Social Work Researchers Go to Camp

“Social Work Researchers Go to Camp” offers an overview of camp-related studies published by social workers over the past two decades. Summaries of research are organized by the following categories of camps: bereavement; serious illness, injury, disability, and other challenges; learning disabilities and psychosocial difficulties; and foster care. A section focuses on research with social workers as camp volunteers and staff. The authors argue for the benefits of increasing the quantity of camp research by social workers and research about camp social work practice. Suggestions include engaging in evaluation studies and long-term impact research, as well as pursuing potential topics such as post-traumatic growth research.

The Group Experience in Camping

“The Group Experience in Camping: Observations from Schwartz and Shulman” pairs an April 1960 article by social worker William Schwartz with commentary by Lawrence Shulman, who has continued to enhance Schwartz’s Mutual Aid or Interactional model of group work. Schwartz explores some factors inherent in the resident camp setting as a unique group experience: the compressed time frame, the rapid demand for intimacy, being away from home and “insulated” from the outside world. All these aspects produce intense cabin-group interaction. Schwartz discusses several implications related to the camp milieu that impact the individual camper. Shulman introduces the article by providing a snapshot of Schwartz’s perspective and follows the article with an analysis proposing that Schwartz’s 1960 article represents a way-station en route to the model he elaborated in 1961.

Expansive Growth, Changing Times: 1950s–1970s

“Expansive Growth, Changing Times: 1950s–1970s” examines social work involvement in summer camps during the prosperous postwar years. With social group work achieving acceptance as a method within the profession, camps provided a venue for leading social workers to advance theories of group development, provide principles for staff training and supervision, advocate management standards, and offer insights into youth development. During this vibrant, exciting period, social workers including Olive Crocker, Jack R. Goldberg, Gisela Konopka, William Schwartz, and others contributed to the literature. Camps communicated progressive values supporting social justice, political activism, and racial integration. Their approach was sophisticated and intellectual. Vignettes based on interviews and other sources convey portraits of two renowned camps with social work leadership: Camp Minisink and Camp Wel-Met.

Group Work Orientation in the Contemporary Summer Camp

“Group Work Orientation in the Contemporary Summer Camp” addresses current literature and implications for practice. In recent years, camp social workers have published articles and presented at professional conferences. Among the areas of interest are the following: mission and purpose as applied to camps, intentional use of activities (including nondeliberative practice) as a means to an end, the mutual aid process as an inherent part of camp life, stages of group development as important knowledge for camp personnel, social workers’ leadership role in training and supervising camp staff, and social justice as a core value conveyed by social work-oriented camps. This chapter also describes the unique Group Work Camp, the creation of social group workers intended to educate social work students and new professionals as well as refreshing experienced practitioners. The camp utilizes experiential education to enhance group work skills. The chapter includes one vignette.

Recruitment to the Profession

“Recruitment to the Profession” discusses the key role that nonprofit camps have long played in the recruitment of new social workers. Early efforts were uneven and uncoordinated. During the 1950s and 1960s, shortages in the field impelled recruitment efforts, culminating in the National Commission for Social Work Careers and its recruitment committees. One such committee and its Summer Experience in Social Work Program are detailed. Camps provided paid summer jobs, supervision, a seminar class, and a final two-day workshop, all with the goal of testing interest in and potential for social work. Social Work Seminar, the recruitment program of Camp Wel-Met, is described. The camp experience along with social work values conveyed by camp staff often inspire or confirm a decision to enter the profession. The chapter concludes with reminiscences from social workers about camp experiences and their choice of social work as a career.

Growth and Development of Social Work Camps: 1920s–1940s

“Growth and Development of Social Work Camps: 1920s–1940s” continues the chronological overview of social work involvement in the summer camp movement. Several themes become increasingly evident: the role of the group, individualization, and the importance of the democratic process. Group workers established a professional identity during the 1930s. Books and articles by Joshua Lieberman, Hedley Dimock and Charles Hendry, and Louis Blumenthal advocated camps that encouraged resourcefulness and self-direction, social responsibility in a democratic setting, and the ideals of progressive education. The benefits of the decentralized camp and the primacy of the cabin group were recognized. During the 1940s, the child-centered rather than activity-centered focus received attention, while the advantages of year-round programming were emphasized. Group work became accepted as a method within the social work profession.

Camps for Many Populations

“Camps for Many Populations” surveys the variety of camp settings in which social workers serve today. They include general population camps (and their inclusion and camper care programs) as well as specialized settings. Such specialized camps may focus on children from lower-income households, those with behavioral health concerns, children living with environmental stressors, a gender identity cohort, children living in out-of-home placements, those with physical and intellectual challenges, and children with medical conditions. A number of vignettes help to illustrate how social workers enhance the experience for campers grappling with a variety of situations.

The Therapeutic Camp

“The Therapeutic Camp: Trends in Camps for Children with Social–Emotional Challenges” traces the history of mental health interventions and research in the summer camp setting. With the growing influence of the mental hygiene and child guidance movements, therapeutic camps were initiated by case work and group work agencies, family service agencies, hospitals, universities, and other organizations. Notable early therapeutic camp programs included the Boys’ Guidance Project (Michigan), Camp Ramapo (New York), and Camp Wawokiye (Ohio). The psychodynamic influence permeated Camp Wediko (Massachusetts) and Camp Chief Noonday (Michigan), led by Fritz Redl. In many of these camps, the continuity between the year-round work of the therapeutic agency and the camp program was stressed. Such camps employed case workers, group workers, and social work students. This chapter also discusses inclusion-model camps, adventure therapy, and family camps. The chapter concludes with reflections on Camp Towhee, a therapeutic camp in Ontario, Canada.

Natural Environment as Refuge, Nurturer, Catalyst

“Natural Environment as Refuge, Nurturer, Catalyst” places the notion of the summer camp in the broader context of societal ideas about people and nature, helping lay the groundwork for the social work profession’s involvement. Selected key events, concepts, and people impacting Americans’ view of the natural environment are highlighted. During the 19th century, as the United States became increasingly urban, writers and visual artists introduced Americans to the virtues of country life for health benefits, solace, and renewal. In the early 20th century, adherents of the conservation, back-to-nature, and antimodernism movements reacted to industrialization and urbanization. John Dewey and Jane Addams are referenced. Since the mid-20th century, a number of thinkers—scientists, historians, theologians, journalists—have turned their attention to issues related to people and the environment. Increasingly, social workers have examined the physical and natural environments as necessary components for understanding people holistically.

From Fresh Air to Summer Camp

“From Fresh Air to Summer Camp: Social Work Enters the Picture” traces developments occurring from about 1900 to 1926. During this period the new profession of social work coalesced, incorporated the reform spirit of the Progressive Era, began to develop rationales for programs that could best benefit residents of congested urban environments, and established numerous social agency-sponsored summer camps. The purposes of these camps varied and included improved health and weight gain, play, Americanization, progressive informal education, skill-building, and group life as a milieu for growth and change. The chapter includes descriptions of four early social agency summer camp programs: Surprise Lake Camp, Lillian Home, Camp Wise, and the camps at Harriman State Park, Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC).