Yukari Makino, Ph.D
(she/ her/her)
About Me
Yukari Makino, Ph.D., SEP
Clinical Psychologist in Japan #07628
EMDR training through the Japan EMDR Association (Part 1 in 2008 and Part 2 in 2009)
EMDR Therapist Certified by the Japan EMDR Association
Certified Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner
（Training: 2009-2011: SEP 2011)
I am a Somatic Psychotherapist | Trauma and Complex PTSD Specialist.
I began my clinical work in Japan in 1996 and hold a Ph.D. in Human Sciences (Psychology). With 30 years of clinical experience, I specialize in trauma and complex post-traumatic stress disorder (complex PTSD), including developmental and relational trauma, dissociation, and attachment difficulties. After more than two decades of practice in Tokyo, I relocated to Los Angeles in 2018. I now offer psychotherapy in Japanese and English in Hermosa Beach, California.
My approach integrates Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) with Somatic Experiencing® (SE) and mindful somatic psychotherapy. I attend to distressing memories and beliefs alongside bodily sensations, emotions, imagery, movement, and relational experience. My work emphasizes thoughtful preparation, supportive resources, and a pace that respects each person’s readiness, particularly when working with dissociation or emotional overwhelm.
My somatic practice brings together Japanese traditions of bodily awareness and contemporary Western psychotherapy. My training in somatic approaches began with Dohsa-hou, a Japanese body–mind psychotherapy developed by Gosaku Naruse, and expanded through Somatic Experiencing® and further training with Kathy Kain, Hiroyoshi Tahata, and Aline LaPierre.
Where appropriate, I incorporate therapeutic touch, mindful movement, and sensory exploration. Touch is guided by explicit and ongoing consent, with close attention to comfort, boundaries, and personal choice. Sessions may also include sound and vibration, including crystal singing bowls, as opportunities for mindful attention to bodily experience.
I also offer preparation and integration support for psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, grounded in mindful somatic work and my background in trauma and complex PTSD. Preparation explores intentions, supportive resources, and bodily and emotional responses. Integration offers space to understand the sensations, emotions, images, and meanings arising from an experience and to connect them with relationships and everyday life. I support this deeper inner journey with particular care for dissociation, overwhelming experiences, and the emergence of traumatic material.
Psychedelic facilitation, where offered, is provided separately from psychotherapy under the applicable state regulations.
Having practiced in Japan and the United States, I bring a cross-cultural perspective to the ways family relationships, cultural expectations, and collective experiences shape our connection with our bodies, emotions, and needs.
My approach is compassionate, collaborative, and attentive to each person’s history and pace of healing. I welcome curiosity, imagination, and playful exploration as we work toward a deeper connection with yourself, clearer boundaries, and greater freedom to make meaningful choices.
Languages: Japanese and English
Location: Hermosa Beach, California
Education & Experience
Academic Education
2004
Ph.D. in Human Sciences (Psychology)
University of the Sacred Heart, Tokyo, Japan
2019–March 2022
Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology with an Emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy
Pepperdine University, Graduate School of Education and Psychology, California
Professional Credentials
Clinical Psychologist in Japan — Certification No. 07628
EMDR Therapist Certified by the Japan EMDR Association
Certified Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (SEP) — certification obtained in 2011
Certified Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST) Therapist — training with Janina Fisher, Ph.D., 2024–2025
IPI Certified Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Provider — Integrative Psychiatry Institute, 2026
Licensed Psilocybin Facilitator — Oregon
Licensed Natural Medicine Facilitator — Colorado
Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist — California, AMFT #134058; registered July 2022
Registered Associate Professional Clinical Counselor — California, APCC #12036; registered July 2022
California practice: Rachel Cole Office
Supervised by Rachel Cole, LCSW #24313
Clinical and Academic Experience
2022–present
Associate Psychotherapist, Rachel Cole Office, California
Clinical practice under the supervision of Rachel Cole, LCSW #24313.
2021
Clinical internships at Serenity Trauma Healing Center, Low Cost Community Counseling Center, and Southern California Counseling Center.
2012–2018
Associate Professor, Yokohama Soei University, Japan.
2009–present
Founder and Director, Makino Psychotherapy Lab. / Somatic Approach Japan.
2000–2018
Clinical Psychologist, Watanabe Mental Clinic, Tokyo, Japan.
1997–1999
Child, parent, and family therapy, Minato City Educational Research and Training Center, Tokyo, Japan.
1996–2003
Group Psychotherapy Facilitator, Kokoro / Mind & Body Clinical Center, Japan.
> EMDR, Trauma, and Dissociation Training
EMDR training through the Japan EMDR Association: Part 1 in 2008 and Part 2 in 2009.
Flash Technique and Advanced Flash Technique training, 2020.
