https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/reframing-mental-health-camp

Mental health at camp has always been a challenge. But for many camps, it wasn’t until worldwide stressors started piling up in 2020 that this challenge became overwhelming.

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/healthy-camp-study-update-ten-promising-practices-healthy-camp

Since the outbreak of H1N1 during the summer of 2009, camps have been diligently updating their health and safety protocols and practices for the management of communicable diseases. By accessing and...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/practical-leadership-what-we-can-learn-simon-says-show-tell-sharks

There is so much good information about leadership. There are books about leadership with themes ranging from the military to Mickey Mouse; there are seminars, workshops, retreats, and entire...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/brains-emerging-adults-risk-taking-consequences-camps

Risk management in the camp profession often means rigorous tests of equipment, detailed training for staff, and preventative measures to eliminate risk. Yet, we often fail to take into account the...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/implementing-change-practical-tips-early-camp-director

When I was seventeen, I was hired for the second summer at my beloved home camp by the veteran camp director. She had become my mentor and friend through all my years as a camper, teen leader, and...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/mind-part-1-what-directors-need-know-about-staff-mental-health

Hiring young adults to care for other people’s children seems like folly, from a neurodevelopmental perspective. Nobody’s brain is fully developed, many activities are dangerous, the weather can be...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/expand-your-mesh-capacity-summer-begins

Consider these scenarios: A parent calls: “My child has ADD and takes medication for depression. Can she come to camp?” A counselor dashes into your office: “We need you at Cabin 5. A camper...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/childrens-mental-health-camp-what-our-role

Few children's issues have drawn more attention, or been more controversial, than those involving their mental health. For example, in the past twenty years, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/mind-part-ii-what-staff-need-know-about-their-own-mental-health

Think, for a minute, about the adults to whom you were most strongly attached as a child. Can you see their faces and remember how they treated you? Perhaps you see parents, teachers, coaches, clergy...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/camps-campus-safeguarding-youth-programming-higher-education-settings

If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at will change. — Wayne Dyer College students aren’t the first population that comes to mind when thinking about traditional summer...