Tenrikyo service

Domain XIII · Contemplative & religious disciplines · Nakayama Miki · 1838 · Tenri, Nara Prefecture, Japan

What it is

Tenrikyo is a Japanese religious organisation, not a therapy. Britannica dates its founder, Nakayama Miki (called Oyasama), to 1798–1887. It describes the movement as one of the 13 Kyoha Shinto groups recognised from 1908, with its centre at the Jiba in Tenri City. Tenrikyo dates the founding of…

Format

• Shuyoka is a three-month Spiritual Development Course in Tenri, with classes in other languages. It teaches doctrine, the Mikagura-uta, dance and instruments, and includes hinokishin (volunteer service).
• These phases are this guide's own clinical structure. No Tenrikyo or clinical source gives one, and no session count is given in any source.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Does it use a device, heat, cold, water or a physical procedure? Has a medical professional checked that it is safe for you?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• the client deferring to you on faith questions. Signs it is working: clear roles that both of you can name.
• grief mixed with self-blame (see 4.7). Signs it is working: rituals and community bring comfort and connection.
• a client who hesitates to ask for accommodation. Raise it yourself. Signs it is working: no missed sessions or missed services because of clashes.
• the client using therapy instead of their community for religious learning, or the reverse. Signs it is working: an appropriate link to the community is made.
• Pressure from family or community to involve the church. Breaches of confidentiality in a close community. Signs it is working: the client feels supported by both.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.