Yingzhi Lu (路英智), Ph.D. Chairman of the China Society for Morita therapy Dr. Lu, Ph.D. is a professor at the Chinese National State Council Expert for Special Allowance (国務院政府特殊津贴専家), the Director of the Zibo Mental Health Center of Shandong Province, and the chair of the China Society for Morita therapy. Over the past 10 years, Dr. Lu received eight scientific research achievements awards and provincial or municipal scientific and technological progress awards. One of his notable contributions is a study on electroencephalology of patients with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), for which he received the Shanghai Scientific and Technological Progress Award. He has published dozens of articles in national and international journals. One of his recent journal articles is entitled “Characterization of event-related potentials in obsessive compulsive disorder patients: Comparison with depression and generalized anxiety disorder patients,” which is in the Science Citation Index (SCI) along with his other four articles. He has authored or translated over 30 professional books and popular science books, including: 森田療法入門 (Introduction to Morita therapy) from Japanese, 不安と葛藤 (Anxiety and conflict) from Japanese, and Notes of a psychologist, published by the People’s Medical Publishing House. 1983 Graduated from Shandong Medical University, and worked in Zibo psychiatric Hospital 1987-1992 Studied and researched at Gunma University and Saku General Hospital, Japan 1993-1995 Studied at the Neuropsychiatry Department, Kyushu University, Japan 1998 Studied in the MBA program at the National University of Singapore 1999 Studied in the Department of Psychology at Germany Monschau Hospital 2001 Received Ph.D. from American College of East-West Health Science 2010 Standing councilor of the China Association for Mental Health Chair of the Chinese Society for Morita Therapy Deputy chair of...
Dr. Natalia D. Semenova is a clinical psychologist in the Department of Outpatient Psychiatry, Moscow Research Institute of Psychiatry, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. She received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the Lomonosov Moscow State University and worked for nine years in the Therapy Department at the Institute of Pulmonology. Intrigued by difficulties in treating psychosomatic disorders, she studied etiology and treatment programs, and patient responses to treatment. Her publications include articles and book chapters on psychosomatic medicine and psychotherapy. Since 1997, her clinical work, teaching, and academic interests have focused on schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders. In recent years, she has been pursuing her interest in development of a clinical service for treating early psychosis as well as community-based treatment and rehabilitation services for individuals living with long-term psychotic illnesses and their families. Dr. Semenova teaches clinical psychology, psychosomatics, and psychotherapy at the Moscow State University of Psychology and Education (MSUPE) and at the Moscow Institute of Economy, Policy and Law (MIEPL), which is a non-governmental research organization for higher professional education. She has been actively involved in studying and teaching Morita therapy, and has been participating in Morita therapy conferences and international congresses since 1990, and has contributed to scholarly exchanges and overseas promotion of Morita...
Dr. Kenji Kitanishi (M.D., psychiatrist) is the Chair of the International Committee for Morita Therapy (ICMT) and the Director of the Institute of Morita Therapy and Kitanishi Clinic (Tokyo, Japan) where he currently practises outpatient Morita therapy and investigates theoretical and clinical themes and issues related to Morita therapy. He is the past president (2005-2011) of the Japanese Society for Morita Therapy (JSMT). He served as the Director (1975-1995) of Jikei University School of Medicine’s Institute of Morita Therapy at Daisan Hospital, which is now called Jikei University Centre for Morita Therapy. He continues to take a leading role in the professional training of Morita therapists. He coordinates seminar series, regularly offered in Tokyo and Osaka, for the training and certification of outpatient Morita therapists. He is the 9th recipient of the Shoma Morita Award. He is a JSMT-certified Morita therapist physician. Dr. Kitanishi received his medical degree from the Jikei University School of Medicine in 1970. He was a Professor of Social Welfare in the Faculty of Integrated Arts and Science at Japan Women’s University until his retirement in 2011. His professional affiliations include: World Psychiatric Association (Section of Cultural Psychiatry), Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology, Japanese Society for Morita Therapy, Japanese Society of Transcultural Psychiatry, and East Asian Academy of Cultural Psychiatry. His areas of interest include psychotherapy in general, Morita therapy, cultural psychiatry, and Asian philosophy and religion. He has published numerous journal articles, books, and book chapters in both Japanese and English. His hobby is scuba diving in...
