Generations of surfers know there’s nothing like catching the perfect wave, but now new research has looked at just how beneficial the power of the sea can be. The Swansea University study examined how a group of adults living with the consequences of acquired brain injury benefited from group-based surf therapy on the Gower coast. Lead researcher final year Ph.D. student Katie Gibbs said: “Nature has long demonstrated the capacity to facilitate well-being. Increasingly interventions involving the natural environment are used to help aspects of well-being in clinical populations. “But we wanted to find out how nature-based interventions such as surf therapy could be used when it comes to promoting well-being in the context of neurorehabilitation.” Katie and her colleagues from the School of Psychology interviewed 15 adults with acquired brain injury following a five-week intervention where they worked with Surfability UK, a Gower-based community interest company that specializes in providing surfing experiences for people with additional needs. Lees het hele artikel op de website van Neuroscience.
Dit is de abstract van het onderzoek. ‘Nature has long demonstrated the capacity to facilitate wellbeing. Interventions involving the natural environment such as surf therapy, are increasingly being used to facilitate aspects of wellbeing in clinical populations. However, explorations of how nature-based interventions such as surf therapy may be used to promote wellbeing in the context of neurorehabilitation are missing from the peer-reviewed literature. Here we characterize the experience of a five-week surfing intervention involving fifteen adults living with the psycho-social and cognitive sequelae of acquired brain injury. Insights were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, which highlighted the importance of seven overarching themes, including:
1) Connection to Nature,
2) Facilitating Trust and Safety,
3) Managing and Accepting Difficult Emotions,
4) Facilitating Positive Emotion, Meaning and Purpose,
5) Building Community through Social Connection, and
6) Positive Change.
Barriers and opportunities (theme 7) were also identified as components on which clinical services may be improved. We present a theoretical model for the benefits of surf therapy in people living with acquired brain injury (ABI) based on these themes and reflections on findings from the wider literature. Findings emphasise the importance of leveraging community partnerships to augment the holistic model of neurorehabilitation and potential implications for service redesign are discussed, focusing on recent developments in wellbeing science.’. Het volledige onderzoek Riding the wave into wellbeing: A qualitative evaluation of surf therapy for individuals living with acquired brain injury lees je op de website Plos one.
In Nederland kennen we Stichting Surftherapie.nl: “Wil jij ervaren wat bewegen door zand en water voor jou doet? Wil jij de flow van een golf voelen? Kom dan surfen bij Stichting Surftherapie.nl. Onze surfers hebben kort geleden of lang geleden deelgenomen aan een revalidatieproces. Ze gaan liggend, zittend, op een knie of staand met de golf mee. Ze zoeken hun grenzen op én hebben veel lol. Je bent van harte welkom bij de club”. Dit is de website van Stichting surftherapie.nl
