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Social Mental Health Lab
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A lab that explores mental health problems such as social withdrawal (hikikomori) and addiction by working directly in the field.
AboutAbout the lab
Studying social pathologies by going into the field
The Social Mental Health Lab studies mental health problems that are becoming more serious against the backdrop of social change, such as social withdrawal (hikikomori), child abuse, alcohol and drug dependence, and crime.
People with a wide range of specialties and backgrounds gather here, including medicine, psychology, nursing, health sciences, and social welfare.
The lab's fieldwork is not limited to medical institutions. It includes forensic psychiatric evaluation, judicial and correctional institutions, welfare facilities, self-help groups, schools, and workplaces.
Participant observation, in which analysis is carried out while providing treatment and counseling services, is the foundation of the lab's research.
Key terms
- Participant observation
- A research approach in which the researcher conducts analysis while being involved as a party providing treatment and counseling services
- Open Dialogue
- A psychotherapeutic approach that originated in Finland. This lab works to spread it in Japan
- DARC
- Drug Addiction Rehabilitation Center, a recovery facility for drug dependence
- Cognitive processing therapy
- A psychotherapy considered effective for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
ResearchResearch themes
The lab investigates a wide range of pathological phenomena that are becoming more serious against the backdrop of social change: it grasps the actual situation, searches for causes, and proposes and examines methods of resolution and intervention. It studies these empirically through surveys and experiments using interviews, questionnaires, psychological tests, and other methods.
*Illustrative imageResearch on School Refusal and Social Withdrawal
The lab studies school refusal and social withdrawal (hikikomori) from various perspectives, including psychiatric assessment and approaches to support, links to developmental disorders, epidemiological survey methods, and international comparison. It also works to spread Open Dialogue in Japan.
*Illustrative imageChild Abuse Prevention and Care for Abused Children
The lab studies how to build community networks to prevent child abuse, develop psychological programs for abused children in child welfare institutions, and support their independent living. It also develops intervention programs for abusive parents.
*Illustrative imageRecovery from Alcohol and Drug Dependence
The lab studies factors that promote and hinder recovery from dependence, the development of assessment tools and cognitive behavioral therapy programs for individuals and their families, and the role of DARC and the recovery process of its users. It also covers behavioral addictions such as gambling and internet addiction.
*Illustrative imageMental Health of Victims
The lab studies the mental health problems of victims of crime, violence, accidents, and disasters, especially post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including methods of assessment and of medical and psychological care. It also cooperates in a project verifying the effectiveness of cognitive processing therapy.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Social Mental Health Lab consist of faculty, professors emeritus, research fellows, graduate students in the doctoral and master's programs, and secretaries.As of 2026
- Associate ProfessorNobuaki Morita
- Assistant ProfessorYasukazu Ogai
VoicesStudent voices
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Apartment Complex Child Playground 1” TylerMascola / CC0 (cropped)
- Research on School Refusal and Social Withdrawal: “Asylbewerber03” Andreas Bohnenstengel / CC BY-SA 3.0 de (cropped)
- Child Abuse Prevention and Care for Abused Children: “Children's playground in the sanatorium park in Shklo” Rbrechko / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Recovery from Alcohol and Drug Dependence: “Alcohol bottles photographed while drunk” Kotivalo / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Mental Health of Victims: “NYPD Crime Scene Tape 007” Kidfly182 / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Hospital Clinical Research Group (General Internal Medicine) Lab): “Hand holds a test device next to a stethoscope and an open book on a wooden desk during morning light” Shixart1985 / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Medical Mathematical Informatics Lab): “Laptop and stethoscope ( )” jfcherry / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Digital Behavioral Science Lab (WPI-IIIS)): “Single person cabin in the night train from Budapest to Berlin” Alex Sirac / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Clinical Medical Management Department): “Nurses' Station at West Hospital ( )” VCU Libraries from Richmond, VA, USA / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
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