Stem Center Planning and Research Division Activity Report

Stem Center Planning and Research Division
Activity Report
Stem Center Planning and Research Department, Planning and Research Division
Manager, Psychiatric Social Worker – Tetsuro Higuchi
Assistant Manager, Office – Yukino Miura
Assistant Manager, Office – Hiromi AbikoIntroduction
The primary duties of the Planning and Research Division are the formulation of various project plans, fortraining workshops and PR activities for example, and the compilation of various research and activity statistics.
The Community Support Divisions of the Stem Center, the Ishinomaki Regional Center, and the Kesennuma
Regional Center give us status updates, and we work with them to ensure they can carry out all aspects of theirdisaster survivor support work smoothly. Additionally, we also monitor our relationships with various medical
institutions, universities, and support organizations whose help we rely on to execute our Support for Supporters activities; and we endeavor to maintain a spirit of collaboration with them.
FY 2018 was the first year of the final phase of the Miyagi Prefecture Reconstruction Plan, the development
phase. Three years from now, this reconstruction plan will have reached its end. This was also the second yearof the FY 2017 “Miyagi Disaster Mental Health Care Center Management Plan,” and we considered the revision of existing projects in light of their imminent end, the shrinking of active projects, and the transferor
yielding of existing activities to other organizations. In keeping with our theme “Continuous Support for All:
From Children to Adults”—as laid out in the management plan—we at the Planning and Research Division
would like to reflect on our work so far and discuss our prospects for FY 2019 and beyond.
1．FY 2018 Activity Report(1) Resident support① Day Camp for Parents and Children in disaster-affected Areas
We held this year’s iteration of our day camp targeting disaster-affected elementary school children,
their parents, and guardians—one of this center’s projects since 2012—on Saturday, October 13, 2018,
in Matsushima.
In light of the changing circumstances, including the reconstruction of homes farther inland, andthe movement of families into these rebuilt homes, we ran this program for parents and children in
the same three coastal municipalities (Sendai, Natori, Matsushima) as we did last year. We implemented this program to heighten people’s awareness of mental health and to improve their capacity
for self-care through interactions with nature.
Thirteen children participated in the day camp. We did not receive any applications for the parents’camp, so we decided not to open it. We also held training sessions ahead of time for middle- and highschool students who had already participated multiple times in the program, so that they could serve
as subleaders at camp. On the first day of camp, we grouped children into three teams and taught
them how to build a fire along with other recreational outdoor activities. Indoors, we worked oncrafting piggy banks together. Once the activities were underway, we watched as the participating
children cultivated their communication skills and worked collaboratively with their teams mates.
Furthermore, their sub leadership responsibilities encouraged these high schoolers to reach out, almost instinctually, to help the younger campers, nurturing their sense of independence in the process.
In “Studying the Mind,” an activity that was introduced to give children a preliminary psychologicaleducation, children performed basic yoga, focusing mostly on breathing techniques. We had themlearn these techniques to ensure that they had the tools they would need to calm themselves down ifthey had an unpleasant experience, or got angry or flustered. The middle schoolers who participatedmade good use of their prior training and did a good job of playing the role of staff members. The
camp setting intensified their sense of achievement and self-efficacy, and we hope that some of themwill go on to become future leaders. We once again received support in planning and managementfrom the Miyagi Prefecture Boy Scouts Association, Sendai Area.
－74－

FY 2018 Bulletin, Issue 7

Picture 1. Team Goals

Picture 2. Building a Fire

Picture 3: Piggy Bank-Making

Picture 4. Roasting Marshmallows

Picture 5. Studying the Mind: Breathing Techniques②Other resident support
We cooperated with the Community Support Division of the Stem Center as they held the“Utsukushima Salon” (a salon for individuals evacuated from Fukushima and relocated to Miyagi
Prefecture). Additionally, we participated in private phone counseling sessions and visitations/walkins, etc., as needed.
(2) Support for supporters① Disaster Area Support Activities in an Alcohol-Specific Organization
By enlisting the help of the Medical Corporation Tohokukai, Tohokukai Hospital (hereafter, “Tohokukai Hospital”), and the nonprofit organization Miyagi Prefecture Danshukai (hereafter, “Miyagi Prefecture Danshukai”), we provided support to supporters to better enable them to handle issues related
to alcohol use appropriately. Regarding the question of support for alcohol-related problems, we exchanged information regularly with Tohokukai Hospital. We also introduced specific undertakings, inpartnership with other organizations. For more information, see “Section III: Collaborative Initiatives.”② Supporters’ ClubIn FY 2018, we had individuals registered as supporters to help us conduct our day camp and research.
③ Support for social welfare councilmembers
Since FY 2012, the Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Preventive
Psychiatry has, at the request of social welfare councils (SWCs) in coastal municipalities, conductedhealth surveys for their members and provided feedback on the results. In response to requests, theyalso implemented member consultations and mental health lectures as part of a broader push to provide
mental health support to SWC members. The Community Support Divisions of this center facilitatedthese member consultations.
At the beginning of FY 2018, the Planning and Research Division attended meetings with municipal
SWCs and the Miyagi prefectural SWC to better understand their needs and fulfill our administrative－75－

