In most developed countries, including Japan, psychological issues among children and adolescents have become social problems over the last few decades, as concern grows about such behaviors as truancy, bullying, suicide, child abuse, and "hikikomori".

Although these behaviors receive more attention, thousands of children still do not receive the medical treatment they need for mental disorders like depression, anxiety or ADHD, the onset of which can occur at quite early ages.The fact that many children who need proper medical support are unable or hesitate to seek it because of prejudice, misunderstanding, or a simple lack of awareness about psychological problems among children is an important social issue.

The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that mental disorders will soon require more health resources than any other childhood illness. Japan does not devote sufficient resources to dealing with child mental disorders, with the result that treatment options are seriously lacking.We believe that the actual need for child and adolescent psychiatry is extremely high and that we need to consider ways of meeting this need.

The provision of full and effective support for children with mental disorders and those who take care of them will require the full participation of medical professionals, psychologists, the home, the school, the community, welfare agencies, and judicial branches. The development of human resources for children psychiatry is, needless to say, fundamental.Hokkaido University’s Child and Adolescent Psychiatry graduate program was established to respond to the urgent need for comprehensive treatments and new Japanese psychiatrists.

The main goal of our program is to train young clinical psychiatrists who will specialize in child and adolescent mental disorders, committing themselves to providing the best evidence-based medicine after careful bio-psycho-social examination of each patient, while remembering that another key element of our mission is both basic and clinical researches into child mental disorders.

We welcome young graduates who are passionate about joining us to work toward the shared goal of taking child and adolescent psychiatry in Japan to the next level.

This program is designed to train medical students, graduates, and trainees in essential clinical practice in child and adolescent psychiatry.

It focuses on nurturing clinical psychiatrists who will show strong leadership while working as part of a team, not only with co-medical staff (clinical psychologists and social workers), but also with school personnel and educators.

Graduates of the course will be able to analyze, diagnose, and plan proper treatments for various juvenile mental disorders and/or incapacitation based on global standards and evidence-based medicine (EBM). The course focuses on case studies from biopsychosocial perspectives, but in addition to regular classes, it offers individual supervision via web sessions with overseas child and adolescent psychiatrists to give trainees a comprehensive overview of the field and empower them to serve internationally.

Hokkaido University Hospital Funded Research Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Address: North 14, West 5, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-8648, Hokkaido, Japan : access
Phone: +81-11-716-1161
FAX: +81-11-706-5081
E-mail: 
We are unable to answer an individual inquiry about medical conditions. Please contact your physician or therapist if you have any question or in case of emergency.