Therapists can do many things, have far more training and experience in helping people. But no therapist can hand you a new physical environment, a new social world, a real role with real responsibility, and hours of meaningful physical use of your body — all at once, all day, every day, for months. A clinic cannot do what a boat, a dive site, and a team of strangers who need you can do. I find it fascinating that a dive shop was obviously never designed to help people, but it does it anyway, by accident, simply because of what it structurally is. I added some very basic psychological exercises, we will come back to this later. If you look at what is actually needed to get unstuck from a crisis, everything I listed above, you will find it already exists in a Divemaster Trainee program. Let me show you.
A new safe physical environment
Being a Divemaster trainee near a tropical beach, living in a different culture while being part of an international team is the perfect new physical environment. And spending hours under water, well, it does not get newer than that, or a better way to work with breathing techniques.
A new social environment
As a Divemaster trainee you will have the opportunity to meet people from all nationalities, from all walks of life and all ages. Moreover, you will have time to get to know them and have good conversations with them.
A new, meaningful role in that social environment with clear responsibilities
From day one you have a clear role, with clear responsibilities and a schedule. You are needed to assist with diving, it is not role playing or make-belief, you are part of a working team. You are learning new skills daily. You will be rewarded with a world-wide recognised certification as a dive professional, so you have a clear goal and a clear reward.
Using your body to use new, meaningful skills
Being a Divemaster trainee is just as much about using your body as using your brain. You will learn a whole new way of using your body underwater, and you will feel nicely physically tired when you go to bed.