WaiWai

Japanese bothered by an unforgettable romance that later soured and continues to niggle need never worry again, because the wasuresaseya are there to help them forget their lost love, claims Spa! (2/22).

Wasuresaseya, which literally means "professionals who make you forget," exist to help people get over -- or get out of -- relationships they may once have wanted to remember forever but have now developed a change of heart.

"Almost 100 percent of our clients are women. Our female staff become almost like a close friend to the client, with their main job being just to lend an ear," Miss M, a wasuresaseya, tells Spa! "Sometimes they take them out dining or shopping to get their mind off their troubles."

Clients using the wasuresaseya first attend an interview with a psychological counselor where they explain such processes as the relationship they'd been involved in and why they can't forget it now it's over.

Based on what goes on in that session, the client is introduced to the wasuresaseya, who begins the person-to-person "rehabilitation of the mind," as the pros call the forgetting process.

"Wasuresaseya calm down the client, pick them up by focusing on their pain, or totally ignoring it if that's the best approach. With some clients, treatment is a matter of constantly reminding them to forget, while with others we can't even touch on what it is that they're not supposed to have on their mind," Miss M says. "We've got to be really careful about the words we use."

"Rehabilitation of the mind" is a process that usually takes about one to two months. The period for forgetting is decided during the initial psychological counseling session. Severe cases, however, can take up to half a year.

Thirty-year-old Miss M has been a wasuresaseya for about one year.

"I once had a woman call me up and say that she was about to kill herself," Miss M tells Spa! "It took me five hours over the phone to talk her out of it."

Wasuresaseya are expected to rush to the client's side no matter where they are or what time they call for aid.

Miss M has few doubts about what it takes to become a successful wasuresaseya.

"Y'know, I think you've got to have been through a really wonderful relationship or been hurt really badly by a relationship," she tells Spa! "Our clients know when you're only telling them stuff to make them feel better."