Stem Center Planning and Research Division Activity Report

responsibilities.

－74－

FY 2018 Bulletin, Issue 7(3) Raising public awareness① Pamphlet creation
Since FY 2012, we have created and distributed pamphlets covering issues of concern that are a
product of the disaster, including PTSD, alcohol use, depression, and insomnia. In FY 2018, we continued to make use of the pamphlets we had already made in various Community Support Division
activities. We ordered reprints of the most commonly used pamphlets as well.
We also made new, clear folders in which we placed the materials that were distributed at training
workshops and lecture sessions. We included handouts on simple self-care techniques in the hopes thattraining workshop participants would use it to raise awareness of people close to them. (Figure 1)

Figure 1. Clear Folders Containing Self-Care Handouts② Creating PR Brochures
As part of our drive to publicize the functions and activities of this Center, we put out the “Miyagi
Disaster Mental Health Care Center Newsletter” twice yearly. We printed 2,000 copies in August 2018
and another 2,000 in January 2019 and distributed them to fellow organizations within the prefecture—
approximately 600 locations in all. These pamphlets provide information on our Community Support
Divisions’ activities and training information on hosting and co-hosting events, etc.

To ensure that this PR brochure was used to communicate beneficial information to our supporters,
we met several times with the Community Support Divisions while it was being created. At a meeting
after the January 2019 round of printing, and in the interest of timeliness and ease of access, we decided
to end the pamphlet initiative and channel our efforts into creating a blog and a mail-in magazine.
③ Webpage management
We posted information publicizing the various training and sponsored/co-sponsored projects implemented by this Center; published the PR brochure created in FY 2017; and introduced each community
center’s initiatives, among other things. We also updated the blog, published the mail-in magazine, andparticipated in other information transmission activities.
We plan to continue devoting ourselves to sharing information that allows our supporters and otherprefectural citizens to deepen their understanding of mental health.
[Reference] Miyagi Disaster Mental Health Care Center http://miyagi-kokoro.org/④ Work with reporters
In FY 2018, we were covered by the mass media 10 times between September 2018 and March 2019.
We went on television in December 2018 to cover the work we were doing to address the issues thatremain, even eight years after the disaster. While we were happy to respond to three requests for observation, it is undeniable that interest in the disaster and the work that we do at our center has waned over
time.
－88－

Stem Center Planning and Research Division Activity Report⑤ The Workplace Mental Health Promotion Support project
The “Health Promotion Delivery Lectures” series that we took on as a Nationwide Health Insurance
Association Miyagi Branch Consignment Project ended in FY 2017. In FY 2018, we responded individually to requests from companies and other entities affected by the disaster. Although we have only
had two such cases, we will continue to respond to any such requests we receive in the future.
(4) Human resource development① Implementation of alcohol-related issues training for municipal employees
In FY 2018, Miyagi Prefecture embarked on the formulation of an “Alcohol Disorder Countermeasure Promotion Plan.” We implemented human resource development training to enable individuals to
respond to alcohol-related issues.
Since the founding of our center, all the on-site training programs that we have implemented to address alcohol-related issues, are aimed at providing participants with the practical skills they need totackle this problem. At first, we trained primarily coastal municipal employees, but after receiving requests from inland municipalities and the prefecture itself, we expanded the scope of the program to theentire prefecture of Miyagi.
On six separate occasions, we carried out three-day-long, on-site training sessions at our contracted
site, Tohokukai Hospital. On a questionnaire distributed to program attendees, we received comments
such as, “I feel a lot less inexperienced at this stuff now.” Many individuals made comments indicating
their satisfaction with the program, indicating that the need for this type of training is quite high.
Based on responses to a questionnaire handed out to attendees of our on-site training workshops
between FY 2012 and FY 2016, we also carried out a follow-up training course—"Alcohol-Related
Issues Case Study training”—on February 27, 2019. We organized discussions and roleplay activities
related to the Basic Alcohol Disorder Countermeasures Act, and group work on cases provided by training attendees.
Through our interactions with training workshop attendees, we realized that in addition to medical
institutions, self-help groups play a huge role in helping individuals recover from addiction. We believe that continuing to give people this opportunity will be very helpful in furthering alcohol-related
issue countermeasures in disaster-affected regions. The details of these training workshops are listed
below.
Table 1. Alcohol-Related Issues Case Study Training Workshop Program

