The following are real stories by real patients who have had consultations with Douglas Berger, Psychiatrist of Tokyo, Japan and the Meguro Counseling Center.
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My mental state has improved significantly since I started Seeing Dr. Berger. Dr. Berger counseled me and provided medical advice. My mental issues are now under control and I am very close to living a regular life. I am grateful for his professional care on how to think and act rationally.
Thank you so much, Doug! – E.M.
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I’ve been Doug’s patient for many years now. It started when I had post-partum depression. Although those days are far behind me, I still find it useful to talk to Doug regularly. I consider it good mental health. I think we often get into situations when we don’t understand why we feel or react in a certain way, and in such situations it’s good to discuss it with someone who’s objective. I certainly recommend Doug. – University English teacher
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I’ve been working with Dr. Berger for a few years. Dr. Berger was able to rapidly diagnose and treat successfully depressed moods which had been dogging me my entire life. I received support, counseling, and medication, and am now happier than I have ever known, am able to enjoy my life in a way I had never been able, and I am achieving growth and professional success that I had previously only dreamed of. Dr. Berger has always been supportive and available when I needed him. Treatment with Dr. Berger is the best investment in myself I have ever made. – S.B.
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Dr. Douglas Berger has always been a great support to me. I have been attending to Dr. Berger’s session for almost five years now. He helped me to solve: 1) manic-depression, 2) self-confidence problems, 3) management problems, and 4) social relationship problems. I personally believe Dr. Berger’s strength is to understand difference between Western and Japanese cultures. These are my reasons why I recommend Dr. Berger as the best bilingual psychiatrist located in Tokyo, Japan. – Graduate Student
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I have been a client/patient of Dr. Berger’s for the past seven years for mood and interpersonal issues. He helped me understand myself and is always thinking of creative ways for me to overcome these problems through medical and non-medical means. He has struck me as the consummate professional; besides his medical and psychiatric help, his frank sharing of his own trials and tribulations of working in corporate environment in Japan helped me think of ways to improve my own work challenges, and his willingness to share insights on how to live a productive and happy life in Japan have been invaluable. – Researcher based in Tokyo
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Today I realized that I have been going to see Dr. Doug Berger for 16 years now. I would like to highly recommend him as a caring supportive therapist who does his best to give each patient the therapy he or she needs. At first I went every week to see him because I was suffering from the effects of extreme anxiety that was reeking havoc on my life. I could not sleep and my professional life was falling apart. Doug strongly suggested I take medication and I followed his advice. I believe the medicine helped alleviate the extreme anxiety I was experiencing at that time.
As my anxiety settled back to a tolerable level I was able to engage in talk and group therapy. Good therapy I believe occurs when the patient and therapist focus on the here and now during therapy sessions and I think Doug tries to do that as much as possible. Through talking about our relationship in the sessions and the things happening in my life I was able to realize a lot about myself. This has helped me make better life choices that have made my life more enjoyable and have given me confidence. Now I see Doug once a month and no longer need medication. Everyone is different but I hope that reading about my experience will encourage readers who are thinking about getting help to do so. Entering into therapy was scary and it helped me to do some reading on therapy in general and more specifically on anxiety. Thus, I encourage you to do some reading on therapy as you begin your therapeutic journey. – John M.
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When I tried to find someone to provide therapy in Japan there were very few options, what impressed me about Doug was that in a field where anyone can do a short course and set themselves up as a therapist, he was properly qualified and trained and also was a long term Japan resident who spoke Japanese well and understood the culture. A lot of people’s issues relate to childhood and upbringing and history, but for expats an understanding of the cultural stage on which these issues are now being played out are crucial in my opinion. The fact that he even exists at all in Japan where the domestic infrastructure is not set up to help foreigners is frankly a godsend.
My experience with Doug goes back 22 years, when I first contacted him I was in a bad way suffering from chronic depression and anxiety which had invaded every corner of my life. I felt increasingly isolated and it is not an exaggeration to say that if it hadn’t been for the positive role for change in my own life that Doug has played, then my life would be very different today- and none of it in a good way. As it is I now lead a full life again and although a lot of the “work” has been my own Doug has been a catalyst and has always been there for me on the journey. As far as I can remember for example apart from schedule misunderstandings he has never not been there at the appointed time which along with his patience and persistence speaks to his professionalism and sense of dedication. I do not always agree with his analysis of a particular issue and he is a tenacious debater but always in a supportive way and often hindsight has proven him to be right. He is not infallible but then who is?
The hourly rate may seem a lot but compared to other professions I suggest you do the math, clearly he is not in it to get rich. To sit listening all week to unhappy, depressed people moaning about their lives is not for everyone and takes a certain robustness of character and I have no idea how many hours a week he can do but I bet you it is quite limited. Unhappy people tend to blame the world for their problems and/or when this is not working they blame the doctor! Don’t shoot the messenger. I suspect also that any patient that is over abusive in the initial assessment is likely to be politely declined, the risk of violent and unhinged patients is not to be taken lightly, after all it is not an average cross section of happy well adjusted society we are talking about here! My own experience is that I was very critical and negative about the world and humans in general but I have gradually come to realize that a lot of my problems were of my own making. Unhappy people will often blame anyone but themselves-including the doctor- and often have a victim mentality where they see themselves as the victim of unfair bullying etc etc.
On the issue of medication, yes Doug is an MD by initial training and as such I think he is a big believer in the efficacy of modern drugs to treat metal issues as well as more conventional physical ailments, what are humans if not chemical machines. In the early years I just went for individual and group therapy, and resisted the option of talking medication for several years. When I eventually agreed I have found it very helpful. medication is not a magic bullet and doesn’t take you straight to happyland but in my experience it has a role to play in stabilizing the situation and making life more liveable on a day to day basis.
Talk therapy is not an easy option and is not for everyone, for one thing it can be very slow and often takes years. From my own reading into the subject a key to making progress in terms of change and self development is the establishment of a trusting, caring relationship between the patient and the care provider. This requires time and the right attitude from both the patient and the doctor. – M.G.
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I’ve known Dr. Berger for about eight years. Dr. Berger is intelligent, honest, and best of all practical: he wants to help you find the right path as efficiently as possible. He helps you keep a clear eye on what really matters. – Translator in Tokyo
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I have had therapy sessions with Dr. Berger for about seven years at the onset of anxiety and depression. He has managed my situation very effectively and I find myself well able to cope with my busy life. He is remarkably straight- forward with a tell-it-as-it-is approach. For some, who prefer to have reality sugar coated, this style may seem abrupt, but for me it has served to put life in clearer and more objective perspective. A solutions based methodology that aims to get at the internal and external causes of my condition is a what I need. The fact that he has in-depth medical knowledge, as well as strong intuitive insights into human nature, make his therapy sessions particularly valuable. – L .V.
Contact Douglas Berger psychiatrist Tokyo by visiting this page
Anxiety the chameleon: sleep disturbance, nail biting, intrusive thoughts, can’t make decisions, etc. First nail-down the diagnosis! Us: https://t.co/W6SS4mCEuf, https://t.co/urVpIy8ewg
Many people are controlling in style. They don’t realize they get aggravated when others stand up for themselves, and they get upset trying to control others. Us: https://t.co/W6SS4mDcjN, https://t.co/urVpIy8MlO
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Chronic mild depression that is up and down mixed with actual social stress often results in confusion in the person as to whether they are really ill or if it’s situational. These persons can go for decades without real help. Us: https://t.co/W6SS4mCEuf, https://t.co/urVpIy8ewg