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 article 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) 11 therapeutic factors of group therapy within the ceremony. Other psychotherapeutic features of the ceremony also are 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.