Family psychology and family therapy in Japan

The development of family psychology and family therapy in Japan has occurred mostly since the 1980s. This development was originally activated by the major social issue in contemporary Japan of school refusal, in which more than 127,000 children either overtly refuse to or claim that they cannot go to school. From a family perspective, this problem is analyzed as it relates to the confusion that children experience from unbalanced and unclear boundaries in family relations or "membranes." An approach to family therapy that adapts systems theory and integrates a clay sculpting medium has been developed to work with Japanese families confronting this problem. The design and implementation of preventative family psychology programs applied at the community level are also an important part of the future development in these fields.