Date

Wednesday, February 27, 2019, 10:00 AM – 4 PM

Place

Sendai War Reconstruction Memorial Hall

Fifth Floor Meeting Room

Lecture:“Using and Promoting the SBIRTS Method:
Constructing a Model for Post-Examination Patient Support”
Lecturer: President, Medical Corporation Higashi Fuse Tsujimoto Clinic, Dr. Shiro Tsujimoto
Morning
Workshop(Roleplay)program“A Meeting Place and an Opportunity for Danshukai Members, Played by Doctors, to Interact with Patients and Self-Help Group Members”
Roleplayers: Miyagi Prefecture Danshukai members, Dr. Shiro Tsujimoto
Reports
Japan Temperance League“The SBIRTS Method and Self-Help Groups”
Outline of MHLW's Measures and the Danshukai’s Use of SBIRTS
Reporter: Secretary-General, Japan Temperance League (Public Corporation), Gen Otsuki
Case study① Using case studies to look back on previous support methods
Afternoon② Regional initiatives
program③ Exchange of ideas
Lecturer: Director, Tohokukai Hospital Recovery Support Department, Toshihiro Suzuki
Tohokukai Hospital Recovery Support Department, Atsuko Miura
Participants 46 (23 of these were municipal health care center employees and other administrative persons)－78－

FY 2018 Bulletin, Issue 7* About the SBIRTS (pronounced “Ess-birts”) method

SBIRTS is a methodology that involves the joining of long-term recovery to the existing SBIRT
addiction treatment ideology (SBIRT: screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment if detection is suspected). The addition of self-help group experience to this methodology establishes achain of treatment, from early detection to intervention by referral to a specialist, and finally, longterm healing. S stands for screening, BI for brief intervention, RT for a referral to treatment, and thefinal S for self-help group.
Ｓ

Screening

ＢＩ

Brief Intervention

ＲＴ

Referral to Treatment

Ｓ

Self-Help Group② Themed supporter training

Along with Tohoku University’s Department of Preventive Psychiatry, we organized an “Exercise Training for Mind and Heart” workshop for community supports on July 24, 2018, and February 19, 2019. The lecturer was a clinical psychologist from Tohoku University’s Department ofPreventive Psychiatry, and the topics were cognitive-behavioral skills that could be applied to supporter duties and problem-solving methods. The lectures focused on the basics of cognitive-behavioral therapy and practical work on problem-solving. This training was in great demand among
municipal officials and home visit support staff, and many individuals took part to improve theircommunication skills. We plan to continue this training for as long as possible, to develop humanresources capable of providing appropriate mental health support.
③ Implementation of disaster survivor support specialist training
We carried out a training program aimed at providing specialists who work in disaster survivor
support with psychological support methods to help them participate in survivor support during thereconstruction period.
In collaboration with the Tohoku University Department of Preventive Psychiatry, we held lectures on “Trauma and Support” and “Trauma-Informed Care” with Dr. Tomomi Kameoka, Vice
President of the Hyogo Prefecture Mental Health Care Center as the lecturer, psychology education,and practical work. With the help of the Tohoku University Department of Preventive Psychiatry,
we held the “Psychological Support Upskilling” workshop that included case studies and specialized training for beginning students on July 18 and October 31, 2018, and February 6, 2019. Opportunities to receive training on trauma and cognitive behavioral therapy are rare inside the prefecture, and we believe that the need for this training is especially pressing for specialists working
with clinical psychologists; therefore, we plan to continue it in the future.
Additionally, we held a “WHO Psychological First Aid (PFA) Training” workshop on September 18, 2018, and December 14, 2018. Before these two workshops, we held a booster training
session on June 29, 2018, for individuals who had attended our mentor development training program in FY 2017. Because PFA training is held every year at the Miyagi Prefecture Mental Healthand Welfare Center, we conducted our training workshop after going through the necessary checks.
Demand for our booster training session from mentors was also quite high, which is why we plan
to continue this program in FY 2019.
④ Three-prefecture Disaster Mental Health Care meeting
We held this meeting on September 28, 2018, to train employees and related personnel. It also
allowed the Disaster Mental Health Care Centers in the three prefectures affected by the earthquake,－77－

