Furatto Rehabilitation, Inclusion & Engagement for New Development (FRIEND)

  Second Half of My Europe Travel: From Padova to Rome The highlight of the second half of my Europe journey was undoubtedly the training seminar in Padova for psychiatrists at the Department of Neurology. I was genuinely surprised by how much interest there was in hikikomori —more than I had expected. After a full day of hard work, I was moved to see that everyone stayed attentive throughout the seminar—no one closed their eyes or drifted off. What touched me most were the many questions, the discussions afterward, and the fact that people stayed back to talk, share feedback, and ask even more questions. These conversations were incredibly valuable to me. Professor Sambataro, the director of the psychiatry program, remarked that he himself was surprised by how active and engaged the audience was. I also learned a great deal from him—particularly about how he trains his residents. He allows them the freedom to explore different specialties, trusting that this openness will help the...

Date : April 22, 2025 18:00 - 20:30 Location : Akita University, Faculty of Medicine Hosted by : Department of Community Psychosomatic Medicine & Furatto (Daisen City) As part of our ongoing efforts to create transnational dialogues around youth mental health and social withdrawal (hikikomori), we welcomed a group of psychiatric residents from Department of Neuroscience, University of Padova, Italy, to join a public seminar titled “Psychiatry in Italy” at Akita University. This event was held in collaboration with the local outreach center Furatto , a low-threshold drop-in space for socially withdrawn youth in Daisen City. The seminar provided an opportunity to learn directly from Italy’s next generation of psychiatrists about their country’s unique approach to mental health care, rooted in the deinstitutionalization movement and the development of community-based services. Through a bilingual presentation (English with Japanese interpretation), the Italian residents shared f...