Mar y Mente
Healing-centered mental health rooted in culture, community, and the coast.
Mar y Mente is our mental health program supporting youth, families, and emerging clinicians through culturally grounded, nature-based healing practices across the California–Baja region.
I didn't know that healing could look like this — on the sand, in the water, with people who see me.
— Youth Participant, Mar y Mente
Our approach blends clinical expertise, cultural identity, and nature-based connection to support whole wellbeing.
A Mental Health Model Rooted in Community and Place
Mar y Mente supports mental health across multiple layers of community life — from youth and families in our surf therapy and environmental education programs, to the next generation of BIPOC clinicians who will lead California's mental health future.
This model treats mental health not as an isolated service, but as something collective, ecological, and culturally held.
Community Mental Health Support
Healing that meets youth where they already find belonging — on the shore.
Our Community Mental Health track provides free, culturally rooted, trauma-informed care for youth and families who participate in Un Mar de Colores programs. Through surf therapy, group circles, family check-ins, and ocean-based practices, participants experience healing that feels accessible, familiar, and connected to place.
What We Provide
- Individual mental health support
- Group wellness circles
- Surf therapy integrated with clinical care
- Family support and crisis response
- Identity-affirming, culturally grounded counseling
- Clinical presence during youth programs
Why It Matters
Youth of color in coastal regions experience overlapping stressors: climate anxiety, cultural displacement, systemic inequities, and limited access to mental health care. Traditional models often miss this complexity. Our nature-based approach allows young people to heal in an environment that fosters safety, belonging, embodiment, and joy.
Clinical Training & Eco-Therapy Innovation
Redefining how therapists learn, practice, and serve communities.
California faces a critical need for culturally responsive, community-grounded therapists — especially in BIPOC communities. Mar y Mente is pioneering a training model where emerging clinicians learn through eco-therapy, place-based healing, and community-engaged practice.
We partner with universities, supervisors, and statewide coalitions to create a training environment that honors identity, land, culture, and lived experience as central to clinical development.
What Training Looks Like
- Ocean-based practicum hours
- Culturally responsive supervision
- Trauma-informed outdoor program integration
- Casework rooted in environmental justice
- Healing circles guided by Indigenous and community leaders
- Applied learning in youth surf therapy environments
Who We Serve
How Mar y Mente Works
Healing in Community
Wellbeing emerges through relationships, not isolation.
Nature as Co-Therapist
The ocean and land support regulation, grounding, and connection.
Cultural Humility as Practice
We unlearn barriers and uplift identity, story, and lived experience.
Systems Thinking for Real Change
Clinical care must address environmental, cultural, and structural realities.
What This Makes Possible
Current Impact
- Youth report increased emotional regulation, confidence, and belonging
- Families experience reduced stigma around mental health
- Trainees become more skilled at culturally responsive, embodied practice
- Community healing networks strengthen over time
What This Makes Possible
- A future where BIPOC clinicians lead eco-therapy and community-centered care
- Scalable pathways for ocean-based healing statewide
- Stronger support systems for frontline communities
- A mental health workforce trained in equity, culture, and place
Partners & Collaborators
Join the Movement
For Students & Trainees
Apply for a practicum and train in eco-therapy and community-centered care.
Apply for Practicum