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Study on lived experiences of people with disabilities, and care to help them survive on their own in the face of their disabilities
This research group values learning from the lived experience of people with disabilities. This is because the group aims to review the nature of disabilities and reconsider care based on the experiences of people with disabilities rather than accepting already-known, structured perspectives as true without much thought.
The first pillar of the group’s research agenda regards care for people with mental disorders or disabilities that is focused on helping them survive on their own. Functional impairments in patients with mental disorders will likely be elucidated, but such knowledge alone does not lead to the provision of effective care. The group hopes to consider what care providers can do based on the viewpoint that disabilities (difficulties they face in day-to-day life) arise in their relationship with their surrounding environment than arising within themselves. Provision of reasonable accommodations to support students with disabilities – the second pillar of the group’s research agenda – is also an extension of this viewpoint.
This research group hopes to produce clinicians capable of deepening questions over relevant matters, enduring contradictions, considering the best interest of people with disabilities and creating good enough environments for all.
Professor MATSUDA, Yasuko
My starting point as a clinician began with encounters with schizophrenics and related learning from them. I have provided care to schizophrenics for 30 years, but feel it is actually me who has been cared for by learning how they live with their disabilities. I hope to continue providing care based on my first-hand learning the difficulties they face in day-to-day life from them while appreciating encounters with them and valuing to survive together and fulfill life. I make it a rule to learn from consumers not only in my role as a clinician, but also in my research. Specifically, I learn from case studies and lived experiences in my role as a care provider, and conduct interview surveys and qualitative studies to discover universal rules. My research interests stem from my interactions with peoples in clinical settings. These include my involvement with local people who have recovered from mental illness, Student Counseling Office users and students with disabilities, as well as my involvement in the university community. Caring isn’t all pretty; you may be mired in chaos and confusion, and feel like turning your eyes away. In such situations, it is not simple, nor is it easy to maintain altruistic behavior, which is at the core of caring. I seriously ask myself every day in both clinical practice and research to ensure that I do not deceive myself.
