Psychological Services for Foreign Residents in Japan: Identifying Challenges and the Roles of Psychological Practitioners

Abstract

The aim of this research was to explore the challenges of psychological support services for foreign residents in Japan and to identify the roles of psychological practitioners. Seventeen practitioners who had been engaged in varying services that provided psychological care for foreign residents were recruited to be interviewed. By using a grounded theory approach, the interview results were analyzed and categories were generated that explained the challenges.

Dynamic interaction among practitioners, organization and the society, and the expectation of the possible users of the services affected the service delivery process and the challenges that practitioners faced.

For the future development of culturally appropriate services, training psychological practitioners, as well as cultivating the understanding of society for the need of these services is crucial. Importance of organizational level effort and the multiple roles of the psychological practitioner were also discussed.