Shigeru Iwakabe, PhD, Director of AEDP Research, Co-Chair of AEDP Research Committee

Shigeru Iwakabe, Ph.D., is a professor of Clinical Psychology at Ritsumeikan University in Osaka, Japan. He received his PhD at McGill University in Montreal, Canada in 2001. Shigeru conducts psychotherapy research on client emotional processes from an integrative perspective with a particular interest in the transformational phenomena in AEDP.

Shigeru is a natural fit with AEDP both as a researcher and a clinician.  Since becoming more deeply involved with AEDP in 2011, Shigeru has undertaken several research projects studying the affective emotional processes in AEDP with his colleague, Nuno Conceicao from Portugal. His research interests include: training and professional development in psychotherapy, case study research methods, psychotherapy integration, and cultural and social issues related to the practice of psychotherapy. His many publications include:

  • Iwakabe, S., Edlin, J., Fosha, D., Thoma, N. C., Gretton, H., Joseph, A. J., & Nakamura, K. (2022). The long-term outcome of accelerated experiential dynamic psychotherapy: 6- and 12-month follow-up results. Psychotherapy, 59(3), 431–446. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000441
  • Notsu, H., Iwakabe, S., & Thoma, N. (2022). Enhancing Working Alliance Through Positive Emotional Experience: A Cross-Lag Analysis. Psychotherapy Research. Advance online publication. 
  • Nakamura, K., Iwakabe, S., & Heim, N. (2022). Connecting in-session corrective emotional experiences with postsession therapeutic changes: A systematic case study. Psychotherapy, 59(1), 63–73. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000369
  • Iwakabe, S., Edlin, J., & Thoma, N. (2021). A phenomenological case study of accelerated experiential dynamic psychotherapy: The experience of change in the initial session from a client perspective. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/int0000261
  • Iwakabe, S. (2021). Working with social withdrawal, or hikikomori, in Japan: From shame to pride. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 77(5), 1205–1218. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.23151
  • Iwakabe, S., & Conceicao, N. (2016). Metatherapeutic processing as a change-based therapeutic immediacy task: Building an initial process model using a task-analytic research strategy. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 26(3), 230–247. https://doi.org/10.1037/int0000016

Shigeru also practices in the university clinic and a private practice and is interested in cultural issues associated with practicing AEDP in Japan. He has completed Level 2 AEDP training.