Morita therapy is a Japanese therapeutic intervention created by Dr. Shoma Morita, a professor emeritus at Jikei University School of Medicine, around 1920. It is a reality based, purpose and action oriented therapeutic modality, incorporating some of  the psychological principles of Zen Buddhism. Morita therapy was initially designed to treat neurotic symptoms called "shinkeishitsu" in Japanese, which can be roughly translated as nervous dispositions. Today Morita's concept of "Shinkeishitsu" would match most closely with various anxiety disorders and some somatoform disorders (e.g., Hypochondraiasis).  As can be seen from basic concepts provided by Dr. Reynolds, the goal of Morita therapy is not to eliminate unpleasant thoughts and feelings like anxiety, fears, shyness, and so forth, but to accept such thoughts and feelings as they are (Arugamama) and go about doing what needs to be done in that particular moment and situation. For example, if you are anxious about your final exams and cannot concentrate on your study, Moritist would interpret it as these difficulties are stemming from your desire to succeed, reflecting your "Seinoyokubou" (desire to live fully or self-actualizing tendencies), which is part of who we are as human beings. Such Unpleasant feelings are seen as the natural consequence of a particular person in a particular situation and rather than trying to get rid of them (which would make you focus more on your symptoms, thus you will be caught in a vicious circle, exacerbating your symptoms), Moritists facilitate them to learn to accept these feelings as they are (I am anxious) but ground your behavior in reality, that is thinking about what you can do in that particular moment. In this case, just keep studying! (regardless of how you feel). It is based on the premise that we cannot control our feelings but we can control our behavior and that if we stop struggling with the reality of our experience and focus on the things that can be done in that particular moment, we will be able to make positive changes and live constructive lives regardless of our symptoms. In sum, Morita therapy helps clients accept their emotions, maintain fluid awareness and helps clients shift from mood-governed to action-based and purpose-oriented lifestyles so that they can live a constructive life.

There are four stages in original Morita therapy:

1st stage: Absolute Bed Rest  (lasts about 1 week)
The patients are isolated in a private room and are not allowed to talk to anyone or get up from their bed except for dinning, washing, or going to a rest room. The purpose of this stage are two-fold. 1. Have patients rest their body and mind. 2. Have them experience painful feelings and anxieties as they are as they come up. Usually this is an agonizing period for the patients as they have nothing else to do but to face their anxieties and painful feelings, which is quite intense. However, the patient usually  experiences some alleviation of their symptoms and begin to feel a strong desire to be active by the end of this stage.

2nd stage: Light Work (3-7days)
The patients  are allowed to go outside and observe outside world. Their interactions with others are still limited. They are encouraged to engage in light work such as sweeping, raking leaves, and washing clothes. The patients are instructed to endure their symptoms, such as fear, racing thoughts as they are when they experience them. In this stage, the patient start writing journals and guidance is provided by the therapist through his journals.

3rd stage: Intensive Work (1 week)
The patients are asked to do more intensive work, requiring more physical output such as gardening, carpentry, and farming. The emphasis is placed upon doing what needs to be done and putting things in order. In this stage, the patients are allowed to interact with others.

Final Stage: Preparation for daily living (1 to 2 weeks)
This is a preparation period for the patients to return to society. They are allowed to go out of the hospital site to attending to practical affairs, such as shopping, visiting friends or families so that they can gradually adjust to the real world situation. They work on deciding their future directions, and make arrangements to return to work or school. By the time the patient is discharged from the hospital, he will be able to accept his symptoms as they are without resisting it and to direct his energy toward constructive living.

 Ohara (1996), a renowned Morita therapist in Japan, states that currently there are few institutions in which  the original Morita therapy is provided in Japan. Ishiyama (1986a, 1987) applied the theory and techniques of Morita therapy to the treatment of social anxiety and shyness in Canada and reports successful results. In both cases, a positive reinterpretation technique was used to help clients recognize the self-actualizing tendencies underlying social anxiety and shyness. In stead of teaching how to get rid of symptoms, the emphasis is placed on promoting the acceptance of anxieties without resisting them and  upon the task at hand. Although Morita's original method may be rarely conducted now, applications of his theory and techniques are still useful in  teaching us the importance of changing a mood-governed unproductive lifestyle to an action-based, purpose-oriented lifestyle to live a meaningul and constructive life.