SSI Diver Stress & Rescue Course
Something changes in your buddy's breathing, their body position, their eyes, and you recognize this is the moment calm matters more than anything else.
Open Water teaches you to take care of yourself underwater. Diver Stress & Rescue teaches you to recognize stress in another diver, respond before it becomes panic, and manage the kind of emergency every good diver hopes never happens, but is glad to be ready for.
Availability: In Stock
The Divers Who Handle a Real Emergency Well Are Rarely the Most Experienced Ones in the Water
Dive emergencies do not look the way most people expect. Stress builds quietly. A manageable situation tips without warning. The divers who come through it well are the ones who actually trained for that exact moment, calm and prepared, not the ones who simply logged the most dives.
The course covers stress recognition, in-water assists and rescues, and accident management, paired with React Right (required for certification). One week: Tuesday and Friday pool sessions, Saturday lake checkout dives, full React Right day Sunday. $449 alone, or $719 full bundle with React Right. Prerequisites: Open Water certification, minimum age 15.
The Best Rescue Is the One You Never Need. This Course Is How You Get There.
This is not about proving you are advanced or fixing something missing in your training. It is about choosing to take on a real responsibility: the ability to recognize stress early, prevent small problems from snowballing, and respond decisively when a dive day goes sideways, for yourself and for the people you dive with.
That is exactly what this course is for. Not a credential to collect. A capability you hope to never need, but will be glad to have if you ever do.
This Course Is for the Diver Ready to Take On Real Responsibility
This is usually the right next step if any of these sound familiar.
You want to be the diver others trust to notice when something's wrong
Stress recognition and prevention training means you catch small problems before they become emergencies.
You are considering Divemaster or instructor training
Diver Stress & Rescue is a required prerequisite for SSI Divemaster and the broader Lead pathway.
You often dive with less experienced divers
Real rescue and assist skills matter most exactly when you are the most experienced diver in the water.
You want to know you could respond if something went wrong
Practiced, calm response to dive emergencies is a capability you build deliberately, not something you discover in the moment.
Choose Your Next Step
You want real emergency response capability
Best for stress recognition, in-water rescue, and accident management, the foundation for safe, confident diving leadership.
You want comfort and control first
Best for divers who want their core skills dialed in before adding rescue-specific training.
You are ready for the professional pathway
Best for divers who have completed Stress & Rescue and want to take the next step toward leading dives professionally.
What This Course Actually Involves
"This means I think something is wrong with my diving."
This course has nothing to do with your personal skill level. It is about building a capability for the rare moment someone, possibly not even you, needs help.
"I'll have to handle truly traumatic scenarios."
Training is structured, progressive, and conducted in controlled conditions with your instructor present throughout. Skills are built step by step, not thrown at you all at once.
"This is only for people heading toward Divemaster."
While it is a required prerequisite for Divemaster, most students take this course simply to be a more capable, responsible dive buddy, with no professional ambitions at all.
"React Right is a separate hassle to schedule."
React Right is built directly into the course week (Sunday), and the $719 bundle price reflects that integration. It is one course, one week, not two separate processes.
What You’ll Train
One week: two pool sessions, lake checkout dives, and a full React Right day.
Stress recognition, self-rescue skills, and buddy assist techniques, practiced in a controlled pool environment before applying them in open water.
Apply rescue and assist skills in real open water conditions at Lake Travis or Spring Lake, including diver tows and gas-sharing ascents.
A full day covering first aid, CPR, AED use, and emergency oxygen administration, the required companion certification.
Your SSI Diver Stress & Rescue and React Right certifications are lifetime credentials, recognized worldwide, and a required step toward the Divemaster program.
Course at a Glance
| Price | $449 course only · $719 full bundle with React Right |
| Format | One week · Tue/Fri pool sessions, Sat lake dives, Sun React Right |
| Location | 5909 Burnet Rd, Austin TX 78757 · Lake Travis or Spring Lake |
| Prerequisites | Open Water certification (any agency) · minimum age 15 |
| Required equipment | Personal dive equipment: mask, fins, snorkel, wetsuit, BCD, regulator, dive computer · tanks provided free · rental gear at half price |
| Certification awarded | SSI Diver Stress & Rescue plus React Right · lifetime certifications, recognized worldwide |
| Required equipment | MySSI account on a smartphone or mobile device for online academics and digital certification |
What's Included
Please bring:
Ready to become the diver everyone wants as a buddy?
Diver Stress & Rescue — from $449 · Austin, TX
$449 course only, or $719 full bundle with React Right (First Aid, CPR, AED, Oxygen). Call (512) 451-3425.
View the Dive Calendar →Diver Stress & Rescue Sits in the Dive Ready Group
Dive Ready is cross-cutting: it supports every pathway lane rather than belonging to one. It is also the required gateway to the Lead pathway for divers considering Divemaster or instructor training.
Control / Comfort
Buoyancy and other core skills that make rescue scenarios easier to manage if they ever arise.
Dive Ready
Safety and readiness skills that support every pathway lane, including Diver Stress & Rescue and React Right.
Lead
Divemaster, instructor training, and other professional pathways, all of which require this course first.
We Build Divers We Would Trust With Our Own Families.
The best divers don’t chase certifications. They build capabilities. Diver Stress & Rescue is a direct expression of that philosophy: this is not a card, it is a responsibility you choose to take on, for yourself and the people you dive with.
Tom’s 91°F indoor heated pool at 5909 Burnet Rd creates consistent, distraction-free conditions for developing skills you genuinely hope never to need but will be glad to have. Tom’s has been Austin’s only SSI Dive Center since 1982. We were teaching scuba in Austin before any of the other Austin dive shops opened. Over 400 five-star Google reviews and counting.
Your Gateway to Professional Training
Diver Stress & Rescue sits at the start of the Lead pathway. Divemaster, Assistant Instructor, and Open Water Instructor all require this certification first.
Warmest Training Pool in Austin
Cold water adds stress to training. Our 91°F pool lets you focus entirely on rescue skills, not staying warm.
Open Longer Than Any Other Austin Dive Shop Still in Business
Four decades of training divers at every skill level and in every situation.
One of Austin’s Largest Instructor Teams
Flexible scheduling and personal attention during every pool session and open water dive.
Frequently Asked Questions
Rescue response and emergency first aid go hand in hand. SSI requires React Right as part of certification because recognizing and responding to a stressed diver often leads directly into first aid or oxygen administration.
Personal dive equipment is required: mask, fins, snorkel, wetsuit, BCD, regulator, and dive computer. Tanks are provided free of charge. Rental gear is available at half price.
Yes. All students must complete an SSI Medical Statement before any in-water activity. Most people do not require a physician’s signature.
Yes. First Aid/CPR/AED and Oxygen Provider can each be taken as standalone courses. Call (512) 451-3425 to discuss your specific situation and current pricing.
Yes. Diver Stress & Rescue is a required prerequisite for the SSI Divemaster program, along with several other certifications and a minimum logged dive count.