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CWAJ Great East Japan
Earthquake Mental Health Care Project

CWAJ members meet with Dr. Kato and Dr. Doi
Dr. Kato and Dr.Doi explained about the project to the CWAJ members
 
Chief Representative:  
Dr. Nobumasa Kato Professor Emeritus of Tokyo University Department of Psychiatry, Director of Showa University Hospital Karasuyama, Former Director of Tokyo University Hospital
  
Delegates from participating universities and hospitals:
Dr. Shinichi Niwa Professor of Neuropsychiatry , Fukushima Medical University Head of the Fukushima Prefectural Mental Health Care for the Victims
  
Dr. Takashi AsadaProfessor of Department of Psychiatry Tsukuba University
  
Dr. Nagafumi Doi Head of the Ibaraki National Mental Health Care Center Recipient of the Emergency Rescue Award from the Tokyo Fire Dept.
  
Provision for the mental health of victims has become a most urgent and critical issue in the stricken area where clinical care of all kinds is desperately lacking. About a month after a great disaster, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder may become pronounced even in previously healthy individuals. PTSD is characterized by anxiety and fear due to excessive stress. Those with pre-existing mental illness may also relapse due to interruption of medication. The already grave situation for the people of Fukushima after the earthquake and tsunami is aggravated by the ongoing emergency at the nuclear power plants, with worries about physical health and perhaps permanent loss of livelihood. The prolonged evacuation period and disruption of normal life, with no end in sight, adds more stress to already exhausted minds.

Without healthy mind and spirit, there is no hope for physical health, reconstruction, or recovery from the disaster, let alone furthering education. To provide needed mental health care, or “kokoro no kea [care of mind, heart, and spirit]” in Japanese, the team above formed groups composed of 3 doctors, 4 nurses, 1 hygienist, 1 pharmacist, 1 psychiatric social worker, and 1 clinical psychologist and began visiting different places on a volunteer basis immediately after the earthquake. They are needed not only by the vulnerable local population but also for support of the medical staff who have been working night and day without rest for more than a month.
The goal of this project is therefore to provide an environment that will allow the professional staff to perform their mission to the full extent so that many victims will be able to recover their mental health and peace of mind.

On April 15th, Dr Nobumasa Kato, the chief representative of the project, and Dr Nagafumi Doi, an expert in emergency psychiatric rescue who came all the way from Ibaraki, kindly visited CWAJ Center to discuss the plan of the project with CWAJ Board members. With the support of CWAJ, teams of doctors will continue to visit shelters in Fukushima, while also making efforts to establish a temporary clinic in northern Fukushima that will serve as the center of mental health care in that area as soon as possible. The project is expected to continue between six to twelve months. Activity reports will be uploaded on CWAJ website.

Maintenance of activity such as this will require huge funding and what CWAJ can do is very limited at this point. However, according to Dr Doi who has already visited the area many times, our most important and vital contribution to this project is that we understand the hardship and suffering of the people there; that we continue to keep our warm thoughts with them; and most of all, that we always remember them. This is not a matter for medical experts alone, but for each of us with a deeply caring heart.

CWAJ has always stepped forward to reach out 〝because there was a need”, “because it was something nobody tried before” and “because it was something we could do”. In this time of unprecedented challenge, CWAJ is once again taking the lead with its pioneer spirit and strong will to contribute to society.