午夜剧场

In recent years, Tojisha-kenkyu (self-pathology research) has been attracting attention. This is a method in which individuals with illnesses or disabilities research the mechanisms and coping strategies of their conditions alongside peers with similar experiences. It aims for recovery from difficulties through discovery. In the era of evidence-based medicine, it is interesting that experiential knowledge by those involved is being highlighted more than expert knowledge by specialists.

Psychoanalysis is a practice that releases something repressed in the unconscious to restore 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 the practice of 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 called the goal of psychoanalysis.

The term "tojisha" (person concerned/party) refers to those directly involved in a certain event, but in psychoanalysis, it includes not only an external meaning but also an internal meaning as an "experiencer." Self-analysis is a work of discovery by a single tojisha and can be called a form of Tojisha-kenkyu. Psychoanalysis is a mutual and intersubjective work of discovery based on the external-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 called 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, in order to discover something as a tojisha of the practice, an object that observes something invisible to the tojisha is necessary.

Speaking from my experience as a tojisha in clinical psychoanalysis, in recent years I have encountered people who, even when in the position of a tojisha, lack tojisha-consciousness or are unable to internally experience anything. For such people, becoming a tojisha is a goal, and Tojisha-kenkyu can be considered an achievement.