Stem Center Planning and Research Division Activity Reportto share updates about initiatives and exchange ideas about the future. While the issues that eachof the three prefectures have dealt with have become different over time, the event itself helped
foster empathy and a sense of connectedness between the three centers as organizations providing
post-disaster mental health care. Depending on what direction the nation’s policies take, we plan tohold this event again in FY 2019.
(5) Research① Organizing the Research Supervisor Conference and the Ethics Committee
We planned to promote new research on structural maintenance, as it would allow us to push
our research efforts forward. With the cooperation of the Tohoku University Department of Preventive Psychiatry and another outside, part-time employees, we organized conferences like the “Research Supervisor Conference” for supervisors at this Center, and to strengthen research ties. At theconference, we confirmed and evaluated the status of ongoing research. We also held ethics committee meetings on three different occasions and evaluated ongoing research at one of those meetings. We assisted in the creation of documents (like research proposals) by helping to put together
ethics review applications.
By strengthening our research base, we believe that we were able to contribute to each division’s
academic presentations.
② Publishing Bulletin #6
We published 1,200 copies of issue #6 of our bulletin detailing this Center’s research activities
and results from FY 2017 and distributed them to 890 affiliated organizations inside and outside theprefecture. To help disseminate our work even further, we posted issues #5 and #6 of the bulletin to
our website. We plan to post their English translations by FY 2019.
③ Hosting the Miyagi Mental Health Care ForumWe once again reported on our mental health care practices and projects in disaster regions andorganized the “Miyagi Disaster Mental Health Care Forum” as a space to discuss the future reconstruction of mental health welfare across all prefectures.
In FY 2018, the forum was titled “Seven Years of Post-Disaster Mental Health Care Services
and Future Goals: What We Can Learn from the Issues Facing Our Communities.” We listened toreports from this center as well as from three coastal municipalities (Kesennuma, Ishinomaki, andIwanuma) in Miyagi Prefecture. We also held a symposium, where participants were able to share
their thoughts on the current situation and our prospects.
We also held a social exchange event—where supporters could mingle and interact with one
another—and an exhibition hall, where we presented our center’s activities through posters andslideshows.
For more information, please check the “FY 2018 Miyagi Mental Health Care Forum Operations Report” section of this issue.
④ Official Activity Record Formulation Project
Our Management Plan calls for the publication of a booklet summarizing the work of this center
over its 10 years of existence and detailing the roles it has played in that time. In FY 2018, we held
monthly meetings between managers and directors to solidify the skeleton of this initiative. We aim
to publish this booklet in FY 2020, and in FY 2019, we plan to hold meetings of the “Official
Activity Record Creation Committee” to consolidate and compile our content.

