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Abstract
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OBJECTIVE: Poor mental health represents a large proportion of disease burden faced by young Australians, which has been further exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the reluctance of this population to seek support. Surf therapy is a novel form of intervention targeting mental health. The objective of this study was to interrogate programme theory within surf therapy, as delivered by the Waves of Wellness Foundation (WOW) in Australia.
METHODS and Measures: The study utilised grounded theory to understand or develop theoretical mediators for WOW surf therapy based on interviews exploring the experiences of previous interven- tion participants (n = 16; mean age = 18.4 years, SD = 2.8, range 14-24). Data were analysed through constant comparative analysis.
RESULTS: Five categories emerged from participant data as foun- dational to WOW programme theory: (a) Safe Space, (b) Social Support, (c) Sensory Grounding, (d) Mastery and (e) Respite. These categories have novel theoretical and practical implications for both surf therapy and wider clinical practice, especially around concepts such as delivering 'mental health by stealth' and fostering longer term 'mental health maintenance' for participants.
CONCLUSION: The study developed an initial WOW programme theory, highlighting the importance of foundational therapeutic structures beyond simply going surfing.
In Australia 'mental and substance use disorders' were estimated to be responsible for 12% of total disease burden and 23% of non-fatal disease burden in 2015 (Australian Institute of Health & Welfare, 2019). Young people make up a large proportion of this burden with one in seven young Australians aged 4 to 17 years experiencing a mental health condition in any given year while 13.9% of children and young people (aged 4 to 17 years) met the criteria for a diagnosis of a mental disorder (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015). The implications of this mental health burden can be fatal with one in ten young Australians aged 12 to 17 years old engaging in self-harm, one in 13 will seriously consider a suicide attempt, and one in 40 will attempt suicide (Lawrence et al., 2015). Unfortunately, suicide continues to be the biggest killer of young Australians (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015). These challenges to mental health have been further exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic where young Australians with existing mental health diagnoses were worst affected (Li et al., 2022). Compounding on this prevalence of negative mental health for young Australians is the fact that they are less likely than any other age group to seek professional mental health help or support (Slade et al., 2009).
Language: en |