At first glance, psychotherapy and exercise/sports may seem unrelated, but did you know that the effectiveness of exercise/sports as part of psychotherapy is being recognized?
Art therapy using paintings and music has already been recognized as psychotherapy, but exercise therapy using exercise and sports also has potential as a form of psychotherapy.
Exercise therapy has traditionally been used for physical diseases such as the prevention and treatment of lifestyle-related diseases.However, in recent years, it has been reported that it is also effective for mental disorders, and it has come to be used as an adjunct in the treatment of depression and schizophrenia.
There are types of exercise and sports, such as dancing, jogging, and futsal, which involve light physical activity in a short period of time and are easy to engage in on a daily basis, while others include long-term activities in nature, such as camping and outdoor activities.
At our university, we hold a futsal exchange meeting once a month with users of nearby psychiatric hospitals and students of special needs schools.In addition, every year we hold an “Encounter Group,” a group experience for university students and working adults, with about XNUMX participants aiming for psychological growth and several facilitators.
We usually stay at accommodation facilities such as training facilities and hot springs for XNUMX or XNUMX days and talk freely.We do it at the campsite, and we are doing it based on nature experience activities such as staying in tents and cooking outdoors.
why a campsite?
In an increasingly complex social life, it is sometimes difficult to “live myself”.However, nature experience activities in the mountains have the characteristic of allowing you to feel yourself living independently in an inconvenient environment.
Another feature is that linguistic exchanges are promoted in places of conversation by collaborating with others while moving the body through activities for living.
You are not forced to do anything during the activity, and you can be with others or be alone.In a place where each person is respected, free and protected, a dialogue with others and the inner self develops.
In this way, exercise and sports have the potential to contribute to the treatment of mental disorders and psychological growth while exercising the mind and body.
