Forest Therapy and Forest Bathing (Shinrin-yoku)

Forest therapy, in its codified version of Shinrin-yoku (forest bathing), originates from a Japanese administrative act of 1982 established by Tomohide Akiyama. It belongs to preventive and lifestyle medicine, mainly oriented toward disorders linked to the chronic stress of urban populations (burnout, subclinical anxiety, sleep disorders, mild hypertension). Its four principles — sensory immersion, exposure to phytoncides, deliberate slowing down, multi-sensory presence — are hypotheses operationalized by Japanese and North American research since 2005. It is one of the best-validated approaches in the volume.

This therapy is covered in detail (principles, indications, protocol, level of evidence) in Volume 7 of the Mémento des Psychothérapies. See the volume.