Groundswell Community Project × Groundswell Institute

Surf Therapy™
Provider Training

An Immersive Training for Aspiring & Emerging Surf Therapy Facilitators

A 6-month virtual, practice-based training for individuals ready to bring trauma-informed surf therapy to their own communities.

April – October 2025

Mondays 5–7pm PST

Virtual + San Diego In-Person

Who This Training Is For

If you feel called to hold healing spaces through nature, the ocean, and community, this training is where your next chapter begins.

Actively facilitating or preparing to launch surf therapy programs
Work in mental health, somatics, outdoor education, coaching, or body-based healing
Want deeper guidance, mentorship, and clinical support
Committed to creating brave, culturally responsive, trauma-informed spaces
Believe in healing through nature, the body, and community
Want to join a global network of leaders bringing ocean healing to their shorelines

Prerequisite: Surf Therapy for Trauma Recovery (Level 1)

Next live training: Sunday, March 22 & 29, 9:00am–12:00pm PST

To enroll in the Provider Training, participants must complete Surf Therapy for Trauma Recovery (Level 1) prior to the start of the program. The level 1 training is available online this through this link and offered live on Sunday, March 22 & 29, 9:00am–12:00pm PST (Live online)

Register for Level 1

What You'll Experience

Over six months, you'll learn, practice, and embody the full Groundswell Surf Therapy™ model.

Weekly 2-Hour Live Workshops

Co-facilitated by experts in somatic therapy, eco-therapy, Blue Mind research, art + play therapy, and decolonized healing practices. All sessions recorded for flexible access.

Embodied 'Virtual Beach' Sessions

Experience the full Groundswell model from the inside out. Engage in guided surf therapy sessions from a facilitator lens with Q&A to unpack the structure and flow.

Bi-Monthly Small Group Supervisions

Clinical facilitators guide intimate cohort circles to help you apply the model, develop your facilitator identity, and build a supportive peer network.

Personalized Mentorship

Paired with a 'surf buddy' for support, accountability, and practice between sessions. Plus access to monthly consultation groups.

Program Curriculum Flow

A journey through Spirit, Water, and Earth

Trimester 1 • April – June

SPIRIT

Honoring Our Roots

Learn the foundations that make Groundswell's model healing, safe, and culturally responsive.

Decolonizing therapy & healing practices
Somatics & embodiment
Eco-therapy & nature-based healing
Blue Mind theory
Art & play therapy
Group facilitation & circle work

Trimester 3 • Sep – Oct

EARTH

Planting Seeds of Your Practice

Turn your learning into a living, grounded action plan.

Craft your unique facilitator voice
Draft your curriculum & program plan
Case study integration
Tangible resources & templates
Community launch support

Trimester 2 • July – August

WATER

Embodying Mother Ocean's Medicine

Experiential sessions that let you feel the model in your own body.

Create physical & psychological safety
Build trust & support autonomy
Guide emotional processing
Co-facilitation with diverse leaders
Optional in-person San Diego experience

What You Receive

Certification & Education

Groundswell Surf Therapy™ Certificate
48 CAMFT-approved CEUs
1 year access to recordings
Mighty Networks community access

Ongoing Support

Monthly Surf Therapy Consultation Groups
Research & impact reporting invitation
Waves of Excellence program eligibility
Optional in-person retreat invitation

Ready-to-Use Tools

PDF templates, guides & checklists
Sand & Sea + Surf Therapy for Grief curriculums
Program setup guides
Sample forms & session outlines

Meet Your Facilitators

Learn from experienced practitioners dedicated to ocean-based healing

Natalie Small, LMFT

Lead Facilitator & Founder

Guest Expert

Specialty Workshop Leader

Clinical Supervisor

Supervision Lead

Our Lineage

Groundswell Surf Therapy™ has been nourished by a long lineage of healers and water protectors. While surf therapy is a rapidly growing field, the art of surfing waves for community health, healing, and spiritual connection has been practiced around the globe by most indigenous communities.

Groundswell Surf Therapy has been uniquely inspired by the Kumayeey peoples of Southern California, the royal Hawaiian surf wisdom, and the Moche people of Peru whose surf history goes back to 500AD.

We honor and give credit to our foremothers including mother ocean, our greatest teacher.

"A teacher, if they are indeed wise, does not bid you enter the house of their wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind."

— Kahlil Gibran
“To stand at the edge, alone, and look into the deep, is to know something beyond words.”

— Claire Thompson (author of Mindfulness and the Natural World)
“The ocean stirs the heart, inspires the imagination, and brings eternal joy to the soul.”

— Robert Wyland
“Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it.”

— Lao Tzu
“If we surrendered to Earth’s intelligence we could rise up rooted, like trees.”

— Rainer Maria Rilke