Creative minds schizophrenia

Creativity is akin to insanity, say scientists who have been studying how the mind works.

Brain scans reveal striking similarities in the thought pathways of highly creative people and those with schizophrenia.

Both groups lack important receptors used to filter and direct thought.

It could be this uninhibited processing that allows creative people to "think outside the box", say experts from Sweden's Karolinska Institute.

In some people, it leads to mental illness.

But rather than a clear division, experts suspect a continuum, with some people having psychotic traits but few negative symptoms.
Art and suffering

Some of the world's leading artists, writers and theorists have also had mental illnesses - the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh and American mathematician John Nash (portrayed by Russell Crowe in the film A Beautiful Mind) to name just two.

BBC News - Creative minds 'mimic schizophrenia'

What is a psychiatric social workers in japan

Psychiatric Social Workers in Japan

Nationally Licensed Psychiatric Social Workers in Japan

In Japan Psychiatric Social Workers (PSW’s) are nationally licensed by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. There are strict licensing regulations for the training of these mental health practitioners and in order to be allowed ot sit the national examination to be qualified as a PSW it is necessary to have quaduated from a four year degree course in psychology from a recognized university in Japan. There has been a legal requirement for all social workers providing mental health services to be qualified, post-graduate trained and nationally licensed in Japan since April 1st April 1997. This national licensing of Psychiatric Social Workers has also on had an influence on young graduates of psychology as to their choice of career path into the field of psychotherapy. All medical institutions such as Sougo Byouin (general hospitals), Seishin byoin (psychiatric hospitals), Shinri Naika (psychiatric community clinics) and local Mental Health Welfare Centers (Hokensho) have been required by law to employ for their to be at least one PSW whenever the facility is open to the public.).

Qualifications/Legal Requirements to be a National Licensed PSW

Having at least a first degree in Psychology is one of the basic requirements to be accepted onto the one-year educational and in house training programs at one of the specialist educational institutes that have sprung up since the passing of the Act in 1997. It is a prerequisite to graduate from one of these specialist education institutes in order to be eligible to sit the examination to qualify and become nationally licensed in Japan to work in the mental health care field as a Psychiatric Social Worker. In practice some psychology graduates who have graduated with a masters level degree have also elected to train as a PSW because of the perception of greater job security and social position which is afforded in Japan to occupations which are nationally licensed. Nationally licensed professions are regarded by the public and by parents of young graduates as being more respectable as well as offering better salaries and job security. In a society where the opinion and worries of ones parents still merits great respect and consideration in the process of choosing ones career, some young psychology graduates make their career choices according to their family’s wishes as much as to their own.

Children's Homes in Japan

Children's Homes in Japan- Over Packed and Neglected

According to the National Children’s Homes Conference (NCHC), there were total of 568 homes nationwide as of March 2009. They further report that both child abuse and children being admitted to children’s homes have been continuously increasing. Both issues, as well as an increase in dysfunctional families call for serious attention.
Brief History of Children’s Homes in Japan

Children’s Homes have been called, “Jido (children) yogo (protection) shisetsu (Institution)” since 1997. The name is often times confused with “Yogo Gakko,” a school for the physically handicapped since they sound very similar. The children who make up the jido yogo shisetsu are mostly those who were abused or neglected by their parents (or guardians) unlike old orphanages which were comprised of children whose parents were deceased.

Past orphanages in Japan were called, “kojiin”, and the foundational form was established in 593 A.D. by Prince Shotoku. A few more establishments were built to accommodate children who lost their parents due to domestic wars and rebellions between powerful clans through the Edo Period (1600 – 1868). In 1879, Ishii Jyuji, a Japanese Christian, built the first kojiin in Okayama prefecture. At age 22, Ishii gave up on becoming a doctor to take care of orphans and dedicated himself to social service. He believed strongly in educating orphans instead of just feeding them. Ishii is considered a pioneer in Japan’s Children’s Welfare System. Two years after the end of WWII, Children’s Welfare Law was enacted and the name kojiin was replaced by yogo shisetsu.

In recent years, the children’s homes in Japan have been facing countless problems while the number of children needing to be admitted has been increasing; these include low wages, long working hours, and an insufficient worker to child ratio.
Increase of Child Abuse Cases

According to the Ministry of Welfare in Japan, in 2008, there were 42,664 cases of child abuse, which increased by 2,025 (5%) from the previous year. Among the case reports, the most common was physical abuse (16,343 cases) followed by neglect and refusal (15,905 cases) by parents. Children’s death caused by child abuse has decreased between 1975 and 2005; most deaths were inflicted by the biological mothers (63.3% vs. 21.6% by father).

Read more at Suite101: Children's Homes in Japan- Over Packed and Neglected http://japan.suite101.com/article.cfm/children-homes-in-japan--over-packed-and-neglected#ixzz0n9xRtyFu


Read more at Suite101: Children's Homes in Japan- Over Packed and Neglected http://japan.suite101.com/article.cfm/children-homes-in-japan--over-packed-and-neglected#ixzz0n9x9KK00


Children's Homes in Japan- Over Packed and Neglected