The development of an integrative surf therapy program for trauma survivors: A conceptual model and case illustration

Psychological trauma can fundamentally disrupt an individual's sense of safety and bodily autonomy, straining existing mental health resources and calling for innovative therapeutic approaches. This article introduces “Tools from the Waves,” an integrative surf therapy program designed to enhance emotional resilience, lower the risk of developing PTSD, and help survivors manage or reduce their current symptoms. The 15-week intervention integrates therapeutic surfing with psychoeducational guidance, and group therapy. Therapeutic surfing functions as a “bottom-up” somatic intervention, utilizing the ocean's dynamic environment to foster physiological stabilization and cognitive mastery through somatic regulation and present-moment focus. Psychoeducational components facilitate the normalization of PTSD symptoms and the enhancement of cognitive agency by providing survivors with practical physiological and emotional regulation skills. Group processing builds social resilience and a sense of belonging by addressing the universal factor of shared traumatic experiences. A case illustration of ten terror attack survivors demonstrates the synergistic effects of these components and the program's ability to facilitate an identity expansion, enabling participants to grow beyond the role of victim/patient to also an active agent/surfer. These preliminary observations suggest that this integrated model could offer a promising framework for fostering post-traumatic recovery and resilience.