Junko Umihara believes that self-expression is the key to a sound mind, but that's not an unusual opinion among doctors treating patients for stress and other mental problems.

What sets the 50-year-old apart from many others in her profession, however, is that she practices what she preaches.

When not seeing patients at her clinic in the Roppongi district of Tokyo, Umihara takes to the stage to sing her own style of "chanson," French story-telling ballads.