The purpose of this study was to clarify the presence and the contents of hurtful remarks in career counseling at universities (Study 1). The purpose of Study 2 was to clarify the influence of hurtful remarks on the supportive relationships between counselors and students and the conditions under which hurtful remarks are likely to occur, focusing on the gender of the counselors and the gender differences between the students and the counselors. In Study 1, a questionnaire survey was conducted on 4,284 students. In Study 2, a questionnaire survey was conducted on 6,477 students. The results of Study 1 showed that 59% of the students had experienced some kind of hurtful remarks. The contents were classified into three categories: “indirect microaggressions,” “direct microaggressions,” and “statements due to lack of counseling attitude”. The analysis of Study 2 revealed that male students were more likely to experience indirect microaggressions from same-sex counselors, while female students were more likely to experience direct microaggressions from same-sex counselors.

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This study examined the learning contents and growth process among students who took the undergraduate Certified Public Psychologist course, “Practical Training in Psychology.” Eight undergraduate students (one male, seven females) from A university participated in a semi-structured interview survey. The analysis of the verbatim interview transcripts using the Modified Grounded Theory Approach (M-GTA) produced 42 concepts, which were grouped into nine small and three large categories. Additionally, we examined and modeled the relationship between categories. Consequently, students acquired 【experience-based learning based on relationships】 such as the basic attitudes of providing interpersonal support and 【learning in which existing knowledge becomes concrete】 about psychologists' knowledge of roles and perspectives clinical settings through the “Practical Training in Psychology” course. Furthermore, students referred to an aspect of 【experience-based learning based on relationships】, which facilitated 【learning in which existing knowledge becomes concrete】. Therefore, such learning promotes the 【deepening of self-understanding and changes in awareness】of students' own issues and careers.

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This study aimed to identify the expertise and professional roles of child and family support centers by examining staff perceptions regarding management policies, community support policies, cooperation with other organizations, and support methods. It consist of semi-structured interviews lasting approximately 60 minutes with staff from 32 centers. Through a qualitative method using similarity-based classification for data analysis, this study classified data in terms of similarity and interrelation between categories. The results indicated that the centers implemented management policies and that the awareness that the centers had roles in providing professional consultation and support enabled the center to supplement the “lack” of community support. In addition, the study found that to actualize these community support policies, centers cooperated closely with other organizations, provided flexible consultation services through social workers and psychologists utilizing their expertise, and provided consultation services respectful of the perspectives of the families and children. These results suggest that focusing on the perception of each policy and method of cooperation and support of the staff helped to clarify the centers' professional roles.

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Competencies are a set of qualities and abilities necessary for job roles. In Japan, these are essential for outcome-based education in the training stage of human service professionals. The competency models have been emphasized in the training of psychological professionals in the U.S., and this paper discusses its effectiveness in the training of psychological professionals, especially Certified Public Psychologists in Japan, based on previous research. Most elements of functional competencies were shown to be applicable in Japan with the addition of mental health education. A significant portion of the foundational competencies can be organized as common in U.S. and Japanese expertise, and it is imperative to hone them as reflective practice alongside other competency elements. In Japan, despite the concept of training psychological professionals based on such competencies not being given much attention, there are many common aspects that have been emphasized in the actual training activities. Thus, incorporating the competency concept in them will be an important perspective for improving the quality of training.

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An international comparative study (Cabinet Office) reveals that the ratio of Japanese youths without high hopes for the future is high compared to other countries. This study is based on Web survey targeting 140 college students and qualitatively analyses the reasons for having or not having high hopes, which reveals six determining categories. College students with/without high hopes had different experiences based on the dimension (from high to low) of three properties (“clarity of goals”, “likelihood of achieving goals”, and “positive outlook”). The “positive outlook” property, which is associated with pleasant mood and feelings, was considered to be more influential on college students’ hopes than the two properties related to future goals. It was also suggested that there is the possibility of “something that is not directly verbalized” from the perspective of the interaction between society and the individual. The future challenge is to conduct interview surveys based on the categories acquired through this study and to refine the theory of hope for young people.

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This study aims to report on the online practical training in psychology conducted at X Hospital in 2021 for undergraduate students enrolled in the certified public psychologists training course. Additionally, it aims to assess students’ understanding level and satisfaction and to clarify what they require in practical training. through a questionnaire survey. During the online practical training, three seminars were conducted: (1) an introduction to the roles and duties of certified public psychologists, (2) a seminar on interviewing techniques, and (3) a role-play of preliminary psychiatric interviews. Of 43 participants, 37 responded to the survey, resulting in an 86% response rate. The combined responses of “80%–100% understood” and “60%–79% understood” were (1) 36, (2) 32, and (3) 35, respectively. Additionally, the combined responses of “satisfied” and “somewhat satisfied” were (1) 37, (2) 35, and (3) 35. Overall, the results indicate a high understanding level and satisfaction with the online practical training. Future training programs should consider incorporating mock conferences and role-plays and weigh the pros and cons of face-to-face versus online training to create meaningful training for students and practice sites.

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