Morita therapy (MT) has been re-evaluated and has attracted much attention internationally to date. However, it is not known what kinds of experiences inpatients with mood disorders undergo during the process of recovery through MT. The purpose of this study was therefore to empirically clarify what subjective experiences influence the recovery from depression when it is treated with MT. Patients with mood disorders who were admitted to the Jikei University Center for Morita Therapy were included. Successive assessments of depression were performed using rating scales. Semi-structured interviews were conducted at the time of discharge regarding factors contributing to improvement, and were analyzed using qualitative data analysis methods to identify factors contributing to the recovery from depression among inpatients treated with MT. There were 24 subjects, 19 of whom completed treatment. The completers had significantly lower severity of depression severity upon discharge. Remarkably, qualitative analysis revealed that nine categories of experiences contributed to recovery from depression. In particular, experiences of "isolation bed-resting of MT", "getting stuck in doing things one's way", "identifying maladaptive behavior patterns", "modifying maladaptive behavior patterns", "restoring self-evaluation", and "change in negative emotions" were considered as the key experiences for recovery.
Keywords: Morita therapy; inpatient; mood disorders; recovery process; subjective experiences.