This Online Seminar was held in Japanese via Zoom on March 9, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time.
For the Japanese community in Los Angeles: A note to be with survivors of the fire (English translation from Japanese Text)
Dr. Kenta Kasai
Professor, Graduate School of Applied Religious Studies, and the Institute of Grief Care, Sophia University
Message from the Speaker (Dr. Kenta Kasai)
I would like to express my deepest condolences to all those who have been affected by the recent fires in Los Angeles, and to those who are mourning the loss of loved ones.
At the request of the Cultural News Editor Shige Higashi of Los Angeles, I would like to share some information about grief care. Grief refers to the pain caused by any kind of loss (not just bereavement), and grief care is the activity of helping people who have experienced grief to some extent to return to their normal lives (there is unfortunately no way to completely undo the loss).
Let me introduce you to the Institute of Grief Care. In April 2005, there was a train derailment in JR West Japan (railroad company) that resulted in the deaths of 107 people in Osaka. As one way of making amends for this accident, the Institute of Grief Care was established with the support of JR West Japan.
The Institute of Grief Care trains people to practice grief care over a two-year (or three-year, four-year) course, and to date has sent nearly 1,000 people out into society. (https://sophia-griefcare.jp/)
What I will be telling you is just the very basics of grief care. In truth, even two years is not enough. Mr. Higashi asked me to focus on the question of how citizens who are not mental health professionals (and who have not themselves experienced a disaster) should interact with disaster victims on a day-to-day basis when they meet them as friends or neighbors.
Therefore, I will not be covering the care provided by professional counselors and psychologists, the activities of various volunteers, or the theory of grief care. I will also be focusing on the pain of the various losses caused by disasters. If you would like to learn more, there are also public lectures and publications from the institute.
If you find this resource, which is limited to the very basics, useful, please feel free to distribute it. However, as it is not a comprehensive explanation of grief care, please be sure to distribute it together with the “Message from the Speaker” to avoid any misunderstandings.
Key Words of “A note to be with survivors of the fire”
1. Begin with “Hello”…To care is to concern about
• The message and power of greetings
• you can say “hello” everyday, and keep in touch
• Way to show your serious concern
2. No restitution
• Confrontation of powerlessness
• We remember the loss forever
• Giving advice is difficult and risky
> Careful to the “recovery stage” theory. People may be left behind, materially or mentally.
> Talking “therapy” may cause pain
• Keep in touch
• Network of the concerned: Local, Colleague…
3. Respect for them and their self-determination
• You can't force anything
• Do not try to change the other. Be aware of your desire to save or heal them
• Do not advice with words of great people. Only the person’s authentic might be effective
• Nothing you can do for them? Just be at a loss and grieve with them
• Many ways to express grief. Anger, numbness, depression. Often it is difficult to cry
4. Additional concern to …
• Addiction relapses
• Any problem in the family?
• People with illnesses
• Pregnant women and new mothers
4-1. For Elders
• They may become more obsessive or fixated
• Care about their safety, physical and mental condition, by observing their clothes, hairstyle and makeup
• No persuasion? At least provide them with information
• Find and respond to their needs
• Better to keep the elder’s independence and roles）
4-2. For Children
• Telling them the truth
• Expect baby-like behavior as normal response: crying at night, bed-wetting, being clingy
4-3. For Support Providers
• Keeping an eye on “responsible” people who can't afford to show weakness, such as city and county officials, managers, and parents
5. Tuning yourself before you meet them
• Take a deep breath and rebooting yourself
• Invite your friends, neighbors, or colleagues
6. English Source
Psychological first aid: Guide for field workers ,WHO, 2011.
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241548205
