*A report on the public symposium has been published on March 24, 2023.

On the national holiday on Monday, October 10, 2022, Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) marked the occasion of World Mental Health Day with a public symposium titled, “Mental Health Support in Times of Disaster – The Ideal Form of Supporter Collaboration From Emergency Response to Continuous Response.” The symposium was held using a hybrid format that included an in-person event at Comore Yotsuya Tower Conference and a remote event on Zoom.

Discussions on the topic of disaster mental health at HGPI’s Mental Health Policy Project began in FY2020 with the “Expert Meeting on Community Building for Disaster Mental Health.” In FY2021, our activities focused on accumulating examples of measures for disaster mental health implemented by local governments and examining how those measures can be best applied in the future. Then, in FY2022, in addition to disseminating the examples we gathered in FY2021 in multiple languages and on a global scale, we have worked to organize discussion points and consider next steps for building systems that provide seamless mental health support in the emergency phase immediately after disasters, when support is provided to secure life and safety, to the post-disaster phase, when support is necessary for maintaining lifestyles and taking steps toward recovery. Establishing an integrated mental health support system that transcends organizations and positions will be essential for enabling all people to be able to maintain mental well-being in their daily lives, even in times of disaster. Just as no two disasters are the same, no two people have the same criteria for what constitutes a state of mental distress. Organizing past disaster responses from the perspective of mental health to prepare for unforeseen future emergencies will be a critical step for improving infrastructures for community living in Japan to help people maintain familiar lifestyles in familiar communities even when faced with disaster.

This symposium examined the transitions between disaster phases and focused on challenges for collaboration during the transition from the emergency phase to the phases for recovery and reconstruction. It featured keynote lectures, a relay talk, and a panel discussion with all speakers that emphasized the viewpoints of community members and mental health professionals for the themes listed below.

Main discussion points:

• How to face the diverse range of issues unique to disaster mental health
• How to best match diverse forms of support to diverse needs
• How to smoothly transition from emergency response to support for daily living

Based on the premise that everyone has the chance of someday experiencing a mental health-related challenge, we examined next steps for building a system for seamless collaboration as well as how to best implement measures to meet disaster mental health needs so people can live true to themselves, even in times of disaster.

[Event details]

Date & Time: Monday, October 10, 2022 (a national holiday) ; 13:00-15:00
Format: Hybrid format (In-person Tokyo / Zoom)
Venue: Comore Yotsuya Tower Conference in Tokyo
Language: Japanese
Participation fee: Free

[Program] (participants listed in no particular order with titles omitted)

13:00-13:05 Opening remarks and explanatory introduction

• Shunichiro Kurita (Manager, HGPI)
  

13:05-13:15 Keynote Lecture 1: “The Features and Special Characteristics of Disaster Mental Health Support”

• Nahoko Harada (Professor, Department of Nursing Science Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems Department of Fundamental Nursing School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences)
  

13:15-13:25 Keynote Lecture 2: “Current Circumstances and Issues in Disaster Mental Health Support: Focusing on the Transition From the Emergency Phase to the Recovery and Reconstruction Phases”

• Tetsushi Tsujimoto (Chairman, Japanese Association of National Mental Health and Welfare Center Directors)
  

13:30-13:40 Keynote Lecture 3: “Multi-organizational Collaboration in Times of Disaster – Current Circumstances and Issues for Public-Private Collaboration”

• Koji Kiwaki (Member, Japanese Association of Public Health Center Directors; Director, Yatsushiro Public Health Center, Kumamoto Prefecture)
  

13:40-14:00 Relay talk: “Initiatives for and Challenges in Disaster Mental Health Support”

•    
• Akiko Shimoda (Representative of Psychological Service Office Greenfield)
• Hiroshi Suita (Head, Japan CSR, Global CSR & Partnership Strategy, Global Corporate Affairs, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited)
• Taku Sugano (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Literature and Human Sciences Human Behavioral Sciences Course, Osaka Metropolitan University)
• Shizuku Sudou (The Kumamoto Association of the Developmental Disabled Little bit)
• Tetsuya Myojo (Executive Director, Japan Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster)
• Yuhei Yamada (Porque, the Organization of Persons with Psychosocial Disabilities)
  

14:05-15:00 Panel discussion: “Steps for Providing Seamless Disaster Mental Health Support”

Panelists:

• Kouji Kiwaki (Member, Japanese Association of Public Health Center Directors; Director, Yatsushiro Public Health Center, Kumamoto Prefecture)
• Akiko Shimoda (Representative of Psychological Service Office Greenfield)
• Hiroshi Suita (Head, Japan CSR, Global CSR & Partnership Strategy, Global Corporate Affairs, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited)
• Taku Sugano (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Literature and Human Sciences Human Behavioral Sciences Course, Osaka Metropolitan University)
• Shizuku Sudou (The Kumamoto Association of the Developmental Disabled Little bit)
• Tetsushi Tsujimoto (Chairman, Japanese Association of National Mental Health and Welfare Center Directors)
• Nahoko Harada (Professor, Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, Okayama University)
• Tetsuya Myojo (Executive Director, Japan Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster)
• Yuhei Yamada (Porque, the Organization of Persons with Psychosocial Disabilities)
  

Moderator:

• Kai Shigeno (Associate, HGPI)