Funny you should ask! Just last Thursday I worked with a woman who closely matches your description. We used an approach modeled after a psychological technique called "systematic desensitization." Our method involved lots of talking, lots of time, and "baby steps" (which we discussed and agreed on at each level). We started with me in the water, next to her boat, holding her hand, as she dipped into the water. Of course, we used a very loose spray skirt to begin. Eventually, we got to unassisted wet exits while I stood nearby, and then unassisted wet exits in boats -- using her own spray skirt. We felt so good that for "extra credit" we went to the Eskimo rescue! It took quite a while, but she felt great -- and so did I! Cheers, Bob V > > Anybody have any suggestions on what she could practice in order > to get her > confidence up and to move away from her fears? *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Mon Aug 02 2004 - 12:14:31 PDT
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