Chapter 1
Miyagi Disaster Mental Health Care Center
Activity Status
1.

Initiatives of Each Department
・・・Kesennuma Regional Center: Community Support Division
・・・Ishinomaki Regional Center: Community Support Division
・・・Stem Center: Community Support Division
・・・Stem Center: Planning and Coordination Department

2.

Initiatives of Cooperating Organizations
・・・Medical Corporation Tohokukai: Tohokukai Hospital・・・Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine Department ofPreventive Psychiatry
・・・Nonprofit Organization Miyagi Prefecture Danshukai
・・・Japan Social Worker Association for Alcohol Related Problems
・・・Supporters Club Members

3.

Activity Status by Project Criterion for FY2014

Glossary* Interpretation within the bulletin

Outreach

Outreach activities in which professionals go to the community and provide
information on available services to those who need them. This includes going
to one-on-one visits and gatherings to discover potential needs.

Assertion

A technique that is a type of communication skill that enables you to express
yourself properly.

Endpoint

Evaluation item to show the effectiveness of treatment.

Primary
Endpoint

Primary endpoint. This is the targeted evaluation item in clinical trials. Theitems that are pharmacologically and clinically meaningful are used.

SecondaryEndpoint

Secondary endpoint. This item is used to evaluate effects other than the primaryevaluation items of the clinical trial. It is not necessarily related to the primary
endpoint.

Empowerment

Enhancing the ability of individuals and groups to improve problems andregain or bring out problem-solving skills.

Emergency
Temporary
Housing

As specified in the Disaster Relief Act, there is the so-called “container type
temporary housing” as well as “apartment type housing (post-disaster publicfunded rental accommodation)” that provides private rental housing as
temporary housing to compensate for the shortage.

Odds Ratio

A statistical measure of the likelihood of an event comparing two groups. Anodds ratio of 1 indicates that the likelihood of an event is the same in bothgroups, and greater than 1 indicates the likelihood of the event is higher in oneof the groups. Conversely, a small value indicates that the event is unlikely tooccur in one of the groups.

KJ-Method

It is one of the methods for organizing and analyzing data and information.
Converting the collected data records into cards and organizing information bygrouping fundamentally similar items.

Case Conference

Case conference. A meeting in which professionals understand each other’sbasic perspectives, share issues regarding aid, and aim at effectively handlingtheir respective cases.

-1-Health Survey

Consultation

Given that there are concerns regarding various health issues after theearthquake, the purpose of these surveys is to understand the healthstatus of residents in temporary housing, connect individuals who areespecially in need of help with health support projects, and serve as
basic data for policy development. Some of the surveys wereconducted jointly by municipalities managing Miyagi Prefecture andprefabricated temporary housing and private rental housing, whileothers were conducted by municipalities themselves.
Discussions and consultations between different professionals basedon equal and unstructured relationships. This is performed when
professionals are seeking advice from other specialized fields toprovide social welfare services and to target individuals, they are incharge of.

PFA(Psychological First Aid)

This is a method of psychosocial support that provides the necessary
needs to help prevent the disaster victims’ mental distress during anemergency such as a disaster or terrorist attack.

Support Center

The municipal support center provides general advising and livelihood
support so that the elderly and the households raising children living in
prefabricated temporary housing or private rental housing, can livepeacefully. The Miyagi Prefectural Support Center Support Office isan organization that provides know-how on the operation and supports
staff training when the municipalities of affected areas set up andoperate a support center.

Self-Efficacy

When facing a challenge, an individual with self-efficacy has
confidence in oneself to be able to face it.

Longitudinal Study

A method of continuously tracking and collecting data for the same
individual or group overtime on their developments and changes. Done
individually, while this method can show the progress of development
over time, it takes time and effort. Therefore, making it difficult tocollect large amounts of data.

Screening

StigmaSupervision / Supervisee(Abbreviation: SV)

A medical technique that selects individuals who have the disease ofinterest or those who are expected to develop the disease from a groupthat includes healthy individuals. This provides the means to find out
who requires help through health surveys after the earthquake.
A person who has been looked down upon and been stripped of theright to be accepted in society, resulting in prejudice anddiscrimination.
Experienced professionals providing inexperienced professionals withprofessional advice and guidance on cases from an objective
perspective to improve practices.

-2-Self Help GroupA group in which individuals and their families who struggle withillnesses and disabilities connect with people who have similar
problems and mutually support each other. There are two self-helpgroups regarding alcohol-related issues in Japan: Alcoholics
Anonymous and Abstinence-from-Drinking Meetings.

High Risk Approach
Cf. Population ApproachThis is a method for people who are at high risk of developing acertain disease to make efforts to reduce this risk.

Facilitator

An individual who provides support and assistance to facilitate
discussions and learning of participants in conferences andgroupwork held in various fields such as educational institutions,businesses, administrations, and medical welfare.

Postvention

When a suicide occurs within a group, these measures are taken tominimize the psychological impact on the remaining individuals.

Population Approach
Cf. High Risk Approach

A method of reducing the risk of an entire group and shifting it in apositive direction by targeting the entire group and getting as manypeople.

Resilience

A psychological term translated as “mental resilience,”“restoration,” “endurance,” etc., meaning the power to recover andgrow even after a failure or setback.

-3-The Miyagi Disaster Mental Health Care Center
operates with the following six businesses as pillars. In
this bulletin, reports were made mainly on the following
business items.

LocalResidents
SupportRaisingAwarenessSupport forSupporters

HRDevelopment

Research
VariousSupportActivities

Local Residents SupportConsultations and Support for Victims to Prevent Mental Illnesses and Improve Mental HealthConsultation support activities for disaster victims (interview consultations, telephone consultations, etc.)
Planning and operating events for residents of disaster-stricken areas

Support for Supporters
Support for Mental Health Activities and Maintenance of Mental and Physical Health for
Municipal Staff and Temporary Housing Support StaffDispatching professional staff to municipalities
Consultations, supervision, and attending case conferences
Establishing mental health consultation desks for individuals in need of support

Clerical work support

Raising AwarenessRaising Awareness and Sharing Information on Mental HealthTraining sessions and lectures for residentsCafé activities for residents of disaster-stricken areas
Creating pamphlets and distributing them for awareness, sharing information on PR magazines and our website

HR Development
Training and Spreading Knowledge for Supporters and Professionals Related to Mental Health
Post-disaster mental health training sessions

Training for support-related skills

Case study sessions

Post-disaster mental health gatherings, holding media conferences

Various SupportActivities
Co-sponsoring Events and Cooperating with Various Support Organizations
for the Purpose of Supporting Activities
ResearchResearch to Understand the Situation of Disaster-Stricken Areas and Disaster Victims-4-