John Mercer is a Chronic Condition psychologist in Australia, has been a Member of the Australian Psychological Society for fourteen years, and currently works in the Public Health system in Tasmania. He holds a PhD from the University of Melbourne, and a MPsych from Monash University. His PhD research was a qualitative investigation of non-theistic Zen principles in Classic Morita therapy. John works with people with chronic medical conditions who suffer psychologically as a result, and provides training and consultancy to a wide variety of medical specialists, generalists and allied health professionals on the psychological aspects of managing patients with chronic conditions. He also lectures to medical students on reflective practice and psychological aspects of chronic condition care. John is an active qualitative health researcher, and recently developed, facilitated and evaluated a psychodietetic program in response to evidenced gaps in service delivery for the bariatric population. His research interests include i) innovations in psychological bariatric surgery preparation, ii) roles of attention and acceptance in health-related anxiety and depression, iii) linguistic and cultural transportability of experiential therapeutic principles; and iv) blending Moritist principles with Lifeworld-led Care to underpin psychological interventions for chronic health...
Dr. Masahiro Minami is an associate professor (counselling psychology program) in the Faculty of Education at the Simon Fraser University, Canada. He is a certified Morita psychotherapist registered with the Japanese Society for Morita Therapy (JSMT) in Japan and also serves as the Secretary General for the International Committee for Morita Therapy. Dr. Minami received his Ph.D. in Counselling Psychology from the University of British Columbia, and is a Registered Clinical Counsellor in British Columbia, Canada. He also serves as the Senior Research Partner for the Rwanda National Unity and Reconciliation Commission, and the Research Consultant for the Prison Fellowship Rwanda. He is the current director of the SFU Mental Health Services Research Lab, SFU Globe in Peace Project and the Prison Fellowship Rwanda-Morita Centre for Peace and Reconciliation Research in Kigali, Rwanda. Areas of his research interests include: Post-war/conflict psychosocial reconciliation and community development Mental health services research/Implementation science/Evidence-based practice Clinical systems engineering, program development, implementation and evaluation Japanese Morita therapy & Zen Family therapy, mediation, reunification, and development processes and outcome Multicultural counseling process/competency Integrative case formulation/conceptualization approaches Simon Fraser University, Faculty of Education Website SFU Globe in Peace Project Website...
David A. Richards, Ph.D., is the Professor of Mental Health Services Research at the University of Exeter Medical School in the United Kingdom. He runs the University‘s Complex Interventions Research Group. He is also President of the European Academy of Nursing Science. He was a professor of Mental Health at the Universities of Manchester (2003-4) and York University (2004-8). He is an expert in health services research methods including systematic reviews, clinical trials and complex interventions research methods, editor of the seminal international textbook ‘Complex Interventions in Health: An Overview of Research Methods’ (http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415703161/). He is prominent in international efforts to improve access to treatment for those suffering from high prevalence mental health problems such as depression. This work involves developing and testing evidence based treatments, and then translating these into routine clinical environments (e.g., development and testing of psychological therapies for depression, particularly low-burden, low-intensity treatments). Dr. Richards has written over 160 peer reviewed papers, articles, books and book chapters on mental health care including the UK’s national curriculum and support materials for Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners. He is joint editor of ‘The Oxford Guide to Low Intensity CBT Interventions’ (http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199590117.do). Dr. Richards runs a multi-centre research team funded by the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), the results of which have been fundamental to the organisational, educational and low-intensity clinical methods at the heart of the UK Department of Health’s ‘Improving Access to Psychological Therapies’ (IAPT) programme from its inception in 2005. He led the development of IAPT low-intensity treatment methods and was Clinical Informatics Advisor to the IAPT programme from...
