Sweat therapy

Sweat therapy is the combination of group counseling/psychotherapy with group sweating. Group sweating is social interaction while experiencing psychophysiological responses to heat exposure. Group sweating has strong cultural validity as it has existed throughout the world for thousands of years to promote well-being. Examples include the Finnish Sauna, the Russian Bania, the American Indian Sweat Lodge Ceremony, the Islamic Hammam, the Japanese Mushi-Buro, and the African Sifutu.

Group sweating has been used for various physical and mental purposes for thousands of years. It has been asserted that the potential health benefits of regular participation in Native American sweat lodges are numerous, but that there is a scarcity of research about the practice. One study involving 24 college students reported that "sweat therapy participants reported more therapeutic factors having an impact on their group counseling experience, rated sessions as more beneficial, and interacted with stronger group cohesion than non-sweat therapy participants."