The National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI; 2025) estimates that one in five adults and one in seven children aged six through 17 experience a mental health illness. In addition, the second leading cause of death of individuals aged 10 through 24 is suicide (NAMI, 2025). Mental illness is a complex, dynamic, and debilitating challenge for children and adults, necessitating the need for an integration of behavioral health professionals in camp settings. 

Behavioral health professionals are licensed or licensed-eligible in any of the following fields of study: psychology, mental health counseling, marriage and family therapy, and social work (see Table 1). Integrating one, two, or more behavioral health professionals into a camp environment sets your camp up for success with your staff and volunteers, as well as your campers. In the following sections, you’ll learn about different types of mental and behavioral health professionals, their scope of practice and ethical standards, various ways to recruit and interview, and potential red flags to consider when bringing them into your camp organization. 

Table 1. Master and Doctoral-level Behavioral Health Professionals

Types of Behavioral Health Professionals*
Master-level Behavioral Health Professionals	Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)/Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC)	Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)	Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT)
Doctoral-level Behavioral Health Professionals	Psychologists (PhD)	Psychiatrists (MD)	Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner (NP)

Note: Not an exhaustive list of behavioral health professionals

Behavioral Health Professionals Academic Qualifications

Behavioral and mental health professionals have advanced academic degrees. There are master-level and doctoral-level professionals. Master-level professionals, including, but not limited to: (a) licensed mental health counselors/licensed professional counselors, (b) licensed clinical social workers, and (c) marriage and family therapists, have completed extensive coursework in ethics, counseling and helping skills, diagnosis and treatment planning, and trauma and crisis intervention. 

In addition to comprehensive coursework, these behavioral health professionals have been directly supervised and have worked with individuals from diverse backgrounds through practicum and internship experiences before taking national and state-level exams to practice independently under their licenses. Similarly, doctoral-level professionals, such as psychologists and psychiatrists, complete comprehensive coursework, supervised practicum and internships, and national and state licensure requirements to practice independently. Psychiatrists have additional requirements, including medical school and medical residency, because they can prescribe medication.

Behavioral Health Professionals’ Scopes of Practice

Behavioral health professionals at the master’s and doctoral levels have different scopes of practice, which are the types of services and activities they can legally and ethically perform. These scopes of practice can vary by state, which is the responsibility of the behavioral health professional. Each of the master-level professionals mentioned is trained to provide mental health diagnoses and treatment, as well as trauma and crisis intervention, and, with additional requirements, clinical supervision. In addition to these broad activities, each master-level professional has a slightly different focus. For example, a mental health counselor may focus on individuals, a marriage and family therapist on couples and families, and a social worker on broader systems of support to support both an individual and their family. 

Similarly, doctoral-level professionals share many of the same scopes of practice with some key differences (see Table 2). For instance, psychologists can conduct higher-level testing and are trained to conduct research. For master-level practitioners (e.g., licensed professional counselors, licensed mental health counselors, licensed marriage and family therapists, and licensed clinical social workers) and psychologists, prescribing or administering medications is not within their scope of practice. However, psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners — another doctoral-level practitioner — can prescribe and administer medications. 

Table 2. Scope of Practice

Behavioral Health Professionals' Scope of Practice
Master-level Behavioral Health Professionals: LPC/LMHC/LCSW/LMFT	Clinical diagnosis and treatment planning Psychotherapy Crisis intervention and consultation
Doctoral-level Behavioral Health Professionals	Clinical diagnosis and treatment planning Psychotherapy Crisis intervention and consultation Research and development Prescription and administration of medications**

**Psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners only

Accreditation Standards

Both master’s- and doctoral-level behavioral health professionals, regardless of their individual scope of practice, have undergone extensive coursework and training that meet strict academic accreditation standards and national and state-level testing requirements. For example, academic accreditation agencies include the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, which accredits mental health and marriage and family degree programs, ensuring quality, peer-reviewed educational standards. Psychologists and psychiatrists have the American Psychological Association, and social workers have the Council on Social Work Education. 

Moreover, accreditation of academic programs is separate from certification to practice, which also includes separate licensure exams and boards. In Florida, in addition to coursework, an individual must accrue a designated number of clinical hours, complete supervision, and pass the national mental health exam before applying for licensure through the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling. Other states may use different names for their licensing boards. Psychologists and psychiatrists follow different paths to licensure. 

Ethical Codes of Ethics; Federal and State Statutes

Encompassed in a behavioral health professional’s education and training is ethical and legal training. Within the scope of practice, each behavioral health professional follows their respective professional code of ethics and complies with the rules and statutes of the state(s) they practice and federal statutes. These professional ethics guide professionals in areas such as client welfare, cultural competence and sensitivity, ethical decision-making, and respectful care. 

