ABSTRACTDespite frequent literary references to tears of joy (TOJ) in diverse cultures, meagre empirical research exists. In this investigation, 257 students of Japanese birth responded to a survey inquiring if they had ever experienced TOJ. If they answered affirmatively, they were asked their frequency of TOJ, when was their most recent TOJ, and to what extent they believed it relieved stress and improved physical well-being immediately afterward. 178 (69.3%) had experienced TOJ and 9.7% had done so in the past month. TOJ frequency correlated positively with perceptions of improved physical well-being and perceptions of reduced stress after TOJ, as well as with self-reported emotionality compared to peers. Implications for counselling are discussed, and further research is highlighted.

School counselling is a growing service in Singapore. Having implemented counselling services in all the public schools for over half a decade, it was timely to examine how teachers looked at counselling in school setting. Interviews with teachers suggested their overall positiveness about counselling service in Singapore schools. Teachers view the counselling service as a helpful addition because (1) it extended more individual attention to students; (2) it offered a potential source for teachers to learn more about students through a different perspective; and (3) school counsellors could work with parents and families, especially in situations where referral to external resources is needed. These observations are discussed in this paper.

Great efforts to create an ambience, wherein trusted cultural values can be incorporated into the practices of western methods of psychotherapy, have been raised also in Korea. Despite the increasing body of research into the impacts of culture on psychotherapy, little is known about the Korean perspective of indigenous psychotherapy. Initially a qualitative inquiry into the historical meaning and effects of experience, this article attempts to interpret a way to highlight indigenous psychotherapeutic methods derived from the concept of Korean ethos ‘Pungryu’. It debates its implication for modern Korean psychotherapy and considers the efficiency of culturally relevant psychotherapy in practice, further seeking to demonstrate the importance of invigorating an ethos intrinsic to each culture or society, as an essential knowledge by which psychotherapeutic methods can be attuned to the distinct cultural or societal expectation.

Depression is a pervasive and the most ubiquitous disorder in Pakistan among adolescents. Patients who are depressed and actively misusing any substance are hard to treat. This case report presents a successful intervention based on 12 sessions of cognitive behavioural therapy in an outpatient setting.

This article is a contribution to the question of whether and how to employ western treatment modalities with non-western or indigenous clients. We demonstrate that a thoughtful consideration of the client’s culture and all aspects of the modality are required for ethical and effective practice. The conundrum is illustrated by considering a highly individualistic approach – existential therapy – and indigenous, group-oriented New Zealand Māori clients. Joined carelessly, this combination can easily be a cultural clash, e.g., leading with Yalom’s four existential concerns – death, freedom, aloneness, and meaninglessness – together with van Deurzen’s therapist-as-teacher approach are likely to alienate a traditional collaborative and group-minded Māori client. However, if one begins with the client’s culture – the Whare Tapa Wha model of Māori well-being – affinities can be seen between taha wairua (spiritual), taha hinengaro (mental) tahe tinana (physical), and taha whanau (family) and the four-dimensions of van Deurzen’s existential model – physical (Umwelt), social (Mitwelt), psychological (Eigenwelt), and spiritual (Uberwelt). This model, in conjunction with Yalom’s approach of therapist-as-fellow-traveller may engage a Māori client well, setting the scene for later consideration of existential concerns per se.

This study sought to investigate the preferences of Asian American college students (n = 37) for an ideal treatment provider. Specifically, we examined preferences regarding the preferred type of mental health provider, the relative importance of certain provider characteristics and the preferred interpersonal attributes of an ideal provider. Additionally, the Orthogonal Cultural Identification Scale (OCIS) was used to compare preferences between participants with higher and lower Asian cultural identification. Results indicate some differences in all the three provider preference areas depending on the level of Asian identity. Clinical implications for accommodating the mental health provider preferences of Asian American individuals are discussed.

Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) is an evidenced-based, collaborative, strengths-based model developed in the 1980s by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg and is now in use as an organizing treatment approach all over the world. This article examines the use of SFBT in family therapy. The history of SFBT, the major tenets as applied to family therapy, and the research in SFBT and SFBT for families are discussed.

Orientalism is described as the ‘grandest of all narratives’ (Edward Said, 1978) Zai sheng huo zhong, mei li de xiao, you ya de chou (In life, beautifully smile, gracefully worry) (From Van Leeuwen, 2005, p. 153) The role of the solution-focused psychotherapist (SFP) is less about confirming the rights of the client as an individual and more about amplifying their preferred social performance. The client, the therapist and the drama of therapy represent the object of this performance in which cultural meaning is simply amplified. The identity of the client is framed within multicultural narratives and discourse with which the psychotherapist grapples and strives to maintain a type of neutrality and equality, a relationship of nonexpertness. It is the client who has the resources and who is expert in their own lives. Yet, the drama conflict is one in which the client expects certain answers, reassurances and direction. This article is an exploration of issues related to counselling technologies, language and culture on the solution-focused notion of nonexpert practice.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) does not advocate a Cartesian division of mind, body and spirit. Hence, counselling for the mind is something relatively novel to the Chinese. Although Western psychology was introduced into China during the turn of the twentieth century, the shift from an equilibrium-oriented to a construct-oriented framework in Chinese psychology is far from being complete, and in truth, given the importance of indigenization, probably unnecessary. Research on indigenized approaches to counselling in China, although scarce, is nonetheless building up to a high point where concerted efforts are being made to incorporate traditional philosophies such as Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism into the practice of counselling. The cycle that started with ingesting without digesting Western approaches to counselling, progressing to experiencing signs of indigestion, to realizing the need for indigenization, and to eventually building culturally meaningful and effective models of counselling, provides ample food for contemplation.

" An insight into dementia care in India, by Leena Mary Emmatty." Asia Pacific Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy, 2(2), pp. 179–180