I’ve never gone to therapy and have no idea how it works, but frankly my mental health is in the gutter. I figured I’d try, so I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for therapists in Tokyo.
And also, in general I’d like to know how therapy actually works. It’s crazy when you think mental health will never bite you in the ass and then it comes like a bolt of lightning lol.
4 comments
Don’t know in the Tokyo area, but maybe do a google search and call a few for a consultation? If you were in the Osaka area, I would have a recommendation. I found mine by just doing what I said. Called and emailed a bunch, picked the four that I had a good gut feel and paid for an hours consultation with each one. Ended up settling on one that I felt most comfortable with and seemed to know how to help me sort things out.
In any regard, thumbs up for looking to take care of mental health.
I highly recommend you try online sessions with a therapist in your home country, unless you think you’ll also need medication. You’ll have far more choices and often the first therapist people try doesn’t “click” with them. I had to try probably 6 different ones, a couple sessions with each, before I found the right person for me.
Finding the right therapist for you is really important. It’s almost like dating in a sense. They might be a great person, highly recommended, but if things aren’t clicking it’s just not going to work. Just like how you have to go out with a couple different people to find a keeper, you sometimes have to work with a couple different therapists before finding one who fits your needs. Don’t be afraid to switch if your therapist isn’t working for you.
For this reason, I recommend using an online platform like betterhelp or talkspace. These platforms allow you to change therapists with the click of a button until you find the right person.
You may wonder how you know if a therapist is a good fit. A lot of the time it just comes down to vibes. Does talking to this therapist make you feel better? Do they help you see problems in a new light and to approach situations differently? Do you look forward to your therapy sessions? Do you feel like your therapists listens to you and cares about what you have to say?
As for what a session is like, they’ll usually start the first session by asking how you are and what brought you in today. The more open you are the better, though I know that can be hard at first. As you work with your therapist more long term they may bring up things “previously you mentioned issues with x. I wanted to check in and see how that’s been going” etc. For the most part though it’s your time to talk about what you want to talk about. Sometimes I’ll jot down things I want to talk to my therapist about throughout the week.
I also want to say that therapy is a marathon, not a sprint. In a lot of cases, maybe even most cases, 5 sessions is not going to cut it. It’ll triage your issue, but it won’t fix it completely. Therapy is sometime that you get more benefits from when you commit for the long haul.
Finally, I want to commend you for seeking help. Deciding to start therapy is a hard first step but a good one, an important one. Therapy’s hard. Working on yourself, facing your issues head on is hard. But it’s so so worth it
I’ve read other posts that recommended mejiro Sola clinic, https://www.ntokyocounseling.com/, tiptokyo.com, tokyocounseling.com, and en.skycounselingtokyo.com.
Just a heads up national insurance does not cover talk therapy unfortunately so be prepared to spend a bundle. It does of course cover psychiatric visits and meds.
With therapy they’ll usually do a free short consultation, ask you a few questions about yourself and what your goals or issues are and what outcomes you’d like to eventually get. They’ll email you an intake form and you show up and discuss whatever issue you’ve been dealing with. Your therapist will give you a bit of homework and you’ll discuss that the next session.