Healing Emotional Trauma at a Surf-Therapy Retreat in Morocco

I’m splashing around in the Atlantic, having fallen off my board for what feels like the thousandth time this morning. The water is beautiful, the sky clear and immense, and the Atlas mountains loom behind me. But despite all this serene beauty, I am boiling with frustration: who knew learning to surf would be this hard? Thankfully, psychologist and psychotherapist Josh Dickson is on hand to help me resolve my conflicting emotions. Having been in a severe midlife depression for seven years, I have decided, in my mid-forties, to join the pioneering surfing and group therapy Resurface retreat that is his brainchild.

Dickson specializes in positive psychology and how we can increase our contentment. He’s also an expert in addiction and EMDR—eye movement desensitization and reprocessing—a groundbreaking way of processing trauma. These Resurface retreats combine his passions: positive psychology, working with trauma, group therapy—and surfing. He runs sessions primarily in Morocco, as well as Devon, Bristol, Portugal, the United States, and Sri Lanka. I have joined one on Morocco’s Atlantic coast, a short drive north of Agadir.

Our motley crew of three men and three women—all midlife professionals working in media, coaching, and the corporate worlds—convenes in Tamraght, a small, quietly touristy town full of surfers. Our home for the week is Riad Dar Haven, an authentic Maghrebi guesthouse, its traditional lantern-lit courtyard garden replete with fruit trees and fountain. From depression to work woes and relationship troubles, we are all carrying loads that need shedding. After surfing in the mornings we have lunch, then go on excursions or head back to the riad for intense group therapy sessions. There’s also a hammam and spa for massages and relaxation treatments after days of pushing our physical and emotional boundaries.

As the week draws on, my surfing ability graduates from clumsy toddler to passable beginner under the guidance of Youness Ahrbi, an affable, and very patient, former Moroccan surfing champion. I’m able to relax more, and after managing to lie on the board for sustained periods, I can feel the sense of peace and connection to the water that surfers rave about. I forget myself, the fraught thoughts about my life back in London rumbling a little less noisily in my head. Splashing in the sea, I allow myself to feel like a child again, living in the moment and surrendering my self-critical perfectionism. The joy of water and the perspective offered by nature’s scale allow for more vulnerability and honesty during therapy.

In the group sessions, I begin to explore my deepest emotional issues. Dickson utilizes HeartMath, a tech-assisted relaxation program, and we use the app and its heart-rate monitor to guide our breathing as we slow our pulses into a state of calm. It helps us to connect and explore our stories, thoughts, and emotions with dispassion and greater clarity. When not surfing or in therapy sessions, we visit Bedouin caves, explore the dunes of Tamri, and share traditional dishes of tagine and couscous. At night, I dream of the rocking ocean, the blue sky above and the distant mountains beyond. Surfing and therapy are a magical combination. In Tamraght, I learn to integrate my mind and body with nature to feel more whole and grounded. I return with a sense of ease and the feeling that I have offloaded a heavy, unnecessary weight.

The week has been a key moment in my ongoing healing. It gives me a sense of acceptance that will help me to become gentler on myself, teaching me that a simple splash in the ocean is enough to lighten my darkest days.

Josh Dickson runs Trauma Resolution, bespoke EMDR Intensives and Resilience and Flow retreats in the UK, Morocco and Sri Lanka this year. resurfaceuk.com