－78－

FY 2018 Bulletin, Issue 7(6) Child Mental Health Care Community Center Project
We continued to work on the “Child Mental Health Care Community Center Project” we received in2016. In FY 2018, we arranged and mediated lecturers for the “Specialist Dispatch Project” and the“Training Project,” carried out the “Research Project,” and created PR materials to raise public awareness. The details of this work will be reported in the “Child Mental Health Care Community Center
Project” section of this issue.
① Specialist Dispatch ProjectIn addition to periodically dispatching specialists to Watari, Iwanuma, and Natori’s nurseryschools, we sent dispatches as needed in response to requests from municipalities. We had morerequests this year than in FY 2017.
② Training Project
We organized four “Psychological First Aid (PFA) workshops”. Vice President Naru Fukuchi
primarily served as a lecturer at each of our four venues (Kesennuma, Higashimatsushima, Osaki,
and Sendai). Additionally, we separately organized booster training sessions for individuals that
attended our mentor development training held in FY 2017.
On February 19, 2019, we invited Hyogo Prefecture Mental Health Care Center Vice President,
Dr. Tomomi Kameoka (child psychiatrist) to give a lecture on “How to approach emotionally vulnerable children: perspectives from trauma care.”③ Research
As part of our cohort study, we longitudinally tracked children born immediately after the earthquake and evaluated changes in the children themselves and their households, aiming to clarifymeans of effective support. We also summarized the results of the survey administered to day camp
participants. Details of this work can be found in the “Research Reports & Other Manuscripts”
section of this issue.
④ Raising public awarenessIn addition to distributing “Child Mental Health Care” pamphlets at lecture sessions, we distributed clear folders containing child-oriented materials on self-care to the nursery schools thatparticipated in our cohort study. We published this information in our PR brochure and on our website, we aimed to increase awareness of child mental health self-care.
(7) Statistical data management
The accumulation of resident support data, a process that began in FY 2015 and was accomplishedthrough the provision of individual ID specifiers, is proceeding smoothly. Accumulated resident support
data has enabled us to sequentially report on the results of our activities and support recipient patterns.
From an operational perspective, this “individualized support system” has been functioning smoothly.
Collecting the registration sites of the data of the statistical system in one place allows business reports
registered by non-entrants to be viewable.
We will continue to collate business report data and strive to perform regular and longitudinal analyses of the status of individual support projects (and other types of projects). We will also make every
effort to understand the needs of each community.
(8) Employee training① All-hands meetings
All-hands meetings are an opportunity for employees of this center who are active across all
three communities to gather together in one place, share their current status, and acquire new, necessary knowledge from each other. Until last year, we separated all-hands meetings from all-hands
training; in FY 2018, as we approach the end of this center’s activities, we have transformed thisevent into a mass gathering of employees, where they can discuss our past work and prospects witheach other. We plan to hold these meetings twice-yearly.
－79－Stem Center Planning and Research Division Activity Report

At our first meeting, in May 2018, we looked back on the past seven years and shared ourthoughts about the activity guidelines for FY 2018. At our second meeting, in February 2019, we
reviewed the previous year’s work, division by division, and discussed our plans for a regional
mental health and welfare system, and greater community collaboration.
② Recommended training, etc.
To strengthen employee qualifications, we publicized and actively promoted external training
sessions. In April 2018 we held a training session for new hires where we sought to cultivate a
global understanding of the center’s projects and its business.
2. FY 2019 Guidelines and Plans
FY 2019 will be the ninth year since the earthquake. With our tenth year on the horizon, we have made thetentative decision to extend our work by another 5 years. Our center’s Management Plan is now in its thirdyear; in addition to confirming that the processes outlined in the plan are progressing as they should, we must
conduct a thorough review of the projects outlined in the plan, with a new set of end-of-year goals and benchmarks in mind. Tohoku University Endowment Department, which has assisted us in several support activities,
will close up shop in FY 2019. Demand for specialized training and the Support for Supporters program (especially for SWC members) remains high. As such, we must examine our human resource development plans,
and our Support for Supporters initiatives, for FY 2020 and beyond. We will also continue to review our otherprojects.
(1) Resident support
As the Research and Planning Division, we intend to keep conducting the following activities forresidents who still carry the psychological burden of the disaster, as well as those whose social isolation
has deepened as a result of communal changes.
① Counseling support activities for residents (visits, walk-ins, telephone counseling, etc.)② Assistance with managing salon activities
In collaboration with Community Support Divisions, we helped with the running of the Utsukushimasalon project (which was targeted at individuals evacuated from Fukushima Prefecture due to the tsunami and the nuclear accident).
(2) Support for supporters
We plan to ease the burden on supporters’ bodies and minds, by conducting training workshops that offer
municipal workers and supporters specialized advice on self-care practices.
① Project for dealing with alcohol-related issues
We have entrusted a portion of this project to organizations that specialize in alcohol-related problems (like Tohokukai Hospital and Miyagi Danshukai). We will continue to assist them in case reviews,
holding training sessions, and self-help group support.
② Supporters’ Club Management Project
We will ensure that registered members can continue to draw on their specialized knowledge andexperience to contribute to our work (in the form of research and training workshops etc.).
We expect to see new registrants in FY 2019, and we plan to have them assist with resident supportand research.

