my baby would be born
healthy without any defectbecause of radiation.”Being terrified of theapproaching Tsunami“Immediately after the earthquake, I
rushed to the school where my childwas. All school children were
panicked and crying out for theirmothers, I grabbed my child by thehand and fled from the approachingtsunami.
In the chaos, I tore apart a crying
friend who was with my child.
I still can't talk about this with mykids, fearing they might think me asa horrible person. I still blame myself
for this, this is something I still can’tface emotionally.”Our approach
Narrative Therapy

Mothers who threw away their own breast milk

Many of the mothers with the babies living inIwaki City which is in 50km from the destroyed
nuclear power plants threw away their own breast
milk and fed the babies with powder milk.
They thought their bodies might be contaminatedby radiation. Through their breast milk, theyfeared their babies might also get contaminated.
Also feared the tap water could be contaminated,
they even wash the milk bottles with bottledwater.

3. Mental Issues of the adolescents who wereinfants at the time of the disaster

The anxiety and distress experienced by the mothers have passed
on to their infant children. Some infants were separated from theirmothers and some mothers stopped breastfeeding fearing theirmilk might be contaminated.

The children felt the crisis of their mothers and have grown up
trying to behave as “good children”. Growing up this way has
exhausted them psychologically, and now, 13 years after thedisaster, mind/body disorders have emerged.
The following symptoms are observed.

- Feeling unwell physically that cannot be explained in words- Poor attendance to schools- Mental fatigue- Depression- Various kinds of ticks

A child who was a baby at the time of the 2011earthquake turned 13 this year.

Our approach

4. Testimonials

Narrative Therapy

Magic of Narrative Therapy andPsychosomatic Massage

A mother in her 30’s and her 10-year-old daughter visited ourcenter regularly. They have been moving around so many times,
the daughter was brought in various places in evacuation. The
mother was anxious and insecure who had to cope with living in
new temporary locations for years.
When the daughter was 7 years old, she started to touch hermother’s breast persistently like a infant would do. The motherwas uncomfortable and schooled her and made her stop.
Now a few years passed, the daughter is in adolescent wouldn’t
want to have any physical contact with her mother. The motherfelt guilty and blamed herself for scolding the daughter years ago.
One day, we were chatting with the mother as a form of narrative
therapy while the daughter was receiving a psychosomatic
massage.
The vey next day, the daughter came to hug her for
the first time in many years, the mother told us
joyfully. We witnessed the effect of the massage
releasing mental tensions in the child.

4. Testimonials
Peer Counseling Heals
One of the TARACHINE’s staff is also aevacuee form the affected areas. Shewas pregnant at the time of thenuclear accident. A daughter wasborn and has been growing up while
she had to move her family around alot.

She says “My life in the last 12 years
feels like a dream. I can’t grasp what
had happened was real.” She still issuffering from emotional distress andgenerally unwell physically.
“I’ve been working as a staff in themental health care center for 3 years,and have listened and talked withmany women similar to my situation.
Sharing our experiences and feelings
are very healing, precious to oursouls. Thanks for the peer counseling,
I can say my heart is also being
healed little by little.”

Providing A Safe Place to Talk
Without Judgement
She was a regular visitor to our center,
and was a mother of three children
and a husband. We talked many hours
over the years, she became more open
talking about her difficult feelings. We
listened to whatever she had to say
without judging.
She says “I came to know more aboutmyself, and clear about what I want. I
realized my problems with my kids
stemmed from my relationship withmy mother. I never had a healthymother/daughter relationship growingup.”
We provide a safe place for our visitors
to talk and sort out things themselves.

Our approach

5. Our Future Challenges Narrative Therapy

The chaotic changes in the living environment and fear of invisible
radiation exposure at that time of the nuclear disaster left lastingscars in not only the children but also their mothers.
Even though they were still infants, they helped their mothers
and coped together to survive in the new environment.
Those children had to grow up fast to survive, instead of growing
up normally in a calm and usual developmental phases.
As they are becoming adolescents, some of them are beginningto show mental fatigue.
Since we’re also affected by the same disaster, it’s important for
us to relate to them as peers.
"Don't become an expert,“ as our motto, we try to create friendly
atmosphere for the visitors to drop in as if they’re visiting a
relative’s house.

Our Facility

We provide a “safe space" where each child can relax
and play freely.
There are two rooms in our facility, the rooms arecalled "Morning Forest“ and "Night Forest“ .

Bright & Refreshing"Morning Forest"

Quiet & Calm like a secretplay base, "Night Forest“

Here, various games and programs are provided free of charge forparents and children.

Mental Health Care
Programs
Atelier

TARACHINE

In our programs for both adults and children, we provide anenvironment where the visitors can study their minds, explore
their hearts and sort out their emotions.

