Counseling Life: Osawa Tomoko
OSAWA TOMOKO (43) is one of just a handful of bilingual counselors working in Kansai. Based in Kobe, she provides Hanshin-area residents with professional counseling services as a certified member of the Japan Clinical Psychology Association.
Born and raised in Kobe, Osawa graduated from the Canadian Academy high school (class of 1986). Her university years were mostly spent in London, where she studied psychology for her B.A. degree at Richmond College and her M.A. at Regents College.
While in London, she noticed a help-wanted ad in a professional journal for a bilingual counselor position at the International Counseling Centre (ICC) in Kobe. She jumped at the chance to work in her hometown, and returned to Kobe in 1994.
She has continued her work at ICC and helped the centre through the difficult years right after the 1995 Hanshin Awaji Earthquake. While working, she also has continued her studies,and received her Ph.D. from Osaka University in 2003. Now she holds the title of director of ICC, with two other qualified counselors also on staff.
She explains that ICC was first established in 1981 by a British social worker, with original offices in the Kobe Union Church. However, for the past 20 years ICC has been closely associated with Kobe Kaisei Hospital, anewly renovated institution with a long history of serving the international community. Part of the centre’s operating expenses are funded by the Kobe International Medical Foundation, another organization with strong ties to the community.
Osawa meets nearly all her clients at Kobe Kaisei Hospital (near Hankyu „I Rokko Station), although she mentions that on occasion, she has done counseling by phone for residents as far away as Okinawa and Hokkaido. According to Osawa, many of the ICC clients are English teachers in their late 205 or early 30s grappling with adjustment issues. International couples seeking marriage counseling comprise another large group of clients.
Most clients hear about ICC’s services through word-of-mouth, although the centre does advertise in Kansai Time Out and has a detailed English webpage (www.icckobe.com).Osawa mentions that agencies like ICC are rare in Kansai, and she hopes that people will continue to use the services.
JOHN NEVARA
