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.
Surfers on the beach in Morocco
Dickson specialises in positive psychology and how we can increase our contentment. He’s also an expert in addiction and EMDR – eye movement desensitisation 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 USA 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.
