Akiko Kaji, PhD

I was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. I started dancing when I was 9 years old. I was a dance major in the drama department of Nihon University, College of Art. My dissertation was on the Russian ballet dancer Nijinsky, who developed schizophrenia later in his life. I studied drama scripts and the life of Oscar Wilde in my master of arts program at Nihon University Graduate School of Art. After I worked in the entertainment industry, I studied movement training for actors while earning my MA in Text and Performance at King’s College London and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, UK. I have always been interested in the relationship between creativity and psychological disturbance. I have also been interested in the body-mind connection. While I was working as a performing arts teacher in Japan, I witnessed the healing power of the performing arts. My interest in psychology and helping people heal through movement drove me to be a dance movement therapist. I obtained my Post Graduate Diploma in Dance Movement Therapy from London City University/Laban Centre London. My training in London was mainly in psychodynamic psychotherapy. My internship sites were schools and hospitals. I had my own psychoanalysis with a Freudian independent therapist. I also experienced and learned bodywork techniques such as the Alexander method and Rolfing in London. After I went back to Japan, I worked at a psychiatric hospital as a dance movement therapist. Many of my clients were diagnosed with schizophrenia, depression, and dementia. I realized that I could help my clients have a higher quality of life in the hospital,l but I could not help them more than that. It was time again for me to move to learn something new. So, I moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, and started my Doctoral degree in Educational Psychology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I chose educational psychology because my experience of traveling to Zambia and working in elementary schools in London taught me how important education is. I was interested in prevention by education because it is difficult for people to change their lives after staying in a psychiatric hospital for 10 years. My dissertation was about how open school education can assist children to learn in their preferred mode of learning. I learned not only mainstream educational psychology but also culture and physiology through my PhD education. I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area upon my graduation. I missed seeing my clients so I decided to obtain a license in psychology. I completed a doctoral re-specialization program in Clinical Psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University, San Francisco. My internship site was at a local community mental health clinic. My responsibilities included providing individual, group, and family therapy, acting as a mental health coordinator, offering crisis intervention in school-based settings (K-8), and performing psychological testing. I have been in private practice in San Francisco Japantown since 2016. I work with children, adolescents, and adults, providing individual, couple, and family therapy in person and online. I specialized in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), EMDR, Biofeedback, and body-mind work. I am a lifetime learner. I enjoy dancing, yoga, meditation, hiking, reading, theater, movies and video games. I believe in contributing to the community. I volunteer for the American Red Cross as a disaster mental health team member, for the San Francisco Neighborhood Emergency Response Team, and for Immigrants Rising as a group facilitator and a therapist for undocumented young people. I am a treasurer and Disaster Response Committee Co-ChairI for the San Francisco Psychological Association, Past Chair for the California Psychological Associaiton Division I: Clinical and Professional Practice, Co-Chair for the American Psychological Association Division 56:Trauma Psychology, and Financial officer for Asian American Psychological Associaiton Division of International Students and Professionals. I hope I can serve you in a way that is helpful for you.