This study examined the relationship between body awareness and Dohsa experiences, as well as the relationship between attitudes to distress and Dohsa experiences. Forty-two university students completed psychological scales, followed by a 30-minute arm-raising task. High- and low- scoring groups were compared using t-tests. Sub-factors of the “Body Consciousness Scale” and the “Scale on Attitudes to Distress” were analyzed as independent variables, while the sub-factors of the Dohsa experiences questionnaires served as dependent variables. Individuals who viewed distress positively or were able to maintain concern over a long period were found to approach Dohsa tasks stably without becoming overly tense. They were also more likely to experience self-control and Dohsa changes through Dohsa-hou. Furthermore, participants focusing on bodily sensations engaged in trial and error, while those attempting self-control via bodily awareness were less likely to experience a sense of refreshment and more prone to anxiety. In conclusion, body awareness and attitudes to distress may be related to Dohsa experiences.

This study provides support for using the vertical tasks of Dohsa-therapy with children who have stopped attending school to help them regain confidence through the Dohsa-therapy practice of “adjusting their bodies”. Sessions including interviews and movement tasks were conducted with two junior high school students and one elementary school student who attributed their loss of self-confidence in school to their sense of being “clumsy.” By incorporating vertical tasks of Dohsa-therapy during these sessions, they learned how to create and maintain a sense of emotional and physical stability along with a sense of purpose. The tasks were incorporated according to each child’s developmental characteristics. The two older students regained their confidence after four and seven sessions, while the elementary school student regained confidence after 14 sessions. As a result, all three students began regularly attending school again. These three cases confirmed the significance of introducing standing movement tasks of vertical tasks at an early stage.

This study comprised two parts. In Part 1, we created a scale to capture the characteristics of clients’ movements in their daily lives; and in Part 2, we investigated the correlation between movements and psychological well-being. We requested the 253 people who participated in the study to answer the questions on the Daily Movement Characteristics Scale created in Part 1, and the GHQ-28 questionnaire, which measures psychological well-being. As a result of exploratory factor analysis, three factors and 17 items were adopted. The three factors were “impulsive hyperactive movements,” “careful/inactive movements,” and “harmonizing movements.” A certain degree of reliability was demonstrated from the results of α and ω coefficients. Subsequently, we verified the correlation between the GHQ-28, which measures psychological well-being, and daily movement characteristics through multiple regression analysis. The results showed a significant correlation between the daily movement characteristics of “impulsive hyperactive movements” and “harmonizing movements,” and the GHQ-28 subscales of “somatic symptoms,” “social dysfunction,” “anxiety and insomnia,” and “depression.”

This study was conducted with the aim of examining the explanations provided by therapists to clients during the implementation of clinical dohsa-hou as part of informed consent. To achieve this goal, case studies from published research in " The Journal of Clinical Dohsalogy " were extracted and the explanations given by therapist to clients during the introduction of clinical dohsa-hou were organized, classified, and described. The classification was based on two main points: the methods and objectives of the assistance provided, as well as the effects and risks of the therapy and their justifications. The results indicated that the presence and content of the explanations varied depending on the subjects. Furthermore, to generate explanatory texts necessary for informed consent, it was essential to integrate the descriptions provided in each case study. In light of the characteristics of clinical movement therapy, a detailed examination of how informed consent is conducted during its implementation is deemed necessary in future research. Additionally, implications were obtained regarding what beginners should be mindful of when learning clinical dohsa-hou and introducing it to clients as part of informed consent.