EMDR Child Specialist Intensive Certificate Program with Ana Gomez, 2022.
Advanced Training in Complex Trauma and Dissociation with Janina Fisher, Ph.D., 2020–2021.
Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST) with Janina Fisher, Ph.D.: integrative parts work for dissociation and complex PTSD, 2024–2025.
Comprehensive Resource Model® (CRM), beginning in 2020: Basic Training, Obstacle Questions, Working with Paradox, Case Conceptualization and Treatment of DID and DDNOS, and Core Self.
Trauma Research Foundation’s Certificate Program in Traumatic Stress Studies, beginning in 2020.
Somatic and Body-Oriented Psychotherapy Training
Dohsa-hou, a Japanese body–mind psychotherapy developed by Gosaku Naruse, 2009 onward.
Somatic Experiencing® professional training, 2009–2011; SEP certification, 2011.
Brainspotting, Phases 1 and 2, 2014.
Touch Skills Training for Trauma Therapists with Kathy Kain, 2015.
NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM) Practitioner, 2017.
SEE FAR CBT, 2017.
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Level 2, 2020–2021.
Further somatic and touch training with Hiroyoshi Tahata.
NeuroAffectiveTouch training with Aline LaPierre.
Foundational and Complementary Training
Jungian psychotherapy training, Sanno Institute of Psychology, 1993–2001.
Art therapy, including Hakoniwa (sandplay therapy).
Rorschach assessment training in the psychodynamically oriented Kataguchi system, 1996; continuing study group participation, 2000–2018.
Psychoanalytic psychotherapy training, Kitayama Psychoanalytic Institute, 2000–2007.
Mindfulness study and practice, 1996 onward.
Holography Talk Therapist, 2011.
Trauma Approach Yoga Teacher, 2012.
Restorative Yoga Teacher, 2013.
Trance Camp and Generative Trance training with Stephen Gilligan, 2013 onward.
Positive Psychology Trainer training with Daniela Blickhan, 2014.
Dancing Mindfulness Facilitator, 2019.
Professional & Volunteer Affiliations
> Professional Activities and Contributions
Somatic Approach Japan — Professional Training and Education
I am the Founder and Director of Makino Psychotherapy Lab. / Somatic Approach Japan. Since 2021, I have been developing and providing somatic psychotherapy training in Japan for physicians, clinical psychologists, and other mental health professionals.
My teaching supports clinicians in integrating mindful somatic approaches into their clinical practice, with particular attention to bodily experience, trauma, dissociation, therapeutic pacing, and the cultural and relational contexts of healing.
I also offer Somatic–EMDR training for Japanese EMDR therapists, focusing on the integration of somatic approaches with EMDR in clinical practice.
> Conference Presentations
I present annually at symposia at the Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology (JSPN). My presentations address complex PTSD, dissociation, somatic psychotherapy, and the sociocultural dimensions of trauma and adaptation.
>> Selected symposium presentations include:
2026 — 122nd Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology
“The Paradox of Culture and Dissociation: A Socio-Cultural Adaptive Dissociation (SCAD) Perspective.”
2025 — 121st Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology
“Somatic Approaches to Dissociation.”
2022 — 118th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology
“Body-Oriented Psychotherapy for Complex PTSD.”
>> Somatic Experiencing® Training and Education
Organizer of the Somatic Experiencing® professional training in Kobe, Japan, 2012–2015.
Additional experience as a Somatic Experiencing® training assistant and presenter of one-hour introductory SE presentations.
>> Somatic Resilience and Regulation
Training assistant for Kathy Kain’s Somatic Resilience and Regulation training, 2022 onward.
>> Volunteer and Disaster Response Activities
1995 — Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake
Provided volunteer psychological support through the Japanese Society of Certified Clinical Psychologists.
2011 — Great East Japan Earthquake
Provided free counseling to people affected by the disaster in Soma, Fukushima, through the Japan Society of Psychosomatic Medicine.
Specialty Area
- ADHD/Neurodiversity
- Abuse/Neglect
- Anger Management
- Anxiety/Panic Attacks
- Depression
- Family Issues
- Gender Identity
- Grief/Loss/Mourning
- Marriage/Relationship Issues
- Mood Disorders
- Moral Injury
- Motor Vehicle Accidents
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders
- Performance Enhancement
- Phobias
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Race, Culture, Ethnicity Issues
- Sexual Abuse
- Sleep Disorders
- Somatic Issues
- Spirituality
- Stress Management
- Survivor's Guilt
- Traumatic Incident
Population Served
- Adults
- Community Mental Health Center
- Correctional Facility
- Couples
- Expats
- Families
- First Responders
- Group
- Immigrants
- Juvenile Correctional Facility
- LGBTQ+
- Seniors
- Underserved
- Veterans/Military
Language
- English
- Japanese
