Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the actual condition in which people experiencing difficulties in daily life due to mental health issues, but who are managing relatively well in community life, create a place to belong (ibasho) and subsequently gain self-motivation from this, and to clarify the factors to achieve this. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 7 study participants, and descriptive data derived from the interviews were analyzed qualitatively and inductively. The results from some typical responses revealed that the respondents recognized their home, workplace, social rehabilitation facilities and hospitals, and places for community activities as the places where they belonged. In addition, they perceived such places as those where they could "maintain their own pace" and "be respected by others and express themselves", and furthermore, they found self-motivation in that they could "express themselves" and "play a social role". The factors extracted for building such self-awareness were "acceptance of their mental health issues", "building relationships with others to feel no sense of alienation" and "having hope for the future". It was suggested that they could cognize their place to belong and subsequent self-motivation in an integrated form only after they perceived the "times" and "places" that constitute "the very place they want to be".
