A deep look into the surf therapy movement, the therapists at the forefront of this radical new treatment, and its many applications for treating anxiety, PTSD, and more. Surfing? As a form of therapy? It’s not just possible—it’s powerful. Surf therapy is an emerging field with promising results which aims to address the mental, physical and emotional epidemics of the modern age. In Surf Therapy, author Cash Lambert paddles out with today’s leading surf therapy practitioners and surf therapy organizations to discover how surfing is changing lives for the better. See how much surf therapy can help in treating: • Drug addiction and addiction recovery • Children and adults diagnosed with autism • Social development of at-risk inner-city children • Physical disabilities like spinal cord injuries • PTSD in active-duty police officers • Terminal illnesses like cystic fibrosis • Women recovering from abusive living situations With interviews from today’s leading surf therapy practitioners and data from groundbreaking studies, Surf Therapy is a story of science, resilience, and the lengths that humans will go to help one another in need.

Discover the untold story of African surf culture in this glorious and colorful collection of profiles, essays, photographs, and illustrations. AFROSURF is the first book to capture and celebrate the surfing culture of Africa. This unprecedented collection is compiled by Mami Wata, a Cape Town surf company that fiercely believes in the power of African surf. Mami Wata brings together its co-founder Selema Masekela and some of Africa's finest photographers, thinkers, writers, and surfers to explore the unique culture of eighteen coastal countries, from Morocco to Somalia, Mozambique, South Africa, and beyond. Packed with over fifty essays, AFROSURF features surfer and skater profiles, thought pieces, poems, photos, illustrations, ephemera, recipes, and a mini comic, all wrapped in an astounding design that captures the diversity and character of Africa. A creative force of good in their continent, Mami Wata sources and manufactures all their wares in Africa and works with communities to strengthen local economies through surf tourism. With this mission in mind, Mami Wata is donating 100% of their proceeds to support two African surf therapy organizations, Waves for Change and Surfers Not Street Children.

Oceans and Human Health: Opportunities and Impacts, Second Edition explores the inextricably interconnected and complex relationship between oceans and humans. Through the lens of the expanding oceans and human health meta-discipline, this work examines the many invaluable ecosystem services offered by oceans as well as the global anthropogenic impacts, and explores the associated risks and benefits to human health. Written and edited by an interdisciplinary team of experts, the book features international perspectives on the resources available to address these benefits and risks, including enhanced research, policy, and community engagement. The book concludes by examining the future of ocean stewardship and how global populations can unite to nurture and promote our life-enhancing relationship with oceans. This is an indispensable resource for students, researchers, communities, and industry specialists in marine sciences, public health, and international policy. - Addresses benefits, opportunities, risks, and impacts resulting from the relationship between oceans and humans, informed by more than 100 international authors - Identifies and links necessary tools to relevant disciplines for action, and provides illustrative international case studies - Covers scientific, socioeconomic, political, and ethical analyses behind the latest ocean and human health research - Provides study questions and horizon scans at the end of each chapter to encourage individual thought and action, offering a resource for course instructors, students, and communities

A landmark book by marine biologist Wallace J. Nichols on the remarkable effects of water on our health and well-being. Why are we drawn to the ocean each summer? Why does being near water set our minds and bodies at ease? In Blue Mind, Wallace J. Nichols revolutionizes how we think about these questions, revealing the remarkable truth about the benefits of being in, on, under, or simply near water. Combining cutting-edge neuroscience with compelling personal stories from top athletes, leading scientists, military veterans, and gifted artists, he shows how proximity to water can improve performance, increase calm, diminish anxiety, and increase professional success. Blue Mind not only illustrates the crucial importance of our connection to water; it provides a paradigm shifting "blueprint" for a better life on this Blue Marble we call home.

This handbook critically examines spaces of mental health and wellbeing across multiple, often intersecting, domains from green and blue spaces to lived and embodied spaces, creative spaces, work and home spaces, and institutional and post-institutional spaces. The Routledge Handbook on Spaces of Mental Health and Wellbeing features 45 chapters from leading international scholars who collectively interrogate the spatial dimensions of mental health and wellbeing from conceptual and experiential viewpoints. The ways in which these theoretical developments prompt a re-thinking of mental health and wellbeing as concepts is also discussed before presenting some highlights from the handbook’s five main sections – (1) green and blue spaces, (2) lived and embodied spaces, (3) creative spaces, (4) work and home spaces, and (5) institutional and post-institutional spaces. The key benefits of this book include a great appreciation of the complex networks and assemblages of mental health and wellbeing, the value of a geographical/spatial approach to thinking about mental health, and the vast array of spaces and places that are implicated in human and posthuman notions of wellbeing. This book will be of interest to students and scholars across the social sciences and the humanities as well as researchers and practitioners in the fields of psychology, psychiatry, social work, nursing, health geography, social and cultural geography, anthropology, mental health social studies, cultural theory, and architecture.

Drawing on the leading voices of international researchers and practitioners, Outdoor Therapies provides readers with an overview of practices for the helping professions. Sharing outdoor approaches ranging from garden therapy to wilderness therapy and from equine-assisted therapy to surf therapy, Harper and Dobud have drawn common threads from therapeutic practices that integrate connection with nature and experiential activity to redefine the "person-in-environment" approach to human health and well-being. Readers will learn about the benefits and advantages of helping clients get the treatment, service, and care they need outside of conventional, office-based therapies. Providing readers with a range of approaches that can be utilized across a variety of practice settings and populations, this book is essential reading for students, practitioners, theorists, and researchers in counseling, social work, youth work, occupational therapy, and psychology.

The purpose of this quantitative, repeated-measure, study was to determine if ocean therapy related to an increased self-efficacy, reduced Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and reduced depression among veterans with PTSD in the United States. This study was guided by Bandura's self-efficacy theory. The self-efficacy theory assumes observational learning, social experiences, and reciprocal determinism are crucial factors in determining high or low self-efficacy. Data were compiled from a sample of 95 veterans who participated in the ocean therapy program, hosted by Amazing Surf Adventures. Three research questions were developed to determine if ocean therapy had positive results over time as measured by the General Self Efficacy (GSE) assessment, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), and a Posttraumatic checklist (PCL 5). Three instances of data collection occurred: once prior to participation in the therapy program, once after participation in the program, and once at 30 days after participation in the ocean therapy program. The collected data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA. All assessments indicated a substantial positive change. There was found to be a significant effect of time point of survey on GSE score (F (2,188) = 644.25, p