divepsych
Registered
I was certified as a NAUI scuba diver in south Florida in 1971 when I was 18 years old. Back then, the confined water training and open water check out dives were intentionally stressful and anxiety provoking.
Twenty-eight years of diving later (1999) when my kids began to dive, I decided to get additional training and went through PADI Advanced Diver, Rescue Diver, and Divemaster training in the same summer. (I've also taken other courses.) That also led to my researching dive panic, in part, in response to so many instructer complaints about what they perceived as the dumbing down of training to attract more customers and more profits. I was also being asked to help "rehab" traumatised certified divers who wanted to resume diving but were terrified. As a psychiatrist, I already knew the basic principles of "treatment" of Anxiety-Panic-Phobia-PTSD-like conditions and the divemaster training gave me the level of diving skills and supervision skills I needed to be helpful. It also gave me more credibility as a dive professional. I am a big believer in "in vivo" treatment. Since then, I have helped a number of panic divers return to diving.
When I attended the DAN Diver Fatality Workshop in Spring 2010 in Durham, there was a very strong confrontation between some of the old school divers and the heads of the training agencies from around the world. The complaint was that certifications were being given to divers at such a low level of proficiency that they were unprepared for any stressful event they would eventually encounter. The training agency response was that the first certification level was only to prepare divers to take additional training. Unfortunately, the vast majority of recreational divers never obtain any training after their first certification.
Having said all that, years of practice does not make perfect, practice makes permanent. The skills development in the divemaster course with one-on-one instruction broke a lot of my bad habits and made me a much better diver. Afterall, you have to attain demonstration level skills so you can help teach students and model skills for groups of divers for whom you will someday be responsible. I also learned what I needed in order to watch over my own kids and their friends and to confidently guide other divers, whether newbies or seasoned divers. Tech diving training also teaches skills, but usually does not include leadership or supervision training or experience.
Twenty-eight years of diving later (1999) when my kids began to dive, I decided to get additional training and went through PADI Advanced Diver, Rescue Diver, and Divemaster training in the same summer. (I've also taken other courses.) That also led to my researching dive panic, in part, in response to so many instructer complaints about what they perceived as the dumbing down of training to attract more customers and more profits. I was also being asked to help "rehab" traumatised certified divers who wanted to resume diving but were terrified. As a psychiatrist, I already knew the basic principles of "treatment" of Anxiety-Panic-Phobia-PTSD-like conditions and the divemaster training gave me the level of diving skills and supervision skills I needed to be helpful. It also gave me more credibility as a dive professional. I am a big believer in "in vivo" treatment. Since then, I have helped a number of panic divers return to diving.
When I attended the DAN Diver Fatality Workshop in Spring 2010 in Durham, there was a very strong confrontation between some of the old school divers and the heads of the training agencies from around the world. The complaint was that certifications were being given to divers at such a low level of proficiency that they were unprepared for any stressful event they would eventually encounter. The training agency response was that the first certification level was only to prepare divers to take additional training. Unfortunately, the vast majority of recreational divers never obtain any training after their first certification.
Having said all that, years of practice does not make perfect, practice makes permanent. The skills development in the divemaster course with one-on-one instruction broke a lot of my bad habits and made me a much better diver. Afterall, you have to attain demonstration level skills so you can help teach students and model skills for groups of divers for whom you will someday be responsible. I also learned what I needed in order to watch over my own kids and their friends and to confidently guide other divers, whether newbies or seasoned divers. Tech diving training also teaches skills, but usually does not include leadership or supervision training or experience.