Morita Therapy

Morita therapy was developed by Shoma Morita (1874-1938) with the goal of having the patient accept life as it is, emphasizing letting nature take its course and treating felt emotions as part of the laws of nature. It was originally developed to address shinkeishitsu, an outdated Japanese term for patients experiencing various types of anxiety, and was designed not to completely rid the patient of shinkeishitsu but to lessen its damaging effects. Morita therapy has been described as cognate to Albert Ellis's rational-emotive therapy and shares commonalities with existential and cognitive behavioral therapy, and substantial overlap with acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in stressing acceptance of what cannot be changed and the healing power of acting, though ACT carries a grander vision of self-expression while Morita therapy holds the more modest ideal of finding harmony.