This paper provides an overview of the current development of brief therapy in China. Three aspects of MRI brief therapy training programs in China, SFBT training programs in China, and empirical studies of solution-focused orientation in China are introduced respectively. Regarding the training programs, this paper mainly introduces the learning contents of mainstream training programs within China and the leading figures in China; regarding the empirical research, this paper provides an introduction to its main forms of application and application areas in China.

　Young carers are children who play a caregiver role that is inappropriate for their age. This study focused on personal, care recipient, family, and external resource factors as determinants of young carers’ emotional experiences and determined the relationship between each factor and their emotional experiences. An Internet survey was conducted among 126 participants (mean age=36.48, SD=8.64, 51 males, 75 females) aged below 25 years who looked after an adult family member. The results of multiple regression analysis using the stepwise method revealed that three factors, excluding care recipient factors, were related to the emotional experiences of young carers. Therefore, their emotional experiences may be influenced by their care roles, relationships with their families, and use of external resources. Thus, social services and psychological support are essential.

　This study is primarily designed to reveal the bedtime routines of the wife, husband, and child in a family as well as the effects of these routines on family relationships. Bedtime routines refer to the activities in a bedroom, including the time before and after going to sleep. An online survey was conducted on 250 Japanese women (wives) living with their husbands and their children aged between 0 and 11. Three aspects were examined: the basic attributes (the age of the wife, husband, and child, the gender of the child, and the layout of the living space), the bedroom-sharing practice of the families (between the wife and child/ between the wife and husband), and lastly the bedtime routine satisfaction of the wife. As for “family relationships”, it includes the studies of marital, parent, and family satisfaction. Our cross-tabulation showed that 89.2% of wives shared a bedroom with their children. A two-factor analysis of variance indicated that wives who shared bedrooms with their children had significantly lower bedtime routine satisfaction than those who did not. At the same time, wives who shared bedrooms with their husbands had much higher bedtime routine, marital, parent, and family satisfaction than those who did not. The findings revealed the solid effects of the wife, husband, and child’s bedtime routines on family relationships. The sleeping arrangement in a family contributes to the social health of the families and it is also discussed in this paper.

　Previous studies have suggested that fathers felt that their child was their “avatar” more than the mothers based on their gender and the fact that fathers are less involved in childcare than mothers. As childcare could be an influencing factor, and since this was not a perspective approached by previous studies, we need to focus on the parents’ involvement in childcare and housework, specifically, not only on their gender for examining their feeling of “my child is my avatar.” Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the effect of childcare and housework involvement on the parents’ feeling that their child is their “avatar,” while controlling for the parents’ gender. The results of the questionnaire survey on 305 parents (males=161, females=144) showed that the support and discipline factors had a negative effect, while interaction had a positive effect on parents’ “my child is my avatar” feeling. Furthermore, women scored higher than men in all factors of involvement in childcare and housework, while men scored higher in their perception of their children as their “avatars.” These findings demonstrate that parents’ involvement in childcare and housework affects the parents’ “my child is my avatar” feeling with control for parents’ gender.

　This study focuses on the 2nd step of the Revised Three Steps Model, aiming to: (a) explore criterion values for natural recovery, and (b) clarify the impact of scaling targets and clients' psychological states on scaling. An internet survey was conducted with 365 individuals (average age 47.37, SD=10.62) seeking counseling. In this survey, scaling was used where 10 represented the period when the problem was most severe, and 0 indicated no problem. The findings revealed that the average response for the 2nd step’s scaling tended to be between 6 and 7. Moreover, over 85% of the respondents experienced some degree of natural recovery. The results also indicated that in scaling, adaptation generally received lower scores compared to problem severity, with interpersonal issues often being rated higher. These outcomes suggest that scaling is a useful tool for therapists to share the progress of natural recovery with clients, and highlight the potentially greater importance of the third step in addressing interpersonal problems.