Professor Taku is the newest addition to the Psychology Department at Oakland University.  Dr. Taku received her Bachelor of Education from Kobe University and then pursued her Master of Education from Chiba University. Continuing her education, Dr. Taku obtained her Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology from Nagoya University. In 2000, Dr. Taku became an official clinical psychologist authorized by the Japanese Ministry of Education and worked at various hospitals throughout Japan.  Dr. Taku’s areas of research has included the areas of clinical, health, developmental, personality, social, and cross-cultural psychology. Dr. Taku’s main area of interest is qualitative and quantitative research on how people change psychologically, cognitively, socially, and spiritually after trauma or stressful life events.

Dr. Taku became interested in this area, after she had experienced a traumatic event in her life, an earthquake in her home country.  Dr. Taku’s interest lays in positive growth possibilities following a traumatic event, instead of the traditional-psychology focus of the negative aspects of traumatic events; post-traumatic stress disorder.  During her positive growth research, Dr. Taku discovered a key word, post-traumatic growth or PTG, that was being researched at the University of North Carolina.  This prompted Dr. Taku to move to Charlotte, North Carolina to do collaborative post-doctoral research at UNC for the next three years.

Last spring, Dr. Taku interviewed with the Oakland University’s Psychology Department to become a member of the faculty. Oakland University appealed to Dr. Taku because of the department’s dedication to undergraduate research and their focus on Health and Positive Psychology, which compliments her research area.  Dr. Taku plans on to continue her research, the construct of post-traumatic growth and the positive psychological changes experienced as the result of the struggle with major life crises or traumatic events. She would also like to examine how the socio-cultural norms may influence an individual’s willingness to talk about growth or trauma.

On a personal note, Dr. Taku was born in Yokohama, Japan, but moved soon after to Nara, Japan, where she spent the majority of her childhood. As a young person, Dr. Taku moved frequently throughout Japan and developed the love of travel, never staying in one place for very long.  Dr. Taku has traveled extensively to 20 countries, including Morocco, where she forayed into the desert with only tent accommodations.

When asked about her hobbies, Dr. Taku explained she is an avid baseball fan, with no particular team favorite.  She just loves to watch baseball and hopes to attend a game or two in Detroit. In addition, Dr. Taku is a music lover and often likes to “conduct” orchestras in the privacy of her home or office.  She jokingly says she likes to think of herself as a great conductor.

This fall, Dr. Taku is teaching PSY 251: Statistics and Research Design and PSY 445: Seminar in Individual Differences and Personality Psychology.  For the winter term, Dr. Taku will offer, PSY 251: Statistics and Research Design and PSY 245: Introduction to Individual Differences and Personality Psychology. For more information on her research, please visit http://sites.google.com/a/oakland.edu/taku/.