A PSYCHOTHERAPY OF NEUROSIS: MORITA THERAPY

Abstract

Thc Morita Thcrapy is a uniquc psychotherapy which was originated and developed in Japan.Dr. Shoma Morita (1874-1938), Professor of Neuro-psychiatry at Tokyo Jikeikai School of Medicine, as a result of his 20 years of effort towards effective medical treatment of neurasthenia, arrived at this form of therapy.Around 1919 he founded this theory on his experience of a successful "Conducting therapy in home setting" which was tried at his home on a few neurotic people.!) Among refercnces which, employed critically, became part of the background of this thcrapy, are the work therapy applied to psychotic patients, the fattening therapy ofW.Mitchel of Philadelphia, the regulated living method ofL.Binswanger and the persuasive therapy ofP.Dubois.During 10 years preceding his therapy, Morita had made expcriments with interest on a hypnosis.In the end he had become doubtful about this hypnotic method and, discarding it, began his new therapy.It must be emphasized here that the psychoanalytical therapy was well criticized in its carly stage of development and incorporated into his novel therapy.Shuzo Kure, a teacher of S. Morita's and pioneer ofJapanese psychiatry, introduced and popularized the scholastic system of Kraepelin in Japan.He also recognizcd the therapeutic value of the scientific psychotherapy which was prevailing in Europe at that time.He presented the theme of psychotherapy to Morita who was motivated to study this field.(Since his 16th year of age Morita had suffered from neurasthenia, with palpitation, heavy feeling in his head and the like, but he was not cured by any kind of internal treatment.This may be also one reason why he took an interest in psychotherapy.)Morita had studied the German orthodox biological methods founded by Kraepelin, so it was natural that he should have opposed Freud's theory.But the so-called neurasthenia was classified, at that time, in the field of somatology which is concerned with etiology as well as treatment, so that not only the psychoanalysis introduced by Freud but also the psychogenic theory on nervous disease introduced by Morita, on which the psychotherapy was based, were out of the main current of psychiatry for a long time.Mitsuzo Shimoda, former Professor of Psychiatry at Kyushu Univcrsity, however, was one of the few who supported this therapy.The therapy was succcssfully applied and further developed by Morita' s disciples, Gen-yu