In the children‘s program, we provide various activities such as
HAKONIWA sand play, drawing pictures, clay, handicrafts, pastel art,board games and etc. They can play in a safe space where they cantalk freely. A body work is also available for children to relieves thefatigue of the mind through a psychosomatic massage.

To support and energize mothers, weincorporate yoga with narrative therapy,
valuing in each person’s story.

The Total Number of Visitors
in 2023

The total number of visitors to our facility in 2023 will be 232 (87children and 145 parents). Most of the visitors were children
between the ages of 12 and 13 who were born before and rightafter the nuclear accident in 2011.

In addition to on-site staff, we provide outside support from
specialists such as infant psychiatrists and clinical psychologists asneeded.
The environment where the users can talk casually and also at thesame time, they can receive professional care if needed leads to asense of security for them.

“We won’t become experts!”“We won’t become experts!”, we tell to ourselves.
We try to create a space for the mothers to drop
in at our center as if they are visiting a relative'shouse.

Traditionally, in many Asian cultures, womenused to get together and form casualcommunities. They help each other to heal theiremotional wounds just by spending time
together talking or working,Without any mental health specialists.
Our care programs are somewhat akin to the
traditional Asian way - Women supporting eachother in a warm and relaxed community.
We believe this can be applied to other culturesin today’s world.

Many children in Fukushima have lost the playground where they grew
up in close contact with nature due to the environmental contamination
caused by the nuclear accident.
Based on what he learned while supporting victims of the Chernobyl
nuclear accident, “By spending time in a place free from highradiation exposure for a certain period of time, it prevents ourimmune system from damaging by radiation, and makes it less likely
we will develop serious illness.‘’ We started children‘s therapeutic
camping retreats in 2012.

Total of 5,026 participants (3,950
children and 1,076 adults) took
part in the retreat in Kume Island,Okinawa by December 2023.

We cooperates with 3 organizations and serves as a liaison officefor health resort therapy retreats where children in Fukushima canplay in nature and spend a relaxing time.

•••“Kumi no Sasto” in Kume Island, Okinawa (4 - 5 days stay)"Orto dei Soni“ in Pietra Ligure, Italy (One month stay)“Kumabeko” in Tadami, Fukushima (2 - 3 days stay)

The children in the affectedareas can spend the relaxed
time in natural settings

Comparison of the Amount of Cesium in the Urine
Before and After Therapeutic Camping Retreat

Internal radiation exposure can be measured by measuring Cesium inthe urine. About 80% of the retreat participants had the lower amountof Cesium in the urine after the retreat than before the retreat.
Changes in the Amount of Cesium in theurine after the Retreat

Male/Female Comparison

When comparing male andfemale, the rate of decrease
is slightly higher for the boys.
Child/Parents Comparison
The amount of cesium in children is higher than that in their parents, even if
they have the same diet and lifestyle.
•Children can be more susceptible to radiation.
•It is also possible that inhalation while outdoor activities during the dayand school lunches may affect the higher Cesium level.

The changes in the amount of Cesium in the urineof the 11 to 14 year-old participants
before and after the retreat

Amount of Cesium before the retreat
Amount of Cesium after the retreat

0.25
Total Amount ofCesium 137 & 134

0.2

0.15

0.1

0.05

0BeforeAfterFemale

MaleOur clinic offers thyroid examinations, whole-body radiation
measurements using a whole body counter machine, ionization
examinations, and regular health check-up.
The examination is free of charge for the children who were 18
years old or younger on the day of the Great East JapanEarthquake. The fee is covered by the donation to NPO
TARACHINE.

We try to create space where our patients can freely talk about
their health concerns while living in an affected area. We welcome
anyone from babies to the elderly.

We issue “Health checkups booklet” for children whovisit our clinic for comprehensive health checkups. Inaddition to regular health checkup items, important
health information will be recorded in the booklet, suchas the results of thyroid ultrasound, Cesium levels in theurine, internal exposure dose measured by the wholebody counter. It’ll make easiler to grasp their healthhistory in future.

Also, it will help them who were exposed to the initial high level radiation
and are growing up with daily low-dose exposures to take control of theirown health.
When they become parents themselves, if they worry that their children
may be affected by the radiation exposure, we hope this booklet will givethem peace of mind. It’s a gift filled with our wishes for them to continue
to protect their health for generations to come.

Main recoded items in the booklet
Thyroid echo exam result
Cesium levels in the urine
Whole Body Counter result
Hearing test result
Blood test result
Electrocardiogram

Our operations are entirely supported bydonations.
We are grateful for your gift.
Please visit our Website to donate via PayPal or BankTransfer: https://tarachineiwaki.org/english

NPO Mothers’ Radiation Lab Fukushima - TARACHINE
Address: 3F Kaneman Bidg., 11-3 Hanabatake-cho,Onahama, Iwaki, Fukushima, Japan 971-8162
Email: atorie@tarachineiwaki.org
Website: https://tarachineiwaki.org/english