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apfseditor 
On Sunday, December 8, 2012, a seminar titled "Seminar for Foreign Resident Counseling Workers 1: Verbalizing the Meaning of Your Own Practice for Sustainable Counseling Practice" was held at the Itabashi Ward Green Hall.
Foreign consultation workers are prone to stress due to cultural differences between them and their clients, and the difficulty of gaining understanding of the significance and expertise of their activities. Therefore, this seminar invited Professor Yoshikazu Shiobara of Keio University, who specializes in the theory and practice of multicultural coexistence, as the lecturer, and aimed to help foreign consultation workers verbalize their own practical activities. Reexamining their own activities and considering their significance will prevent foreign consultation workers from burning out, and ultimately lead to sustainable practical activities.
This seminar was attended by 21 people who work in counseling for foreigners. First, Professor Shiobara gave a lecture on "multicultural coexistence". After that, the participants reflected on their own practice based on the contents of the lecture and held a discussion with the whole venue. In the lecture, Professor Shiobara stated that in order to continue providing support for a long time, a "philosophy" is necessary to rely on, and he talked about theories that serve as a reference for that "philosophy". In the discussion after the break, each participant linked the lecture with their own activities and gave their opinions, leading to a lively discussion. Although they are all "consulting for foreigners," the participants belong to different organizations and have different work contents. However, it seems that they all have a lot in common in what they feel on a daily basis, and there were voices of sympathy for the opinions each of them expressed.
We plan to hold another seminar on the mental health of foreign consultation workers this fiscal year, with a different theme. If you were unable to attend this one, we hope you will join us at the next seminar. Please invite others and we look forward to your lively participation. We will let you know the details as soon as they are decided, so thank you for your cooperation.
*This project is being carried out with the support of Pfizer Inc.'s 2011 Pfizer Program: Supporting Citizen Activities and Research on Mental and Physical Healthcare.