A San Diego nonprofit that has spent a decade putting trauma survivors on surfboards is throwing open its doors for a free Community Day at Mission Bay next month, marking 10 years since its founder gathered eight women on a beach for a healing circle. Groundswell Community Project will host the event on September 13 at The Point, 1010 Santa Clara Place, running from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., with surfing, paddleboarding and swimming kicking off at 9 a.m.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, the gathering doubles as a celebration of Groundswell's 10th anniversary and an introduction to its surf-therapy programs for newcomers. Water and lawn activities are designed to welcome people of all abilities and levels, and organizers expect between 150 and 200 community members to turn out. A free ticket covers all water activities, yoga, a sound bath and community tables, while a $20 ticket adds lunch, art materials, a take-home item and two raffle tickets, with both options reservable at tinyurl.com/groundswell-9-13.
A Decade Rooted in a Beach Circle
Groundswell traces its origin to 2016, when founder Natalie Small, a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, brought together a circle of eight women trauma survivors for a healing gathering on a San Diego beach, according to Groundswell Community Project. Small built her initial curriculum around expressive arts, somatic therapy and ocean sports. The nonprofit's report notes it has since served more than 6,000 individuals and trained more than 500 surf therapy providers since 2016, connecting women and gender-expansive individuals through what it describes as a movement rooted in surf therapy, mental health advocacy and joy.
The Union-Tribune reports that Groundswell says its surf therapy programs improve mental health and emotional resilience among at least 92% of participants, and that the organization invests in community-based program partnerships for communities throughout San Diego, especially those processing physical, mental or emotional trauma. Beyond Community Day, Groundswell offers nature-based wellness walks, grief and sisterhood circles, community surf sessions and paddle outs, along with fundraising events like yoga classes, beach clean-ups and art walks, per the same report.
Science Behind the Waves
The nonprofit's approach leans on what practitioners call “Blue Mind” — the measurable calm and clarity people feel near water, a concept the Union-Tribune's report attributes to Groundswell's framing of its own programs. The idea traces back to research popularized in 2014 by marine biologist Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, who found that proximity to water triggers measurable reductions in cortisol and shifts brainwaves into a meditative alpha state, according to the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. That neurobiological backdrop has drawn academic scrutiny beyond San Diego's beaches: an August 2024 study published in Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health by UC San Diego researchers found that an 8-week Groundswell surf therapy program produced statistically significant increases in body acceptance and resilience, along with improvements in emotional regulation, among women recovering from trauma, per ResearchGate. The study evaluated 27 women ages 25 to 54 across four California coastal cities using standardized psychological assessments.
San Diego has become something of a hub for this research. Naval Medical Center San Diego studies have shown significant reductions in PTSD and depression symptoms among active-duty service members participating in six-week surf programs, according to findings published on PubMed Central. Groundswell has also built formal professional infrastructure around its work: the organization developed the first trauma-informed somatic surf therapy curriculum accredited by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to award continuing education units to licensed clinicians, with its Level 1 and Level 2 trainings having educated over 700 therapists, coaches and ocean leaders worldwide, per Groundswell's own materials.
From Beach Circle to Clinical Insurance Provider
Groundswell has also expanded well past its original grant-funded programs. The organization opened the Groundswell Institute as a clinical team offering trauma-informed somatic, eco- and play therapy that accepts major health insurance plans including Cigna, Aetna and Optum, according to a Psychology Today listing. That clinical branch operates alongside the nonprofit, which continues to focus on community scholarships and global access, providing scholarships and resources both locally and globally.
Locally, Groundswell maintains a nearly decade-long collaboration with GenerateHope to deliver specialized surf therapy sessions for survivors of sex trafficking, with multi-week therapy containers aimed at helping survivors rebuild body trust, autonomy and emotional resilience. The organization is also a founding contributing member of the International Surf Therapy Organization, a global alliance of nearly 50 organizations working to build an evidence base for ocean-based mental healthcare, and it operates international sister branches and programs in countries including Scotland, Peru and Cuba.
What Community Day Looks Like on September 13
The morning at The Point begins with surfing, paddleboarding and swimming at 9 a.m., followed by gentle yoga flow and a sound bath starting at 10 a.m. The afternoon shifts toward community connection, with local organization and small-business tables, a digital art show featuring surf photography, and food and drinks from local vendors. The day also includes a community art project, group mural, guest speaker, raffle and formal 10-year celebration, alongside a healing session and live music.
The Point venue itself, located between Mission Bay and the ocean, features 4,000 square feet of waterfront event space and a 1,000-square-foot outdoor garden furnished with custom raw wood tables crafted from local wildfire timber, and can accommodate up to 200 guests for indoor and outdoor community events. Those interested in attending can reserve either the free or $20 ticket option at tinyurl.com/groundswell-9-13, with more information on the nonprofit's ongoing programs available at groundswellcommunity.org.
