https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/camp-songs-history-traditions

Harriet Lowe, editor of Camping Magazine, and Rita Yerkes, historical series editor, were kind enough to invite me to write about the history and traditions of camp songs. However, you...

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/camp-el-tesoro-de-la-vida-camp-experience-bereaved-children

The death of a loved one is a reality that each of us must face at some point. The experience of a loss invokes a myriad of feelings for adults and children alike. Some will maintain the belief that...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/camp-antidote-stress

At a recent gathering, a group of camp professionals were talking about stress. They mentioned how it seemed fairly pervasive among campers and staff, sometimes at debilitating levels. Then they said...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/your-mesh-professional-making-decisions-success

Wondering what type of mental health professional might be a good fit for your camp’s needs? Interested in knowing what this professional needs to be successful? Concerned about having a mental...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/biting%E2%80%85my%E2%80%85nails-revisiting-staff-anxiety

It was three years ago when I first wrote about the increasing levels of anxiety that camp directors were seeing in their staff (Ditter, 2016). At the time, the Centers for Disease Control and...

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

In 1987, I reported to camp for my first full summer as a counselor. The campers were to arrive only a few days later, but I was confident that I would have no trouble as a staff member with a cabin...