Desire For Life

About the Book

Desire for Life: The Practitioner’s Introduction to Morita Therapy for the Treatment of Anxiety Disorders summarizes key therapeutic goals and methods for applying Morita Therapy to counseling persons experiencing severe anxiety-related disorders, including general anxiety, panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive behaviors, phobias, posttraumatic stress, and hypochondria. This book is a concise and authoritative guide for those who want to incorporate Morita Therapy into their professional practice or teaching of Eastern counseling approaches. The hallmarks of Morita Therapy are holistic well-being, contextual healing, and integrative intervention. This book presents these elements to benefit practitioners and instructors in psychology, counseling, social work, education, human services, medicine, and allied health.

About the Author

Dr. Brian Ogawa is one of the foremost international practitioners and teachers of Morita Therapy. He is a full professor and chair of the Human Services Department at Washburn University, where he also directs the Morita Therapy Certificate Program for students in psychology, social work, human services, and other helping professions. His previous books include the following: A River to Live By: The 12 Life Principles of Morita Therapy (Xlibris/Random House); Walking On Eggshells: Practical Counsel for Women in or Leaving an Abusive Relationship (Kendall Hunt); Color of Justice: Culturally Sensitive Treatment of Minority Crime Victims, 2nd Edition (Allyn & Bacon); and To Tell the Truth: Assisting Child Victims through the Criminal Justice System (Volcano Press). Dr. Ogawa received his education at San Francisco Theological Seminary in advanced pastoral studies: counseling (DMin), where he wrote his doctoral dissertation on Morita Therapy; Fuller Theological Seminary: theology (MDiv); and the University of California at Los Angeles: East Asian cultural geography (BA). Dr. Ogawa has been director of trauma recovery programs and a mental-health researcher, as well as in private practice focusing on Morita Therapy. He has been studying, practicing, and teaching Morita Therapy since the 1960s and is a member of the International Committee of Morita Therapy (Japanese Society for Morita Therapy) and cofounder/codirector of the American Institute of Morita Therapy (AIMT). In 1995, Dr. Ogawa received the National Crime Victims Service Award from the president at the White House for his work with trauma victims and the practice of Morita Therapy.