Using the sweat lodge ceremony as group therapy for navajo youth

Investigating the Effects of Sweat Therapy on Group Dynamics and Affect

“…Two of the researchers coded statements based on the content of the response provided by the participant using 11 therapeutic factors: catharsis, self-disclosure, learning from interaction with others, universality, acceptance (measuring Cohesion), altruism, guidance, self-understanding, vicarious learning, instillation of hope, and experiential features. In previous research (Colmant & Merta, 1999, 2000 as well as in this study, we identified statements indicating psychological benefits received from enduring the heat as Experiential Features. If the response could not be discerned to indicate a specific therapeutic factor, no designation was given for the participant's response.…”

“…The first author's research on group sweating began by investigating the American Indian sweat lodge ceremony as group therapy with Navajo youth (Colmant & Merta, 1999). Colmant and Merta (2000) then completed the first inquiry into the use of a multicultural means of combining group sweating with group counseling.…”

Group Counseling with Traumatized East African Refugee Women in the United States:

“…Many of the underlying assumptions of mainstream counseling theory and practice are based on European, Christian, culture-bound beliefs about human nature and worldview. As the client base becomes more culturally diverse, it is becoming more apparent that practices of counseling need to be adapted to a multicultural perspective (Comant, 1999;Herr, 1991;Ivey, 1990;Ivey & Rigazio-DiGilio, 1991;Katz, 1985;Lee, 1991;Pedersen, 1985;Smith, 1985;Sue & Sue, 1990;Wren, 1985). When working with refugees and immigrants in group counseling, an appreciation for traditional ceremonies within the cultural context of the group, along with an understanding and appreciation for Western psychology, can enhance the therapeutic process and build rapport.…”

Sweat Therapy

“…The authors found that the sweat lodge ceremony was highly compatible to modern group work. In addition, the practice of group sweating appears to have good potential as an experiential group work activity in working with non-American Indian youth as it provides a challenging experience while promoting therapeutic factors beneficial to group psy chotherapy (Colmant & Merta, 1999).…”

“…Hall (1986), who surveyed 39 native alcohol treatment programs at random, found that half of the programs offered sweat lodge ceremonies on site or provided access to them. Navajo social service and health department agencies currently use the sweat lodge routinely for the treat ment of a wide array of problems, from physical ail ments to problems of adolescent delinquency and sub stance abuse (Colmant & Merta, 1999).…”