Hitomi Kawai provides English Counseling service for adults by online (Microsoft Teams or Skype). Individual or couple sessions are provides depending on your needs.
Counseling sessions
In the intake session, the counselor will ask you details of the issues you are facing and how they have progressed over time. The counselor will share with you her impressions and what may be the main cause of the issue or problems. The counselor will share with you the method of counseling, what will be the goal for the sessions and how long it might take. Also, how frequently you should come in for the session, with the client’s input.
The following is a brief list of problems that you can come to counseling for: the children of alcoholics (ACoA), other dysfunctional families, PTSD, childhood trauma, domestic violence, depression, anxiety disorders, grief/bereavement etc.
If we decide that we cannot be helpful to your case we will refer you to another clinic or to decline the request for counseling. These are rare cases, but our reasons for declining to provide services include heavy alcohol dependence, drug abuse, severe mental illness, learning disorders, elderly cognitive issues such as dementia, and strong suicidal intent.
Many people come for weekly or bi-weekly sessions. Eventually, the frequency of sessions can be reduced. Some clients decide to come for only a few times. Other clients come for six months or a year, and some for many years for their own growth.
Who Comes to Counseling?
It really varies, but we get people from different countries, married, unmarried, divorced, gay or lesbian, etc. We get adult clients from their 20’s to 70’s. The majority of people who live in Japan is ALTs.
What to Expect and Consider when coming to counseling
The most important thing is that clients themselves decide to maintain a strong will to look at the issues that they are coming to explore. It is their own intention to change and willingness to explore the issue that leads to the best outcomes.
The counselor’s job is to accompany you on your journey. We seek to be a close and empathetic listener. Those clients who have the most difficulty getting good results from therapy tend to believe that the therapist has all the answers. They may also seek other professionals such as psychics.
Counseling fees
60 minutes: 10,000 yen
45minutes: 8,000 yen
*Payment method: Yu-Cyo (Post Office) bank.
*If you live abroad, the payment can be done by PayPal.
Therapist Profile
Hitomi Kawai is a Japanese therapist who was also trained in the US. She speaks Japanese and English fluently. She was educated in New York City and then worked there as a child counselor. At previous work (Counseling Center Sogetsu), she provided counseling for children, teenagers, and adults in Japanese and for adults in English. She really enjoys her work as a counselor because she can see how people have resilience to change.
The reason I became a counselor
When I worked as a translator for a Japanese boy in an elementary school in Massachusetts, I felt his loneliness. Because he couldn’t speak much English, it was hard for him to adjust to the new environment. I thought then that I wanted to support children having difficulties in a deeper way so I decided to become a child counselor. Since then, I have enjoyed working as a counselor because it helps me see how resilient each one of us is.
I started to provide counseling for adults in Japan. I see the loneliness for a lot of ALTs because their communities are relatively small and not many Japanese can speak English. Because I have similar experience when I lived in the US and have learned a lot about cultural difference, I strongly believe I am the great fit for them.
Educational and Professional Background
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Bachelor in Psychology
Columbia University, Master of Social Work
Worked in community counseling center and in the NYC public schools as a child counselor
School counselor in Japan for 5 years
Worked at Sogetsu Counseling Center from 2010 to 2020.
Opened private practice in 2020.
NHA certified Advance Trainer
Opening hours
Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, some Saturdays.
From 9:30am to 4pm.
(Closed for holidays)
Contact
Please contact me at hitomi@hitomikawai.com