－80－

FY 2018 Bulletin, Issue 7(3) Raising public awarenessWe believe that all residents of this prefecture should be eligible for disaster victim support. Thus, wewill continue to advance our public raising awareness projects, including those that deepen residents’ andsupporters’ understanding of mental health, and that aim to improve mental health. We will continue toperform our duty of disseminating information—such as disparities in reconstruction efforts in disasterareas and communal changes—that is important from a mental health perspective both inside, as well as
outside, the prefecture. We will also promote our message through the mass media by inviting media coverage and organizing observational tours.
① Pamphlets
We will print extra copies as needed of the pamphlets we distribute during training sessions, healthcounseling sessions, and visitations. Further, we will consider the creation and purchase of new pamphlets or PR products.
② Website management
We will use the website to post announcements for training sessions and cases and to put out information concerning each community center’s projects. We will also publish this information in ourblog and mail-in magazine if needed.
③ Workplace mental health promotion support
We will hold lectures and distribute pamphlets on topics such as “dealing with workplace and dailystress,” following requests from companies in disaster-affected areas.
(4) Human resource development & training
In addition to conducting highly sought after training sessions for community supporters, we will further
our plans for PFA training by aligning our schedules with the Miyagi Mental Health and Welfare Center.
FY 2020 will mark the end of some of our work; it will also determine which projects should be wrapped
up and which ones will continue, on a case-by-case basis.
① Alcohol-related issues training
Our on-site training program, which is a contracted project for Tohokukai Hospital, remains inhigh demand in prefectural municipalities; we will therefore continue to offer it. We will also offer
follow-up training for individuals who previously participated in our on-site training program.
Since demand remains high for programs that address alcohol-related problems, we will implement
training modules that incorporate primary as well as tertiary prevention methods. Since many municipalities have expressed a keen interest in “temperance mentorship” training, we will work with our
Community Support Divisions and the Miyagi Prefecture Mental Health and Welfare Center to continue offering such programs.
The “Miyagi Prefecture Alcohol Disorder Countermeasure Promotion Plan” was formulated at theend of FY 2018. Training programs in FY 2019 and beyond will need to be devised with this plan inmind.
② Specialized training for disaster supporters
PFA training is a disaster support technique that one should, in the future, make use of in the earlystages of a disaster, and we believe that promoting PFA far and wide is one of this center’s major
responsibilities. In FY 2018, we will be adding new training sessions and locations, and increasing thefrequency of training. We will also hold upskilling workshops for people who took our mentor development course in FY 2017.
In collaboration with the Tohoku University Department of Preventive Psychiatry, we will provide“psychological support upskilling” for clinical psychologists and other specialists. We will also conduct a “long-term mental health training workshop for post-disaster reconstruction.”－81－

Stem Center Planning and Research Division Activity Report③ Other training
In collaboration with the Tohoku University Department of Preventive Psychiatry, we will continue
to offer supporter-oriented programs, such as “Training Exercises for the Mind and the Heart” because
not only does it allow individuals to acquire cognitive behavioral skills, it also enables them to improvetheir communication skills and can be used in various self-care scenarios. While we have only offeredthis programming in the Sendai area so far, we plan to offer it in the Ishinomaki area as well.
We are also considering holding a “Disaster Mental Health Care Centers Joint Meeting.” This willallow us to exchange ideas and interact with on-the-ground employees at the Iwate and Fukushima
DMHCCs; it will also allow us to review past work and glean glimpses of the future.
(5) Research
We have designated FY 2018 as the year in which we will begin a series of comprehensive, collective
research projects to develop mental health care policies for future crises and disasters. We plan to commence with the following projects.
① Research Project
While maintaining a system that enables us to stabilize and run the business statistical system,
we will clean up the data that we collect as a center and develop a system that enables us to makeuse of it.
Furthermore, we will hold triannual research supervisor conferences to further our research efforts and have supervisors exchange ideas with one another. We will also hold conferences of informed individuals, including external specialists, and meetings of our ethics committee to generate
research ideas.
② Publishing the Miyagi Disaster Mental Health Care Center Bulletin
We will publish issue #7 of the “Miyagi Disaster Mental Health Care Center Bulletin” to serve
as a project report for FY 2018. We will also have issues #7 and #4 translated into English.
③ Holding the Miyagi Disaster Mental Health Care Forum
With “Care Practices Eight Years after the Great East Japan Earthquake: Looking to the Future”
as our theme, we will collaborate with community support divisions to hold the forum, with symposiums and practice reports as their primary focuses. We hope to share with participants our ethos of
entrusting disaster-affected communities with all the initiatives and networks that came into being
after the disaster. Currently, the planned date for the forum is Friday, November 22, 2019.
④Official Activity Record Formulation Project
We will continue to discuss and advance our work while preserving this Center’s activity summaries and research.
(6) Support for various activities
In FY 2018, we will continue to work with various organizations that are active inside the prefecture
and assist them in their functioning.
While keeping activity support open as an entryway, we will respond appropriately to the requests we
receive—whether they are for mental health information provided to organizations or for holding training
sessions—at the forefront of our minds.
Finally, concerning our acceptance of health and social welfare students into our learning programs, wewill consider requests as we receive them and respond to the extent that we can.

