…is not easy but there’s no need to suffer in silence and isolation. Sometimes you just need someone to listen, who gets it. There are services available here in Japan for people who might just need a mind trained to listen. And #BlackEye has spoken with a couple of these mental health and wellness professionals and they’ve provided a wealth of information. First up:

Kisstopher Musick 

Kisstopher Musick, an American trained psychologist / therapist since 1987, believes everyone deserves to have more good days than bad, and has dedicated her life to just that. For 15 years the California native lead a group practice in the US before moving to Japan with her husband and son in 2007, and proceeded to pick up where she left off.

“I began by working with individuals who were shut-ins,” Musick says. “A condition known as hikikomori, basically people who have withdrawn from society and from life.”

READ MORE HERE

Najwa Waheed Naohara

Najwa Waheed Naohara is an American serving as Outreach Coordinator at TELL Counseling here in Japan. Naohara has been living in Japan off and on for 21 years, and working with TELL for the past 3 years, and in that time has focused her efforts on awareness building and changing the image of TELL.

“TELL is an NPO that supports the mental health needs of the international community,” says the Atlanta native. “Whether the client is a foreigner or a Japanese who speaks English doesn’t matter. Here in Japan there are loads of resources for those who speak Japanese, but there are very few for English speakers.” 

READ MORE HERE

Just wanna thank Kisstopher and Najwa for sharing this valuable information with Black Eye. As a person who has felt the intense mental stress that living in a new culture can cause, and have friends who have suffered similarly, I really hope this piece finds its way to people in need. Please share it broadly, onegai shimasu!

Baye