Morita therapy

n. A Japanese approach to psychotherapy which focuses on mindfulness and moving from a focus on controlling emotion or symptoms to focusing on purposive action. In traditional Morita therapy, clients are first completely isolated and made to stay in bed, simply being mindful of what occurs without reading or other activity or distraction for about a week. In the next 4 to 7 days he or she is allowed up part of the time and allowed to perform light work in isolation while remaining mindful of what he/she is doing in each moment and keeping a journal of his/her experiences which he/she shares with a therapist and discusses in interviews which occur about every other day. This is followed by a period of 1 or 2 months in which he/she engages in more complex solitary work and then works with others while trying to maintain mindfulness of his/her actions and the needs of the situation. The final period of 1 to 4 weeks is occupied with commuting from the hospital to work and trying to integrate mindfulness and a focus on useful action into daily life while simply accepting anxiety and other emotions that arise in the course of living.