Since the certified public psychologist law was enacted, their training began in Japan. Cognitive behavioral therapies and evidence-based approaches are considered important in the training and national certified examination of certified public psychologists. Problems in the dissemination of cognitive behavioral therapies for certified public psychologists are discussed. The meta-analysis showed that cognitive behavioral therapy by psychologists for depression had significantly higher effect sizes than the waiting list control and other psychological treatments. This meta-analysis of cognitive behavioral therapy for depression in Japan confirmed moderate or large effects. There is an urgent need to cover cognitive behavioral therapy by psychologists in the Japanese health insurance system. A good model for training Japanese psychologists is the Course Accreditation Process of the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies and Minimum Training Standards for Improving Access to Psychological Therapies.

For certified public psychologists, medical doctors, nurses, social workers, and other mental health professionals, the Japanese Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (JABCT) offers accreditation of cognitive behavioral therapists and supervisors based on the guidelines for cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) training. CBT has not been sufficiently disseminated because under the current Japanese public medical insurance it is only provided by doctors. Using a stepped care model for depression and anxiety, it is very important that certified psychologists and other experts conduct CBT. The Japanese Society of Anxiety and Related Disorders (JSAD) proposed applying the unit system of rehabilitation insurance points to outpatient cognitive behavior therapies. Setting one unit per 25 minutes, one patient could receive CBT up to a total of 50 units within 180 days. In cases where a therapist can provide a patient with anxiety disorder weekly 50-minute (2 units) CBT sessions over 18 weeks, Japanese public health insurance may cover a total of 36 units. It may be for useful that therapists to provide flexible time units in CBT sessions according to the symptom severity and needs of patients. The time unit system may improve the dissemination of CBT in Japan.

Certified public psychologists focus on assessments based on objective data and psychological interventions that have been proven effective based on evidence and expertise in psychology. Therefore, certified public psychologists working in the health care field need to have minimal knowledge of the latest evidence of the treatment of each disease. The effectiveness of interventions based on cognitive and behavioral therapies (CBT) has been shown for many diseases. In this paper, focusing on diseases for which CBT is covered by health insurance (in September 2019), we summarize the knowledge on CBT that should be acquired by certified public psychologists. Concerning depression, anxiety and anxiety-related disorders, and eating disorders, the characteristics of each disease, psychosocial factors, and psychological interventions are outlined with reference to the CBT manual. Finally, the recommended attitude to learning about the basic concepts and techniques is discussed to utilize CBT in the actual field.

Patients with chronic physical disorders suffer from various psychosocial issues. Disclosing a diagnosis or life expectancy contributes to hopelessness in patients with cancer. However, self-care or long-term sickness leads to fatigue or depression in patients with heart diseases or diabetes. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has some efficacy in psychological distress in patients with chronic physical disorders. CBT for patients with cancer includes Beck’s cognitive therapy, behavioral activation therapy, problem-solving therapy, or mindfulness cognitive therapy. On the other hand, CBT for patients with heart diseases or diabetes includes Beck’s cognitive therapy or behavioral therapy for a healthy lifestyle. Certified public psychologists (CPPs) are expected to provide psychological interventions including CBT for chronic physical disorders in the healthcare team. CPP should apply CBT to suit patients’ needs and issues related to chronic physical disorders. Behavioral consultation might be used effectively in the treatment of psychological distress as indirect CBT in the future.

The purpose of this article was to 1) reconsider psychological approaches in the field of welfare, 2) clarify the uniqueness of the professional work in that field, and 3) suggest a new approach of the “behavioral and cognitive”-oriented certified public psychologist in that context. Behavioral Human Serviceology (Mochizuki, 1993) is suggested as a new approach based on an echo-behavioral perspective, which was used in recent research on environmental enrichment/enriched environment (EE), non-contingent reinforcement (NCR), and motivating operations (MO).

Behavioral and emotional problems are highly prevalent in schools. Since these have been deteriorating in recent years, the treatment and prevention of these problems are urgent in society. Given the current evidence and applicability, cognitive behavioral interventions are promising for solving social issues. The study reviewed the current trend of cognitive behavior therapies in educational settings. Currently, cognitive behavioral therapies for Japanese children and adolescents have been researched as the treatment and/or prevention of anxiety and related problems, depression, anger, and school absenteeism. Competency for cognitive behavioral therapists in educational settings consists of four aspects: scientism, encouragement, pedagogy, and creativity. Individual, group, and team approaches are applicable for cognitive behavioral therapies in educational settings. Finally, the accumulation of further evidence, training and education for trainees, and systematic/strategic movements for dissemination are discussed as future directions.

This paper provides an overview and describes the future tasks of cognitive behavioral therapy in a field of special needs education in Japan. The intervention technique and goals of support differ depending on individual properties such as age and type of disability. Therefore, we summarize the skills and attitudes necessary for certified public psychologists in three areas (direct support, family support, and support for human service professionals). We also describe the expected roles for certified public psychologists and future topics in special education and related fields.

For order for a public psychologist recently certified in 2017 to fulfill the entailed responsibilities, the implementation of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in the forensic and criminal areas and addiction problems in Japan is necessary. It is also necessary to review the practices of CBT and to consider future issues. The purpose of this study is to review the characteristics of clients and support frameworks in the forensic and criminal areas and addiction problems in Japan, and to consider future issues as a result of CBT implementation. The results of this study suggest that further research is needed in order to clarify and evaluate the differences in process variables, group work development methods, treating resistance and denial, cognitive intervention, intervention based on respondent conditioning, and cooperation with community-based and institutional treatment. It is expected that the effectiveness of treatment in the forensic and criminal areas and addiction problems is enhanced by gathering research while keeping in mind the framework and understanding of CBT, as well as keeping in perspective the interaction of an individual with their environment.

In this paper, we report on the various applications and challenges associated with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), primarily within a prophylactic framework of mental health measures instituted in the workplace. An effective approach to ensure primary prevention in the workplace is to design stress management procedures that employ CBT to encourage healthy individuals to notice and start dealing with stress. Suitable strategies for secondary prevention include various CBT mechanisms used to identify and treat people at the early stages of poor mental health. The problem-solving potential of CBT is also effective for facilitating inter-occupational coordination and HR management aimed at improving the workplace. CBT, as a method of tertiary prevention, is suitable for supporting workers returning to work, symptom control to help persons with mental disabilities adapt to the workplace, and facilitating work-related decision-making. In recent years, mindfulness, acceptance and commitment therapy, and other forms of third-wave methodologies have increasingly come into use as prophylactic initiatives. The challenge for the future is to spread the application of CBT to yield further positive outcomes, such as increasing productivity.