Using the Sweat Lodge Ceremony as Group Therapy for Navajo Youth
Abstract
The sweat lodge ceremony can be seen as a culturally relevant approach to group therapy in working with Navajo youth. This paper describes the sweat lodge ceremony used at a residential treatment center located on the Navajo Nation and compares the ceremony to modern group work by identifying Yalom’s (1995) eleven therapeutic factors of group therapy within the ceremony. Other psychotherapeutic features of the ceremony are also discussed. In addition, considerations for widespread use of the ceremony with Native Americans and non-Native Americans are given as well as recommendations for future research.
Coming together through group sweating to enhance well-being is a fundamental social practice that transcends both culture and time. Group sweating and other ancient wisdom practices have strong healing potentials that are typically unrecognized by modern counseling and psychology. Universal practices complementary to modern psychology have the potential to transform conventional therapeutic interventions into more meaningful and effective approaches. What other traditional forms of healing have psychotherapeutic features and have potential to be combined with modern counseling and psychotherapy? Please comment.
