Akiyoshi Okada: Tojisha-kenkyu and Psychoanalysis

2023/02/22

In recent years, Tojisha-kenkyu (Self-Experience Research) has been attracting attention. This is a method in which individuals (tojisha) with illnesses or disabilities research the mechanisms and coping methods together with peers who have similar experiences, aiming for recovery (recover) through discovery (discover). In the era of evidence-based medicine, it is interesting that experiential knowledge by the individuals themselves is being highlighted more than expert knowledge by specialists.

Psychoanalysis is a practice that releases something repressed in the unconscious and restores the freedom of the mind. It aims to "uncover" the lid of the mind that prevents the unconscious from becoming conscious. However, if the lid of the mind is fragile or missing, it is necessary to "cover" it. Within psychoanalytic concepts, there is a practice called self-analysis. This is a method of self-insight performed alone using one's own dreams and free associations. It is also a practice performed alone after the termination of psychoanalysis, along with the internalization of the analytical process with the analyst, and can be considered the goal of psychoanalysis.

While "tojisha" refers to those directly involved in a certain event, in psychoanalysis, "tojisha" includes not only an external meaning but also an internal meaning as an "experiencer." Self-analysis is a process of discovery by a single tojisha and can be called a form of Tojisha-kenkyu. Psychoanalysis is a mutual and intersubjective process of discovery based on the external and internal interaction between the analyst and the analysand. In the sense that two tojisha—the analyst and the analysand—are always present, psychoanalysis can be considered a form of Tojisha-kenkyu.

Humans are the tojisha of their own bodies, yet they cannot see their own backs directly. In Tojisha-kenkyu based on one's own subjectivity and experience, a third-party perspective that objectifies the tojisha's subjectivity and experience is important, and this is obtained through collaborative work with peers who have similar experiences. In psychoanalysis and self-analysis, to discover something as a tojisha of the practice, an object is needed to observe what is invisible to the tojisha.

Speaking from my experience as a tojisha in clinical psychoanalysis, in recent years, I sometimes encounter people who, even though they are in the position of a tojisha, lack a sense of ownership (tojisha-ishiki) or are unable to experience something internally. For such people, becoming a tojisha is a goal, and Tojisha-kenkyu can be considered an achievement.