According to the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare's White Paper on Countermeasures for Suicide, the suicide death rate by age group has shown a steady downward trend since 2009 for other age groups, while the rate for teenagers has remained flat or slightly increased. The situation is even more serious when limited to children, where the rate has consistently increased while the total number of suicides has continued to decline. According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's “Suicide Statistics and Basic Data on Suicide in Local Communities, ” the number of elementary, junior high and high school students who committed suicide in 2020 increased by about 30 % from the previous year, and the number of high school girls in particular doubled over the previous year, and has remained high ever since. In this paper, we focus on self-injury and over-the-counter drug abuse/dependence often seen in teenagers, and first discuss the principles of understanding and responding to these issues, as well as our personal views on the desirable attitude of supporters who accept SOS from children, and how substance abuse prevention education and suicide prevention education should be provided.

View full abstract

[in Japanese]

View full abstract

Bullying is a physically and mentally painful problem involving multiple parties. Schoolchildren are still in the process of maturing and can easily become mentally and physically unbalanced. From the perspective of brain science, the frontal lobe of the human brain develops slowly and takes time to mature until adolescence, and attachment and mentalization mature through experience, but schoolchildren are still in the process of development, and appropriate experiences can help prevent bullying. In playback theater at schools, it is thought that the perspectives of the people involved in the bullying situation through storytelling and acting will cause changes in the participants' minds and attitudes as they experience the bullying through acting. As a result, it is believed that the narratives of the parties involved will cause them to reexamine their own minds and the minds of others and, through mentoring, to become aware of something in the other party and in themselves and to think about it. Narratives are not only told, but when they are acted out, a deeper understanding is brought forth. From the standpoint of brain science, we will examine the meaning of playback theater activities in anti-bullying projects.

View full abstract

[in Japanese]

View full abstract

[in Japanese]

View full abstract

[in Japanese]

View full abstract