Suffering from depression? Take a course of surf lessons! Doctors prescribe watersports for young people with anxiety disorders on the NHS
Depression sufferers are being given surfing lessons on the NHS as a form of therapy.
The £10,000 pilot scheme, funded by Dorset Healthcare University Foundation Trust, offers young people a series of sessions on prescription.
Schools, social services and bereavement charities can recommend people between eight and 21-years-old for the project where youngsters ride the waves to help them cope with their mental heath problems.
Therapy: The £10,000 scheme set up by Dorset
Healthcare University Foundation offers young people surfing on
prescription (picture not taken from lessons)
Dr Jenny Lloyd from Exeter University Medical School, who researches child health and well-being, said: 'In terms of building children’s confidence and self-esteem, this is a fantastic initiative.
'But we cannot say it has greater benefits or is more cost-effective than an activity other than surfing.
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'If at the core it is group work, or learning new skills that are behind the improvements in wellbeing, there may be other activities which also fit the bill.'
Joe Taylor, who runs the Wave Project, said: 'What is great is it doesn’t feel like therapy for the young people but there are therapeutic principles behind it such as reducing anxiety, promoting confidence and well-being.
Treatment: Volunteers say the sessions have helped boost the participant's self-esteem
'It’s the sense they have gone into a challenge that they did not necessarily believe they could do, discovered they could do it and that people were supporting them, making them feel more able to do all sorts of different things in their lives'
The Wave Project has run similar sessions on the Cornwall and Devon coasts for the past few years.
They have been part funded by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Primary Care Trust with the support of charities such as the Big Lottery Fund and BBC Children in Need.
Two local doctors, Laura Bond and Sarah Colpus, who volunteer there, recently presented research on the project at the British Association of Sports and Exercise Medicine Conference.
They looked at more than 100 questionnaires filled in by young people before and after the surfing course.
Taking into account feedback from parents and carers, they found the majority felt their confidence, self-esteem and well-being had improved after the course.
And parents and people who referred the children said they seemed more engaged in school and had improved behaviour.
Dr Bond said: 'Having volunteered with the Wave Project this year, we have seen first hand the really positive impact that the project has on young people who are referred to it.
'But now we have evidence to support the incredible feedback we have seen from clients and parents, so we hope that surfing will be taken more seriously as an intervention by medical professionals.'
Brandon, 14, was referred to the project by social services to help him settle into foster care and a new class at school.
He has had five lessons, learning to become familiar with his board and how to paddle and stand up.
He said: 'Starting new challenges like this helps me look forward to other challenges. I feel more focused and I’m not afraid to do something different.
'And I think after these few sessions I might just buy my own board and just get out there.'
'Now I am more happy to make friends and I am not shy to let myself out there in the middle of the group instead of just standing back there in the shadows.
