https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/healthy-inside-out-role-mental-health-counseling-summer-camp

I spent my childhood summers at a sleepaway camp in Pennsylvania, and I loved it. When I turned 18 in 2021, I couldn’t wait to work as a counselor myself. I was following in my mother’s footsteps;...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/life-autism-how-camps-can-support-campers-staff-autism-spectrum

Anton, Maya, and James march into camp on opening day with nerves and excitement, just like any other camper or staff. They have brought the items on the camp list, their eyes are wide with...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/enhancing-inclusion-campers-sensory-processing-concerns-through-camp-counselor-training

Summer camps provide children an opportunity for goal achievement, a sense of community, and development of self-concept. Toward that end, goal-directed camp activities revolve around teamwork, as...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/safe-space-trauma-informed-trauma-infused-what-know-how-help

Across the land, schools and summer camps have embraced a movement to better understand trauma and how it affects a child’s ability to learn and self-regulate their behavior. As that knowledge...

https://www.acacamps.org/download/characteristics-youth-who-have-caused-school-associated-violent-deaths

https://www.acacamps.org/research/special-projects/camp-program-quality-initiative

Funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc., ACA began a special project to explore and develop systems that support camp professionals in promoting positive youth development through camp experiences.

https://www.acacamps.org/research/continuous-improvement

At ACA, we believe in continuous improvement. We believe that our work for young people is not conceptualized in boxes or checklists; instead, we think about our work in a cyclical way—a way that...

https://www.acacamps.org/resources/covid-19-resource-center-camps

The safety and health of campers and staff is always the highest priority at camp, and camps have a long history of planning for and managing communicable diseases. With the spread of the coronavirus...

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/fighting-wellness-youth-thrive-when-you-do

An Interview with Brittany Patterson, PhD