Self-restraint in Naikan Therapy-Its Function as Psychotherapeutic Canalization and Therapist-patient relationship definition

Abstract

  In Naikan Therapy, there is a kind of self-restraint in the setting like the self-restraint rule of psychoanalysis or "Fumon" technique of Morita Therapy. The restraint rule in Naikan Therapy is composed of the limitations on the patient's freedom of action, speaking, and the permissible style for introspection. As in psychoanalysis and Morita Therapy, the restraint rule in Naikan Therapy has therapeutic functions as follows: (1) the function of channeling a patient's energy into psychotherapeutic work to resolve his/her defense mechanisms; (2) the function to evoke frustration and maintain a patient's motivation toward psychotherapeutic work; (3) the function to encourage healthy ego function to build up the therapeutic alliance; (4) the function to define the therapist-patient relationship.