Attempt to model the Dohsa-hou experience: Using data from a single Dohsa-hou session with students

Abstract

In the Dohsa-hou theory, the mechanism of therapeutic effectiveness is defined by “the mode of striving” and “experience of the Dohsa”. Quantifying the experience for two fundamental Dohsa-tasks, the author attempted to demonstrate the experience of the Dohsa-hou. Factor analysis extracted three factors related to the dohsa-experiencing and four factors related to the accompanied-experiencing, which were defined as “the Dohsa-hou experience scale”. Furthermore, by covariance structure analysis, the author attempted to model the seven factors in a scale. The results revealed that clients started by accepting dohsa assistance, and then experienced a proactive sense of action and turned their own attention to their own mode of activity. Subsequently, they became aware of their own existence, which led to experiencing controllable self dohsa. Finally, the path of the model reached “experiencing bodily relaxation” via “experiencing mental relaxation”, but not in the reverse order. This means that the Dohsa-hou session deals with the mental state in addition to the physical state. This model helps us to understand the mechanisms of the Dohsa-hou.