Our approach
In our unique week-long program, we combine evidence-based psychological techniques with surfing, yoga and mindfulness. This way, we playfully create the space for our participants to deepen their connection with themselves in an environment focused on development and cultivating personal flow. Everything in our program is proven effective, but we believe each component complements each other which makes the sum greater than the parts!
The six pillars of our approach are:
Yoga
Mindfulness
Rest and relaxation
Surfing
Group therapy
Psycho-education
Surfing
Surfing is one of the pillars of our program. Research shows that surfing by itself provides improvements in the mental health of people who are struggling. In addition, it is a great activity to combine with therapy. After a surf session you are relaxed, you’ve experienced pleasure and satisfaction you may not have experienced for a while, as well as a challenge and the opportunity to learn something new. In addition, it puts you in a state of flow that not only benefits your mental health, but prepares you to get the most out of therapy sessions.
However, there is one reason in particular that we use surfing…
One of the major challenges in regular therapy is that it is difficult to practice real-life feelings and thoughts in the therapy room. Surfing does offer us this opportunity. Although we love surfing, we know that it can be frustrating, scary, annoying, confronting and much more. Our therapists will also accompany you to the beach to support you where needed and help you put the thing we discussed in group therapy into practice!
More detailed information on surf therapy itself can be found here.
Psycho-educatie
Psycho-education is another essential part of our program. Psycho-education basically means having classes in psychology related subjects. During these sessions, we explore different themes in an interactive way. These themes include what exactly causes stress, what emotions actually are and what we can learn from them, as well as how to signal when things aren’t going well with your mental health.
Research shows that psychoeducation as a stand-alone intervention is successful in improving mental health. As part of our program, however, it goes a lot further, as it also prepares you for the group therapies and the other activities we undertake.
Group therapy
Our psychologists are all trained in, and experienced with, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT is an evidence-based form of therapy, which means that research has shown it to be an effective form of treatment.
In ACT, the emphasis is on accepting our thoughts and feelings, rather than trying to change or eliminate them. Everyone suffers from negative thoughts or difficult feelings from time to time. Often we don't want them and try our best to get rid of them. But as it turns out: The strategies we use to get rid of our feelings and thoughts usually only work for a short time, after which the thoughts and feelings come back even stronger. So in the long run it often causes even more stress and difficulties, creating a vicious circle where we sink further and further into unhappiness.
The goal of ACT is to increase your resilience by helping you accept and embrace these difficult thoughts and feelings. This may sound crazy, but when you are no longer reactive you regain control of your behavior! This is where the "C" of Commitment comes in. Together we will look at what is important to you. What are your values, what type of person do you want to be? Once we have this in view, we will look for how those values translate into desired behaviors and practice executing these behaviors, despite the presence of difficult feelings and emotions that undoubtedly arise from time to time.
This approach creates personal flow: A state of being where you are resilient to the stressors of life and doing the things that are important to you.
During group therapy, we do many practical exercises together. This is because we believe that ‘doing’ is at least as important as thinking. We want to avoid getting stuck in our minds and talk too much, so instead we make sure that we can experience. This 'experiencing' will not be limited to the group sessions, but will also be addressed in the rest of the program during surfing, yoga, mindfulness and beyond. There is a therapist present at all times with whom you can talk about what you are up against. This way we make sure that at the end of this program you have all the tools needed to move forward in life!
Yoga
At Ripple, we are fans of anything that gets us moving in a conscious way. Therefore, yoga cannot be missing from our program! Research shows that yoga is helpful for people experiencing mental health issues because it can reduce stress, anxiety and gloom. During yoga sessions, we enter a state of relaxation and shift our attention from our head to our body. In addition, it is a great exercise in letting thoughts and feelings be, dealing with discomfort during difficult poses and developing perseverance. This in turn connects to what we work on during the group sessions.
The sessions are carefully tailored to our program and are available for all levels. You will experience various forms of yoga (yin and restorative) taught by a certified instructor.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness has long been a part of mainstream therapy, and we probably don't need to say that the science is all over it, too: it works.
Mindfulness promotes relaxation and helps us practice observing our inner environment, which ties in seamlessly with what we're trying to achieve with ACT. The program includes daily mindfulness training to help you better understand what it is we try to do while we sit down to meditate, and how to apply that in everyday life.
We believe everyone can benefit from these exercises and we would like to introduce our participants to the positive effects it can have on your mental health!
Rest
You come to a Ripple retreat because you want to work on yourself, but there’s good chance you're also in need for some relaxation. It is important to us that our participants have time to relax. We know that therapy can be intense and we are familiar with the feeling after a surf session. Therefore, our program also includes time to relax by the pool and enjoy the sun.
The goal is for you to return home refreshed, full of insights and energy, and we do our best to do just that! In the middle of the week there is a rest day, in which you can either join for a daytrip or hang out by yourself.
During this week, you don't have to think about anything (except yourself!). Food and drinks will be arranged, you will be taken to the beach and picked up from the surf and the yoga and mindfulness sessions will take place in our own villa.
Much of the program we do together, but if you need some privacy you will always be able to find a place in our villa to retreat and be with yourself for a while.