Research Institutes

It was established in 1990 as a center for the practice and research of clinical psychology from a developmental perspective. The center provides diagnostics and treatment for various issues faced by children from infancy to adolescence, with diagnostics and treatment based on a multifaceted understanding of the child gleaned through psychological testing, behavioral observation, and other psychological assessments. The center then provides support in the form of therapeutic education, play therapy, parental counseling, music therapy education, academic guidance counseling, and more. It sees over 2,300 cases a year. It also serves as a setting for clinical psychology research and training, with graduate students able to get involved in actual cases. The center also hosts eight case study conferences a year that bring together leading researchers in the relevant fields, in order to connect clinical practice to theory.

It was established in 2008 as a facility for researchers within the university, throughout Japan, and around the world, that are conducting the various projects necessary for the widespread promotion of fundamental and practical research related to lifespan developmental psychology. It aims to collect fundamental data on the subject through joint research and projects between researchers and graduate students from inside and outside of the university, local educational and administrative organizations, and private research and education personnel, in order to build a database and put it into practical use. It has also facilitated the production of several doctoral dissertations through joint research. The center also publishes an annual journal, “Research in Lifespan Developmental Psychology,” which includes papers contributed by graduate students.

It serves as a setting for exchange and information dissemination for both Japanese and international researchers, as a research hub for children’s literature and culture. It provides support to research projects by the center’s researchers, publishes collected papers and book series, and invites researchers to give lectures on children’s literature and culture twice a year. In addition, the three book collections owned by the center (the Hiroyuki Tomita Collection, Kanehira Collection, and Natsuya Mitsuyoshi Collection) are considered by researchers to be quite valuable, and are also used for writing doctoral dissertations.

The purpose of the Research Center for Language and Literature is to contribute to the advancement of research by promoting the mutual research and study of faculty members and graduate students in the field of Japanese language/literature, French language/literature, and English language/literature. It promotes research on language and literature by publishing collected research papers, organizing lectures and various symposiums, managing research projects, collecting research materials, and more. It also publishes the “Aurion Collection,” which is based on the omnibus courses in the graduate school. The center plays a central role as a valuable setting for collaborative research among these three specialties.

The Christian Culture Center conducts research into how Christianity relates to thought, culture, art, education, and other topics, and engages in a wide variety of activities to disseminate its findings both inside and outside of the university. The center publishes the bulletin “Chronica” twice a year, and compiles the results of the year’s research in an annual publication, the “Shirayuri University Christian Culture Research Review,” at the end of the year. In addition, the center organizes symposiums and publishes books on its research projects in coordination with researchers both inside and outside of the university. It also invites outside researchers once a year to host lectures primarily for students. The center’s chapel concert, which is held in the spring and winter, sees many audience members from outside of the school as well.