An Exploratory Study on the Understanding and Practice of the Naikan Interview by Experienced Naikan Therapists: Developing a Naikan Training Program

Abstract

  In response to the establishment of a Naikan Therapy certification system, this research was conducted to systematize the knowledge and skills which should be included in educational programs for Naikan therapists. The purpose of this study was to clarify how the first generation of Naikan therapists understood and dealt with the difficulties that the second generation of therapists reported as novice practitioners （Takahashi & Lee, 2020）. An interview survey was conducted with 4 Naikan therapists, each of whom had been practicing for more than 20 years. As a result of the KJ Analysis, the following 8 categories were generated: 1） the ideal therapist; 2） the frame of Naikan; 3） Naikan responses; 4） therapist’s conflict; 5） therapist’s learning; 6） the existence of the Association of Naikan Training Institutes; 7） the training of young therapists; 8） the crisis of Naikan Therapy. Based on these categories, the following topics are discussed: making sense of the Naikan framework; responses during Naikan Therapy; the basics of interviewing; conflicts between Naikan clients and therapists—what therapists should be aware of; the need for therapists to train young Naikan therapists; and, related to this last point, a review of function of the Association of Naikan Training Institutes.