Section I
Activity Report
Miyagi Disaster Mental Health Care Center Overview
FY 2012 Report
Overall Report
Department Initiatives. . . 1) Kesennuma Regional Center – Community Support
Division (including municipal transfers). . . 2) Ishinomaki Regional Center – Community Support
Division (including municipal transfers). . . 3) Stem Center – Community Support Division (including municipaltransfers). . . 4) Stem Center – Planning Division
Other Initiatives. . . 1) Tohokukai Hospital. . . 2) Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Endowed Department of Preventive Psychiatry. . . 3) Miyagi Psychiatric Center. . . 4) Japanese Association of Psychiatric Social Workers. . . 5) Japan Social Worker Association for Alcohol Related problems

Miyagi Disaster Mental Health Care Center Overview

Stem Center, General Affairs Division
Vice President and Secretary General – Masahiro Suzuki
1. Organizational Overview
The MDMHCC was founded to provide long-term mental health care countermeasures in thewake of the Great East Japan Earthquake, including responses to the mental health issues facedby survivors, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and alcohol addiction,technical assistance to supporters, and human resource development.
Our operating entity is the Incorporated association (currently a public interest incorporatedassociation) known as the Miyagi Mental Health and Welfare Association (“the Association”).
On December 1, 2011, the Stem Center was established in Sendai, and on April 1, 2012, Regional
Centers were established in the coastal cities of Ishinomaki and Kesennuma.
Our organization is laid out thus. Under the President and Vice-President, the Stem Centerhas three divisions: General Affairs, Planning, and Community Support. The Regional Centerseach have a President, under whom there is a Community Support Division tasked with
developing support activities for disaster-affected individuals, and so on. In addition, we dispatch
staff members to disaster-affected coastal cities and towns to provide support to local mental
health and welfare activities.
Our staff is composed of psychiatrists, psychiatric social workers, clinical psychologists,public health nurses, and other qualified, specialized professionals. As of the end of March 2013,
there are 34 full-time staff (of whom six have been dispatched to municipalities) and 22 part-time
staff in our organization, making a total of 56 members.
2. Establishment of the Organization
Mental health care teams were dispatched immediately after the disaster as part of theemergency medical aid provided in accordance with the Disaster Relief Act. However, theimportance of the long-term mental health care needs of disaster-affected individuals waspointed out.
On March 15, four days after the disaster, mental health and welfare workers and affiliatedpersons from across the prefecture met to exchange information. Three days later, on March 18,
the prefecture of Miyagi, the city of Sendai, the Mental Health and Welfare Center, Tohoku
University, and several organizations involved in mental health and welfare participated ina conference where the current state of mental health care activities, related issues, and necessary
support measures were discussed. Thereafter, this conference was termed the “Mental HealthCare Countermeasures Conference,” and was held regularly by the prefecture until July ofthat year.
At the April meeting, there was much discussion of future medium- to long-term mental
health and welfare countermeasures, and the need for an organization to serve as a linchpin forthe continued promotion of mental health care throughout the prefecture was highlighted.
In response to this, the prefecture requested the Association to consider the possibility ofmanaging a “Mental Health Care Center.” The Association decided to be proactively involved inits establishment; at the May meeting of the conference, internal approval for the project wasobtained.
Afterward, the Association visited and observed the Disaster Mental Health Care Centers in
the prefectures of Niigata and Hyogo and received information and advice regarding initiatives
to be undertaken during the setting up of the MDMHCC.
-１-

At the August meeting of the prefectural assembly, the budget for the “Disaster Mental HealthCare Center Management Project” was approved as a Disaster Reconstruction Fund Project, anda budget for the Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Endowed Department ofPreventive Psychiatry (“Endowed Department”) was also allocated. This department wasestablished on October 1.
As part of the establishment process, the prefecture and the Association consulted with eachother regarding the organization, staff recruitment, and management of the MDMHCC, and inSeptember, the entrustment of MDMHCC management to the Association was officially decided.
On November 1, a preparation room was set up in Sendai, followed by the establishment ofthe Stem Center in December, and Regional Centers in Ishinomaki and Kesennuma in April 2012.
3. Organizational Diagram
The organization of the MDMHCC is as shown in Figure 1. The Stem Center comprises threedivisions, and the Ishinomaki and Kesennuma Regional Centers are each composed of one.
Figure 1: Organizational Diagram of the MDMHCC (as of March 2013)
Steering
Committee

President

AdvisorVice-President
and SecretaryGeneral

VicePresident

VicePresident

Ishinomaki
Regional Center
PresidentKesennuma
Regional Center
President

Regional
Vice-President
Regional
Support Department
ManagerGeneral Affairs
Division

Planning
Division

Regional
Support Division

Stem Center

Regional
Support Division

Regional
Support Division

Ishinomaki
Regional Center

Kesennuma
Regional Center

4. Personnel Counts by Occupation
The personnel and their occupations in each of the three arms of the MDMHCC are as given in
Table 1.

-２-

Table 1: Personnel Counts by Occupation
As of 2/20/2013
Stem Center
Full- PartTime
TimeIshinomaki
Regional Center

Kesennuma
Regional Center

Total
Total

Muni- Full- Part- Muni- Full- Part- Mun- Full- Part- Muncipal Time Time cipal Time Time icipal Time Time icipal
Transfer
Transfer
Transfer
Transfer

Doctor17000002019010Clinicalpsychologist

240100210550102111124171006208000041

50000011

Psychiatric social
worker3
Higashimatsushima

710203102

100

4000

Ishinomaki
Public HealthCenter

Occupational
therapist

00000

Administr
ative

5000000005005Total

18170515541282265620023003

Publichealth
nurse
Nurse

Kesennuma

1

Temporary staff(administrative)
Staff
dispatchcompany(2)
Onagawa(1)1Ishinomaki

113-３-5. Center Relationships
The relationships between the MDMHCC and affiliated organizations are as given in
Figure 2.
Figure 2: MDMHCC Relationships

Steering
Committee

Miyagi Mental Health andWelfare Association, aPublic interest incorporated

Tohoku University
Graduate School of
Medicine, Endowed
Department ofPreventive
Psychiatry

Stem Center
Collaboration

Ishinomaki
Regional Center

Kesennuma
Regional Center

Guidance,AdviceMiyagi
Prefecture(DisabilityWelfareDivision)

SupportCollaboration

Municipalities, Support Organizations, Mental
Health and Welfare-Related Organizations

In terms of its duties within the Association itself, the MDMHCC could be said to be one
executive department tasked with providing mental health care to disaster-affected persons.
The Steering Committee is essentially a third-party organization that examines andevaluates the project, contributes to the determination of management policies, and so on.
The Endowed Department carries out survey-based research and human resource
development for the prevention of disaster-related diseases and collaborates with theMDMHCC on survivor support activities and the like.
As an administrative agency, the prefecture of Miyagi helps the MDMHCC secure funds
and also provides guidance regarding overall management.
Municipalities, support organizations, and mental health and welfare-related organizations
provide reciprocal support within the realm of certain activities for affected residents andcommunity supporters.

-４-