Talk:Morita therapy

It would be nice to have information on what this kinda of therapy is used to treat, and if anyone is still using it as a treatment. BGFMSM 15:09, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

The treatment was developed by Shomo Morita to treat the kind of person the Japanese call "shinkeishitsu"--sensitive, shy to the point of social paralysis, obsessive, self-conscious, and lacking in confidence. Morita correctly pointed out that this type of personality is not all negative. The "shinkeishitsu" person is uniquely fitted for high accomplishment, if he channels his perfectionism, stubbornness and obsessiveness in a healthy direction. The American anthropologist, David K. Reynolds, established the ToDo Institute in California, and Morita's theories are practiced there. Reynolds has written many successful books which detail Morita therapy, especially *Constructive Living* and *Water Bears No Scars*.

Although Morita therapy is not specifically feeling-based, Morita (and in modern times Reynolds) pointed out that when the "patient" is absorbed in worthwhile projects that are important to him, happier feelings of confidence and strength tend to follow. Younggoldchip (talk) 21:13, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

Similarity to Western therapies
I think it would be interesting to mention how Morita Therapy shares some features with Gestalt therapy (though I'm more REBT so my knowledge of Gestalt is not the best) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Psychologynerd (talk • contribs) 04:05, 30 March 2007 (UTC).

Wikifying/Encyclopedicness
While I do have a great deal of respect for this therapy school, and wish it were better known, I do think the article has to be careful to be encyclopedic. 'How it Works' may not be an appropriate heading, and some of the content in the 'Introduction to...' appears to be an exercise in the therapy itself from the point of view of a practitioner or fan, rather than a description. Something to be reviewed thoroughly. I'm off back to work ;) Stevebritgimp (talk) 14:32, 5 January 2008 (UTC)

In fact some of it looks like a straight cut and paste job. Now I really am going back to work. Stevebritgimp (talk) 14:36, 5 January 2008 (UTC)

General Tone
I too, share a great respect for this therapy method, but feel this article leaves the reader wanting. It almost sounds like an advertisement at points, the grammar is simplistic to the point of being abstract, and it seems over-laudatory —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.254.165.162 (talk) 19:50, 12 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Have improved references, and (I hope) done something with the tone; but article still needs more doing, so have left one tag of three....Jacobisq (talk) 10:57, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

Edits to the "The four areas of treatment" section
I am a paid editor, but the edits I made to this page are NOT part of my paid edits. I am editing articles articles that need work in an effort to better hone my skills at Wikipedia editing. Benrojek (talk) 19:45, 12 December 2017 (UTC)

Better Sources, Better Information, Better Distinctions
I think we need to be more careful to include sources (or add important details to accompany sources) that do not necessarily represent Morita Therapy.

Poor Sourcing Examples:

Example 1: The 1st source is to a website called "The Morita School of Japanese Psychology" which was created by James Hill. James Hill very clearly is an ACT therapist as mentioned multiple times in his videos, and he does not credit Morita during any of his videos which supposedly explain "The Morita School of Japanese Psychology." He has not written any peer reviewed publications regarding Morita Therapy either. The information on the website was collected from other, more credible, sources and those should be the sources used, not this website.

Example 2: The 2nd source is a amateur translation of a paper created off a translation of the original texts. It also lacks any proper sources at the end of the paper in regards to Morita Therapy. While many of the actual ideas represented in the material are sound enough, the start of the problem is that the author utilized a translated source which is not their native language, then created the paper in question. The problem was exacerbated when it was then translated from that language back into English by an amateur translator who's native language is not English. In reading it, the ideas come across, but would not pass a peer review - you can see many errors in the translation, and thus much of the strength of the ideas is lacking in specificity, accuracy, and quality, and therefore should not be used as direct sources of "what Morita is" in regards to this Wiki article.

Example 3: The 13th and 15th sources on MTM from chapter 26 of The Oxford Handbook of Group Counseling edited by Robert K. Conyne. MTM (Morita Therapy Methods) is not a "thing", it is not mentioned by any other practitioners of Morita Therapy, nor is it written by someone with extensive knowledge or use of Morita therapy. Robert K. Conyne has not written any publications regarding Morita Therapy, he merely mentions it in passing on a page in a chapter dedicated to International Group Counseling.

Proposed Sources:

Information should be drawn from Morita's own publications. From his primary successor Takehisa Kora, or Kora's primary successor Akihisa Kondo, or Kondo's primary successor Peg LeVine -currently the only western practitioner of Classic Morita Therapy. Dr. Fujita, Chihiro and Dr. Brian Ogawa should be used as well. Information should also come from reputable sources such as the JSMT (Japanese Society for Morita Therapy), an operating division of the JSMT - the ICMT (International Committee for Morita Therapy) and other such institutions and groups.

The sources I mention above are already somewhat used, but should be more heavily used, and there are missing sources that should be added such as Dr. Fujita, Chihiro (1986) which is mentioned in the 'further reading' section but not a direct source is a perfect example of a place to draw explanations that could replace much of the above poor sources. The same can be said for many of the 'further reading' text by Dr. Peg LeVine.

All areas with poorer sources should be rewritten to include higher quality sources.

Distinctions to be made:

We should also distinguish between Classic Morita Therapy, Morita therapy, and Morita based therapy. There is no need for a Western section, but rather a 'Classic' section, a 'Modern' section, and maybe a 'Based on' section.

Influences:

I think there should be more connections made to the influences MT had on current therapies as well, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectal Behavior Therapy (DBT), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Mindfulness-Based, Stress Reduction (MBSR), etc.  TokyoJimbo (talk) 04:28, 29 March 2023 (UTC)