Counseling in Japan

* I was delighted to read “After Kobe, Healing the Psyche of Japan,” on efforts being made to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder in Japan (June 20). I would like to bring to your attention, however, that these doctors were sent to Kobe by American Jewish World Service, a non-sectarian humanitarian aid and relief organization.

At the request of Kwansei Gakuin University, we used a portion of the $85,000, raised from the Jewish American community in response to the earthquake to send specialists to train local psychologists and social workers working with the victims of the Kobe earthquake. One of those experts was Dr. Reuven Gal, who is quoted in your article, and another was world-renowned psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton, who has written and lectured extensively on the psychological effects of Hiroshima on the Japanese, as well as on the traumas affecting victims of the Holocaust, the Chinese Cultural Revolution and the Vietnam War.

These doctors have just returned and have told me that they were profoundly moved by their work there and the receptivity of the Japanese mental health community in dealing with the tragedy. In addition, they found that the Japanese were very moved by the strong Jewish response to their tragedy.

ANDREW GRIFFEL, President

Jewish World Service

New York