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Cultural Psychiatry and Minority Identities in Japan: A Constructivist Narrative Approach to Therapy

DOI:10.1080/00332747.2000.11024930
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Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu at Stanford University
Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu
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Abstract

Clinical work with minorities in Japan is a relatively new and rapidly growing field. An influx of migrants from the 1970s has required psychiatrists to work with culturally different patients, yet few are experienced or trained in this area. With an even more radical population change imminent, skills in working with people of diverse cultural backgrounds are becoming a pressing need. While psychiatry in Japan has long been concerned with culture, only very recently has this concern involved differences among Japanese. Psychotherapy with both new migrants and individuals from more traditional minority backgrounds involves issues of acculturation and identity. A clinical approach based on a theoretical orientation of constructivistic narrative therapy can be usefully applied to multicultural situations. A case is presented in which this approach is employed in assisting a Korean-Japanese youth to deal with identity struggles.
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Cultural psychiatry and minority identities in Japan: A constructivist narra...
Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu
Psychiatry; Winter 2000; 63, 4; Health Module
pg. 371
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
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... Therapists may also need to provide psychoeducation on the process of accul-malize clients' feelings. Additionally, narrative therapy may be an effective tool in addressing acculturation and identity issues (Murphy-Shigematsu, 2000). In particular, therapists can use strength-based interventions to help clients understand the uniqueness of their cultural heritage, externalize the problem by naming and telling their story, and raise their awareness of their own identity development and confusion, thereby re-authoring conversations to help Chinese immigrants resolve their identity struggles. ...
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