ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the basic attitude and technique of psychotherapy as a tension between the determinate and indeterminate. While a determinate action or judgement is usually required in daily life, the basic attitude in psychotherapy is creating an indeterminate state without rushing into a quick solution which can end up in a so-called acting out. The patient has an expectation that a determinate action or response will be given immediately. To create a free and indeterminate state, psychotherapy needs, paradoxically, a limitation. Therefore, the dialectic between the indeterminate and the determinate is the essence of psychotherapy and can be seen in many aspects. Holding the tension between the opposites means that one ceases to have determinate actions and remains in an indeterminate state of liminality. The prevalence of autistic spectrum disorder patients in Japan can be related to cultural characteristics that also feature in contemporary times. Culturally, Japanese have had difficulty with an agentic and determinate action.
