Consideration of the Mutual Transformation Process between the Patient and Observer during Intensive Naikan: From the Perspective of ‘Kotodama’ and ‘Otodama’

Abstract

  As is well known, Naikan Therapy requires one to sit quietly in an extraordinary space before a folding screen and to face oneself. As a result, various voices and sounds can emerge. These productions are born out of silence, and can be called ‘otodama’（the spirit of sound）, which is as essential to human existence as words and ‘kotodama’（the spirit of language）. In this case, an attendee who developed a headache due to countertransference while attending a Naikan interview tried to alleviate it by adding sounds to lyrics that spontaneously emerged from within himself. On doing so, the headache went away. We decided to report this case and to add our thoughts on it from the perspective of Music Therapy.