－82－

FY 2018 Bulletin, Issue 7(7) Child Mental Health Care Community Center Project
Concerning the specialist dispatch project, we will seek the assistance of external supporters as we
respond to dispatch requests from organizations that work with children in different parts of the prefecture.
As regards the training project, we will hold “Child PFA Training” sessions not just in Sendai, but in avariety of places in the prefecture on four different occasions. We will ensure that we can individually
respond to requests from project sites such as nurseries and kindergartens. We will also implement followup training for individuals who have attended our mentor development, training classes. In addition tothese efforts, we will collaborate with the community support divisions to plan lecture meetings for prefectural residents and supporters.
We will also continue to work on our research and public awareness projects. We will wind up the day
camp project for disaster-affected parents and children in FY 2019.
(8) Statistical business data management
As we do every year, we will check the input items, activity descriptions, project classifications, etc.,of the business reports and individual support records, created by each employee, for consistency andcreate our monthly, DMHISS, and yearly reports. We will provide data that may be of use to the executionof support activities in each division, as required.
Additionally, if we receive data sharing requests when we are drafting policies and plans for the prefecture or other municipalities, we will respond to them when necessary.
(9) Employee training
In FY 2018, we will hold two “all-hands meetings”—where the exchange of opinions between employees will be emphasized—Sendai. Management staff will deliver lectures describing global activity guidelines and activity status reports from each division, for everyone’s benefit in the hopes that they will
incorporate them into their activities.
Concerning external training, we will continue to publicize training opportunities; strategically work
towards increasing attendance, and aim for employee upskilling.
3. Discussion
Launched in FY 2018, the Planning and Research Division’s initiatives represent our earliest efforts tosummarize past work and contemplate future paths—all under the assumption that these initiatives will cometo an end in FY 2020.
We believe that our efforts to strengthen our research framework, and the forum, resulted in our decision
to summarize past activities and consider prospects. As part of our on-site training program for alcoholrelated issues, we held upskilling workshops for previous attendees, enabling us to improve our community’s
human resource skillsets.
Overall, our work only seems to have increased in scope, so much so that restructuring our efforts towind up our projects, has proven difficult. Amidst shrinking municipal disaster relief efforts and a loss ofexternal supporters, determining how and to whom we should entrust our Support for Supporters programand human resource development work has become a major conundrum.
Although this center’s most active phase has successfully been prolonged, our inexorable slide towards
the eventual end remains unchanged. Keeping in mind the issues that our work has raised thus far and evenas we repeatedly implement (and verify the efficacy of) our projects, we must take stock of the results andreexamine our projects going forward. In certain respects, FY 2020 represents a sort of end to our work. In
that sense, we believe that FY 2019 will be a year of searching for what we should leave behind us while
keeping our future work in mind.

－83－

Stem Center Planning and Research Division Activity Report

4. Conclusion
This center plans to operate following Miyagi Prefecture’s 10-year reconstruction plan, which presumes
that FY 2020 will mark the end of reconstruction work. However, one would be hard-pressed to say whether
the reconstruction of disaster-affected areas, on the one hand, and disaster-affected hearts and minds, on theother, have kept pace with one another. Determining how to pass this center’s work on to the prefectural andmunicipal authorities remains a big issue.
Despite the prefecture’s decision to prolong our work for another five years, we must slowly adjust thenature of our work, keeping the end and the relinquishment of our projects in mind as we continue to develop
them. On the other hand, if there is work that needs to be done, we believe that we can rise to the occasion.
To that end, we must work with our Community Support Divisions to develop guidelines for our directions
as a center.
In FY 2019, the Planning and Research Division will continue to operate keeping this directive “Continuous Support for All: From Children to Adults” in mind. We will continue working with our Community
Support Divisions, and various municipal and other affiliated organizations, towards the improvement ofregional mental health welfare in disaster-affected regions.

－82－