Classic Morita Therapy

Shoma (Masatake) Morita, M.D. (1874-1938) was a Japanese psychiatrist-professor who developed a unique four stage therapy process. He challenged psychoanalysts who sanctioned an unconscious or unconsciousness (collective or otherwise) that resides inside the mind. Significantly, he advanced a phenomenal connection between existentialism, Zen, Nature and the therapeutic role of serendipity. Morita is a forerunner of eco-psychology and he equalised the strength between human-to-human attachment and human-to-Nature bonds. This book chronicles Morita’s theory of "peripheral consciousness", his paradoxical method, his design of a natural therapeutic setting, and his progressive-four stage therapy. It explores how this therapy can be beneficial for clients outside of Japan using, for the first time, non-Japanese case studies. The author’s personal material about training in Japan and subsequent practice of Morita’s ecological and phenomenological therapy in Australia and the United States enhance this book. LeVine’s coining of "cruelty-based trauma" generates a rich discussion on the need for therapy inclusive of ecological settings. As a medical anthropologist, clinical psychologist and genocide scholar, LeVine shows how the four progressive stages are essential to the classic method and the key importance of the first "rest" stage in outcomes for clients who have been embossed by trauma. Since cognitive science took hold in the 1970s, complex consciousness theories have lost footing in psychology and medical science. This book reinstates "consciousness" as the dynamic core of Morita therapy. The case material illustrates the use of Morita therapy for clients struggling with the aftermath of trauma and how to live creatively and responsively inside the uncertainty of existence. The never before published archival biographic notes and photos of psychoanalyst Karen Horney, Fritz Perls, Eric Fromm and other renowned scholars who took an interest in Morita in the 1950s and 60s provide a dense historical backdrop.

Desire for Life: The Practitioner’s Introduction to Morita Therapy for the Treatment of Anxiety Disorders summarizes key therapeutic goals and methods for applying Morita Therapy to counseling persons experiencing severe anxiety-related disorders, including general anxiety, panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive behaviors, phobias, posttraumatic stress, and hypochondria. This book is a concise and authoritative guide for those who want to incorporate Morita Therapy into their professional practice or teaching of Eastern counseling approaches. The hallmarks of Morita Therapy are holistic well-being, contextual healing, and integrative intervention. This book presents these elements to benefit practitioners and instructors in psychology, counseling, social work, education, human services, medicine, and allied health.

This book presents the progressive nature of Morita therapy across four distinct stages: an isolation rest stage, a light monotonous work stage, a labor-intensive work stage, and the social integration stage. Essentially, the experiential knowledge the clients gain by moving through the inpatient treatment becomes the therapy. Though the classical therapy was initially designed to treat anxiety-based disorders, it is presently used in Japan, China, and Australia for depression, personality disorders, eating disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Morita therapy fosters akiraka ni mikiwameru-koto in the client (clear discernment), and a healthy mind/body. Throughout the book, Morita reflects on the theories of his contemporaries such as Sigmund Freud, William James, Mario Montessori, and Jean Charcot.

This book is the first to discuss experiences of the Morita and Naikan ways of life in the Western World. Although Morita and Naikan are therapies--perspectives on neurotic habits and their correction--the vision is educational rather than medical. The approach offers a way of acknowledging feelings while engaging in constructive living. With roots in Zen, the principles of this constructive living were formulated over 80 years ago by Shoma Morita, a Japanese psychiatrist. Like Zen, these principles are thoroughly grounded in the reality of the here and now. Morita's methods are aimed at the person who suffers from anxiety, shyness, phobias, and obsessions that often manifest in physical symptoms such as headaches, insomnia, stomach disorders, and heart palpitations. However the techniques are available and beneficial to people at widely different stages of self-development, not just to those whose lives are plagued by neurotic suffering. Reynolds offers a look at the adaptations necessary to transform and transport these Japanese methods into techniques useful to Westerners. Cultural-psychological insights are presented by the author who is both an anthropologist and clinician. Flowing Bridges offers a unique case study of directed change of a psychotherapeutic system. What is Eastern, what is Western, and what is commonly human becomes more clear from this example of importation of Japanese ideas into the West. For psychotherapists, there are extensive accounts of hands-on treatment methods. For those interested in adding these very effective techniques, the first-person accounts of a variety of contributors will be helpful.

The book presents three Japanese psychotherapeutic approaches, Morita, Naikan, and Dohsa-hou, in the chronological order of their development, giving a thorough account of both their underlying concepts and practical applications. In addition to describing their idiosyncrasies, a major focus of the book is also to elucidate as to how the deeply imprinted cultural specificities of these approaches, emanating from their common cultural ground, converge to two focal points—silence and body-mind interconnectedness—that vest the approaches with their therapeutic power. In so doing, the book gives an insight into the intrinsic dynamics of the methods and emphasizes on their potential for universal applicability notwithstanding their indisputable cultural peculiarities. This self-contained and well-structured book fills the gap in the yet scarce English-language literature on Japanese psychotherapies.

This book is the English Edition of Mari Iwata’s original Japanese language book, MORITA SHOMA GA KATARU MORITA RYOHO. To constrain Morita Therapy to a mingling of Dr. Shoma Morita’s ideas from basic texts distorts its essence. Proficiency is through studying Dr. Morita himself, as he authenticated his therapeutic design. Hence, the intention of this book is not to specifically render Dr. Morita’s biography but elucidate the inextricable bond between therapist and therapy. Respect for the character and brilliance of Morita Therapy’s originator lends toward preserving the therapy’s integrity and conveying its significance.

Here, in plain language, is the definitive guide for taking control of your life and imbuing it with greater meaning and productivity. Constructive Living is an action-based way of looking at the world that combines good, old-fashioned straight talk and the celebrated Japanese psychotherapies Morita and Naikan. David Reynolds, the father of this brilliantly simple and effective therapy, shows us how to live thoughtfully and economically, to regard our actions as if they were divine rituals, and to perform them with the utmost care. He contends that contentment is achieved, not bestowed--attaining peace and satisfaction takes daily practice and learning. With user-friendly anecdotes, practical exercises, and a sense of humor, he refreshes the experienced student and takes the novice to the beginning, laying out the essence of Constructive Living.

Divorce, separation, and couple breakups are on the rise in the United States of America, with about 48 percent of couples breaking up within nine years of starting a committed relationship. Only a minority of distressed couples ever seek couple counseling—and those that stay together do not necessarily enjoy healthy relationships. Just as sadly, marriage counselors divorce at or about the national average. The Need Management Therapy model asserts that positive change is possible and even likely. The authors offer a treatment package both for the professional in practice and a self-help guide for the non-professional. We have successfully treated hundreds of couple-clients using the NMT model. We are now conducting a randomized pretest posttest two group design investigating several crucial NMT hypothesis (pending). Preliminary data suggest that significant and meaningful change may be achieved in just a few sessions. When the NMT model is applied, couples report not fighting as much—and sometimes, fighting stops altogether. Communication improves dramatically. If you’re passionate about making your relationship work, you’ll find a new science of love, intimacy, and relationships in Need Management Therapy.