WAVE: Finding Healing in the Rhythm of Water

It Takes As Long As It Takes.

This week marks a milestone I’ve been dreaming about for years: I finally submitted my MSc dissertation.

It’s been a long, deep, and transformative journey, one that began with curiosity and ended with a new therapeutic concept I call 💦WAVE💦, which stands for Water-based Attunement for Vitality and Emotion. As I am traditionally a non-scientific writer, this post will likely be full of misplaced creativity. Notice the 💦💦💦💦💦💦💦💦? 😺

At its core, 💦WAVE💦 is an Integrative Therapy model designed to explore how the movement, sound, and temperature of water can support the nervous system’s natural ability to self-regulate.

Initially developed for people in the postpartum period, 💦WAVE💦 uses principles from polyvagal theory, somatic psychology, and cultural birth anthropology to understand how water has been used for centuries as a healing element - physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Through clinical observation and embodied practice, my research found that the natural patterns of water, its rhythm, sound, and gentle motion, can act as a form of attunement, helping the body shift from states of stress or disconnection into calm and coherence.

Polyvagal theory (Porges S.W., 2011) and attunement, simply put, is the process of helping the body feel safe enough to relax, connect, and heal. Water offers these cues of safety naturally, through sound, touch, and movement, allowing the nervous system to find its own rhythm again.

The long-term vision for 💦WAVE💦 is to create a practical, accessible therapeutic tool that can be used in diverse settings: postpartum care, humanitarian work, emergency response, or even aboard vessels where access to mental health care may be limited.

It’s been thousands upon thousands of hours, many of them spent floating gently on our sailboat, ⛵SY Simplicity⛵, that brought this work to life. And though the dissertation is now complete, the 💦WAVE💦 journey is only beginning.

Here’s to the next chapter, one that continues to explore how water, in all its forms, can help us come home to ourselves.

❗ Oh yeah! WAVE will be published in February 2026. If you would like a published copy, subscribe on the main webpage at www.leighwilliam.com and a digital copy will be delivered to your inbox.