Surf therapy is helping young people in underserved communities manage stress and build coping skills. Wave for Change (W4C), a South Africa-based organization, has delivered the program to more than 10,000 adolescents since 2009 across its hubs in the Western and Eastern Cape as well as Cape Town.
In the program, coaches aged 18-25 teach participants aged 9-16 emotional regulation and self-regulation skills through surfing in a structured environment. W4C uses a framework called Take 5, designed to be adapted for sports, arts, and cultural work. The model has been used by organizations including UNICEF.
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Global Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health at the Child Mind Institute is partnering with W4C to expand the approach. Paula Yarrow, chief development officer at W4C, and Jill Sloan, senior grant manager, explained the work in an interview. The partnership includes training frontline workers like NGO staff to deliver brief, culturally appropriate mental health interventions.
Research by W4C shows adolescent participants reported experiencing 6-8 adverse events per year, including violence and abuse. When asked what spaces they wanted, young people identified access to safe spaces where they could have fun, be heard, and learn coping skills. These components now form the foundation of Surf Therapy.
Training materials developed through the partnership are expected to be piloted later in the year in South Africa. The program trains coaches in the skills needed to build caring relationships with young people and deliver consistently engaging sessions suited to their language, culture, and context. W4C also conducts pre- and post-intervention surveys and shares concerns identified by coaches with its Child Protection team.
W4C helped found the International Surf Therapy Organization to connect practitioners, clinicians, and researchers to advance research and awareness.