Additionally, behavioral health professionals complete coursework and training on the specific federal and state statutes and rules under which they practice, ensuring professional credibility, client information confidentiality (e.g., the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), safe therapeutic environments, and client protection. Moreover, a standard of practice for behavioral health professionals is to carry professional liability insurance to protect them and their clients. Finally, behavioral health professionals are mandated reporters who are required by law to report alleged instances of abuse or neglect. 

Recruiting and Interviewing

When you’ve decided you want to build a behavioral health team, recruiting and interviewing them are significant steps that require careful attention. For instance, a helpful recruitment strategy is to leverage the professional network of a behavioral health professional, as they have colleagues with more specialized, tailored training. The network of professional colleagues will likely have their own areas of focus, which adds to the richness of supporting your staff, campers, and their families. 

When advertising for behavioral health professionals to join your camp, it is important to craft a targeted position description. There are some key questions that your organization’s leadership can consider when they craft this position description, such as:

• Is there a need for this position? 
• What is their role?
• What are their expectations?
• How will the behavioral health professional be implemented?
• Who will they be serving?
• What are their responsibilities?
• Do they have an operating budget?
• Are they a cultural fit within the organization? 

Additionally, in the targeted position description, you need to specify the level of professional you are seeking: a student intern (i.e., still in graduate training), a pre-licensed individual who is under supervision (i.e., a person with a completed graduate degree in a behavioral health discipline), or a fully licensed professional. Your recruitment and targeted position description for behavioral health professionals will require clarity on how these professionals fit within your organization’s structure, and their duties and responsibilities. 

Finally, it is important to set a competitive salary based on market-driven comparisons. Salaries do vary widely by state, professional credential, experience, etc. It is also important to consider whether the behavioral health professional will be a seasonal or full-time position. Two ways to determine the salary for a seasonal or full-time position are to consider the Bureau of Labor Statistics and/or reach out to other camps and nonprofits with comparable positions. Behavioral health professionals are talented professionals who want to share their experiences and training with your staff. Underpaying behavioral health professionals only hurts campers and your staff in the long run, so appropriately compensate them. You are investing in their value to ensure a safe, emotionally and behaviorally supportive camp environment. 

Now that you have a behavioral health professional ready to be interviewed. Here are key questions to consider: 

• Was your academic program accredited and by whom?
• What clinical populations do you have experience with?
• What are your self-care practices?
• What is your experience with behavior management and change?
• What is your experience with trauma and crisis intervention?
• Provide scenario-based questions to understand how they navigate staff and camper behavioral, emotional, and mental health. 

Red Flags

Some red flags to give you pause when building your behavioral health team include, but are not limited to, the following: coaches, personal experience, a focus on a cure, and poor self-care/boundaries. Anxiety, depression, trauma, and life coaches are a growing trend in the mental health world, and oftentimes these individuals do not possess specific academic and/or professional training in working with individuals who are experiencing mental health challenges. However, the primary concern for coaches may be that they lack a regulatory board to hold them accountable for their services, whereas pre-licensed and licensed behavioral health professionals have state board statutes and federal legislation. Additionally, coaches may not have a clear scope of practice, which is not standard practice. 

Additionally, it is important to prioritize pre-licensed and licensed professionals for your team. Individuals interested in your position description may include coaches and people with lived experience. There may be individuals who apply who rely solely on their lived mental health experience as the basis for their training and supporting individuals. Although lived mental health experience can be an important motivator to help others, again, these individuals may not have any structured or formalized training to guide and support others toward their healing. 

Separately, you may have a behavioral health professional who promotes a “cure” to mental illness. Mental illness is complex and cannot be reduced to a simple “cure.” Moreover, you might encounter a behavioral health professional whose personal self-care and boundary-setting are poor. Working in a camp environment, where decision-making is played out in the gray and where working with staff and campers daily, it is necessary to practice appropriate self-care and boundary-setting to avoid burnout and unethical boundary crossings, which are specific ethical codes that behavioral health professionals adhere to. 

Behavioral health professionals can provide your camp with a wealth of knowledge, training, and expertise. These individuals offer and promote behavioral and emotional safety within your camp. These individuals also collaborate with your camp’s medical team to provide a holistic approach to camper physical and mental well-being. In addition to supporting staff, their role in helping campers adds a layer of confidence and credibility for parents who entrust their children to you. 

Photo courtesy of Lutherhaven Ministries in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

This blog was written on behalf of ACA's Project Real Job, whose goal is to support camps in their efforts to recruit, hire, and retain staff. 

James Rujimora, PhD, Licensed Mental Health Counselor (#22772) is currently the director of behavioral health and wellness at Camp Boggy Creek, a SeriousFun Children’s Network camp for children with serious medical illnesses. James is also a licensed mental health counselor and holds a PhD in Education. Outside of camp, James loves to travel, play with his cats, and try new restaurants. He can be reached at [email protected].