Ocean Therapy
The Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation formalized the concept of using surfing as a modality for healing mental and physical illness.
Ocean Therapy
The Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation formalized the concept of using surfing as a modality for healing mental and physical illness.
The Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation first developed the concept of using surfing as a medium for healing under the direction of Dr. Carly Rogers during her Masters program in Occupational Therapy at the University of Southern California. The initial program was first implemented in 2005 serving underprivileged and abused children in Los Angeles. The results were remarkable and we have since extended our programming to include more populations in need.
JMMF’s OCEAN THERAPY PROGRAMS
Based on these positive results, JMMF formalized this surfing protocol in what is today the leading Ocean/Surf Therapy Program throughout the world. All of our Ocean Therapy sessions are led by licensed/associate therapists or clinicians who guide pre and post surfing talking circles centered around a chosen theme for the day. Our certified Surf Instructors are CPR-trained renowned waterman and our Safety Coordinators are lifeguards that have a long history of “watching the water” and providing safety both in and out of the water.
A focus on mental health wellness underpins every session and is tailored to the group we are working with on each day. We “meet them where they are at” and provide the safe space to allow our participants to process and heal at their own pace.
In 2007, JMMF expanded our program to help military members returning from conflicts in the Persian Gulf. After numerous conversations with the Pentagon and military command at Camp Pendleton, the JMMF was invited to conduct a pilot program with the Wounded Warrior Battalion-West (WWB-W) under the command of (now retired) Col Greg Martin. Once again, the positive results of the pilot program were far beyond all expectations. The staff at the Wounded Warrior Battalion stated, “The change at the barracks is visceral. The Marines come back from (Ocean Therapy) sessions with actual smiles on their faces. This is something we have not been able to provide through traditional therapy.” Following the pilot program, the JMMF was enthusiastically invited back, and we consistently conduct, on average, two sessions per month with the Wounded Warrior Battalion – West at Camp Pendleton.
In the summer of 2007, JMMF broadened our Military Ocean Therapy program to include veterans whose service may have ended but their adverse wartime experiences can still traumatize them. In 2013, to further delineate our population groups and provide a “safe” therapeutic environment, JMMF introduced the first female-only veteran sessions.
Our Military Ocean Therapy Program constitutes about half of all the sessions we conduct each year. We offer sessions from San Diego to Los Angeles, Ventura all the way to Oregon and we have recently established satellite operations in Hawaii with local partners.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, social distancing, isolation, quarantine and stay at home orders were implemented. For those suffering from existing mental health issues, these lockdowns only exacerbated their already tenuous situations. We predicted a mental health crisis would result. What we didn’t realize was just how expansive the effects would be. COVID-19 not only wreaked havoc on patients and their families, but also triggered PTSD and associated symptoms for those providing for sick patients in the ER and ICU. They were forced to make life and death decisions; who got a ventilator and survived and who didn’t. This was extremely traumatic for our healthcare workers that led to depression, anxiety, social isolation, suicidal ideation, and emotional and empathetic burnout. In the fall of 2021, once the beaches were “re-opened”, JMMF launched the world’s first-ever Ocean Therapy program for healthcare providers. The demand for these kinds of alternative therapeutic services was overwhelming. We hosted five sessions in 2021 in partnership with Torrance Memorial Medical Center (TMMC) and in 2022, based on growing need for Ocean Therapy, we increased the number of sessions to twelve. We invited Providence Healthcare’s Little Company of Mary healthcare teams and partnered with the Beach Cities Health District to expand the world’s first and largest surf therapy program dedicated to helping those that care for us in our community.
2022 was another breakthrough year for JMMF as we partnered with the Friendship Foundation to bring ocean/surf therapy to special needs and developmentally disabled young adults. One pilot session forever changed the way we viewed surfing and ocean therapy. These amazing young adults reminded us just how joyful and healing the power of the ocean can be. We are expanding the number of sessions for special needs children, young adults and other populations on the spectrum so they can experience the joy and healing power of the ocean as well.
2024 marked another significant milestone in JMMF’s Ocean Therapy Program – the introduction of FROPOWR! It all started with a simple question from retired police captain, Tim Hageman: “Have you ever considered an Ocean Therapy program for first responders?” Like our nation’s combat veterans, by the nature of their profession and the traumatic incidents they deal with every day in their line of duty, first responders are almost guaranteed to suffer from PTSD at some point in their service. They are often the first on scene of horrific traffic accidents, murder, suicide, child abuse, domestic violence and other atrocities. Many first responders suffer from the effects of these traumatic events but many don’t want to talk about it…mostly because of the cultural stigma around mental health in law enforcement and because any form of perceived “weakness” could be career compromising or career ending. As a result, we were cautioned that first responders would likely be resistant to attend “therapy” sessions even though the need is real. In response to this, JMMF pivoted from our traditional Ocean Therapy naming and instead focused on the wellness and resiliency initiatives that are becoming more commonplace in the first responder community. We introduced FROPOWR – First Responder Oceanic Performance Optimization Wellness & Resiliency sessions! We conduct our FROPOWR sessions similar to our traditional ones but we reframe our focus on Post Traumatic Growth (PTG) and resiliency rather than Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This newest program is growing and JMMF will be adding more sessions and more locations to serve our first responders and assist them with their overall wellness.
JMMF is currently the largest provider of Ocean and Surf Therapy programming in the world. Under the initial leadership and direction of Dr. Carly Rogers, JMMF literally wrote the manual that serves as the de facto guide for conducting Ocean/Surf Therapy around the world today. JMMF has continued to refine the operations manual, implement additional safety measures and introduce new populations that have suffered from some form of mental and/or physical trauma to the healing power of the ocean.
Goals of Ocean Therapy
- Reduce anxiety about the “unknown” and reinforce a framework for a successful transition into a safe community (for youth populations) and civilian life (for military and first responder populations).
- Build, and in some cases, re-build trust.
- For military and first responder populations, break down perceived barriers between them and civilians to demonstrate that there are communities that care deeply about their health and welfare. We also seek to reinforce that they and their service to our country and our communities have not been “forgotten” or “overlooked”.
- Reduce the stigma of talking about mental health that persists among some populations groups
- Teach basic ocean safety, conditions evaluation and beach awareness.
Ocean Therapy Session Feedback Form
Our goal is to provide the best experience possible for all Ocean Therapy session participants and your feedback is important to us. Please take a moment to complete the following form and let us know how we are doing and include any suggestions for improvement. Thank you!
