Mental well-being from the cold

The project will generate knowledge on the significance of winter swimming as part of psychotherapeutic treatment. The project combines the development of this form of treatment with research into its effects, and is being carried out in collaboration between psychotherapists developing the treatment and the Department of Psychology at the University of Jyväskylä.

During the study, a group of 16 people combining brief psychotherapy and winter swimming will meet at Allas Sea Pool in Helsinki. A comparisons group (n = 16) participating in a brief psychotherapy group led by the same psychotherapists and covering the same content, but without swimming. The study will monitor changes in symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well as heart rate variability, before, during and after psychotherapy, and will investigate the links between any changes and experiences of self-compassion, interoception, emotion regulation and therapeutic alliance.