Surfers are often heard saying the line, "only a surfer knows the feeling," when asked about their experience. This phrase isn't meant to exclude, but to capture something ineffable: the way grief, guilt, trauma, or anxiety can lift momentarily when one steps into the water, catches a wave, or simply sits by the shoreline. For many, surfing is an athletic pursuit or lifestyle. Yet for others, especially those seeking an emotional catharsis, surfing has proven to be something deeper: a form of therapy that can touch the soul.
Dr. Kwame LaBassiere, board member of the International Surf Therapy Organization (ISTO), knows this truth intimately. In the aftermath of surviving a national tragedy in 2001, when survivor's guilt weighed heavily on him, he wandered to the beach, got hold of a surfboard, and rode his first wave. For a moment, all the grief and chaos he carried washed away. "Life felt lighter in the water," Dr. LaBassiere recalls. "Once you step into the water, you forget about everything else, and you leave feeling like you've accomplished something. It's an unparalleled feeling."
