Developing Psycho-Educational Groups for Japanese High Schools

This paper describes the development of comprehensive psycho-educational groups for students in a secondary school attached to a Japanese university. Although deliberate application of psychological knowledge to self-empowerment has been a central component of counseling programs in the United States, such practice is only now emerging in Japan. This project was operated from two sites: one at the University of Tokyo and other at the University of Georgia. The objective was to help students learn new behaviors through a program of active participation of both mind and body. The groups also served to stimulate students ' independence and growth, and provided a place for students and teachers to collaborate and address problems. The program served as a model to show the real world practice of counselors in schools. The class was found useful and interesting to a large proportion of the students. Students also reported that their concentration improved and they were less nervous or anxious. Recommendations for th