Taking care of mental health during summer camps
Talking about mental health can be daunting. We are at a loss for words, we are afraid of making mistakes, we think we don't know enough or that we don't have enough tools to address this issue. But mental health is not just a matter for health professionals, it is part of our daily lives, and it can be promoted in many places , including leisure activities, such as camps or summer camps.
It is important to understand that there are no magic recipes in promoting mental health, since each person, each group, each referent is different and, therefore, the intervention will always be unique. But we want to propose some interesting questions to ask ourselves before a leisure activity (homestay, camps or summer camps), which will encourage us to transform these spaces into friendly and respectful spaces with mental health.
1. Do we know children and adolescents?
When we talk about a mental health problem, we are talking about an alteration in the emotional, cognitive or behavioral functioning of the person. For this reason, it is necessary to have a careful look and an open attitude to get to know ourselves (knowing what we do when we are not feeling well, knowing how we express discomfort and well-being, etc.), to be able to detect these alterations and not let them go unnoticed.
2. Do we have safe spaces planned to spend time together?
It is necessary to provide spaces where we can spend time together. Time where children and adolescents can feel confident and can verbalize how they feel. For this reason, we must be able to provide non-productive spaces , such as free time, where we can be with the children from another role. In addition, it is essential to be open to the changes that may occur throughout the days and allow discomfort to be expressed when necessary.
Promoting mental health through leisure
3. Have we communicated with other people in the support group?
Leisure leaders are very important people for children and adolescents, and we are part of their support circle. Families, teachers, after-school supervision or health professionals are also part of it. It can be enriching to start conversations with other members of the support circle , with whom to share perspectives and support strategies.
We must provide non-productive spaces where we can be with children and adolescents from another role, and allow discomfort to be expressed when needed.
4. Are we guaranteed an intimate and respectful space to accompany during the camps?
We must ask ourselves what physical and temporal space we will be able to use to accompany a child or young person who asks us to express themselves, and how we will manage it from the team of references.
5. Do we have spaces planned to encourage questions?
Understanding that accompanying does not mean solving is a complex but important step that must be taken as leisure referents. Accompanying means giving space and time to be able to express oneself , to recognize discomfort and to support it collectively. To do this, it is important to create spaces where we can ask ourselves “How are we?” and “How do we feel?”, in order to make the rest possible.
6. Are we aware of the moments and activities that can be a risk to mental health?
Let's imagine what the leisure activities we will do are like and what are the moments that may have the greatest risk for mental health. Free time, evenings, the first and last days and meals can generally be the spaces with the greatest risk. It is important to have them detected and ask ourselves "What will we do at these moments?", "How will we act as references?" .
Free time, evenings, the first and last days and meals can be times with the highest risk. It is important to have them detected and ask ourselves what we are going to do.
7. How will we protect children and adolescents from risk factors?
In addition to the moments of greatest risk, there are also situations that can have a great impact and that can happen during camps or colonies: sexual assaults, harassment, moments of crisis, serious conflicts... How will we act in these situations and how will we prevent them from happening?
8. Shall we talk about mental health?
Beyond preventing discomfort from appearing, it is also important to promote well-being during leisure activities. Will we ever talk about mental health? How will we do that?
9. Will we do any activity or dynamic that aims to break stigmas and taboos?
During the camps, many types of activities can be carried out: cultural, recreational, sports... We encourage you to propose activities and dynamics that aim to break stigmas (labels that are placed on people with mental health problems) and combat taboos.
Listening to or reading experiences from people who have lived or are living with a mental health problem is usually a good way to begin to bring this reality closer to children and young people.
10. Do we have communication channels in place to hear all voices?
How will we dynamize the spaces so that all voices are heard and no one feels inhibited when expressing their opinion or feelings? We need to have some effective dynamics ready to guarantee this. Some tools that can be used are speaking circles.
Ten Commandments for Understanding and Promoting Adolescent Mental Health
11. Were we able to establish clear common agreements before the activity?
Have we established some agreements that ensure the space will be safe and friendly? In these spaces, we can talk about some basic agreements of respect or expand it to some that include strategies for feeling safer, about how to talk to and treat each other, or agreements about what to do when an agreed agreement is transgressed.
12. How will we promote protective factors?
We review whether during the programming of activities we have activities to talk about mental health and protective factors (self-esteem, confidence, cohesion, communication, sense of belonging, empathy, healthy habits, etc.). It is essential to create spaces that take care of our mental health, where these issues can be put on the table and reflected on, experienced and learned together.
13. Will we provide spaces to talk about how to organize care?
Who? How?, and where will they care? These are questions that you should ask yourself together with the children and young people. Who will cook? Who will clean? Who will be with those who are unwell? And a thousand other tasks that exist within a camp that have to do with care. It is important to know these tasks, to distribute them equitably , so that everyone, including children and adolescents, have the possibility and opportunity to care during the leisure activity.
It is necessary to have some effective dynamics prepared to guarantee that all voices are heard and that no one feels inhibited.
14. Do we know our limits, have we shared them or will we share them and do we know how to make them respected?
Before starting a leisure activity, we must be aware of our limits, although some of them we may discover during the activity. "I can't accompany these cases because they resonate too much with me", "I feel like I don't have the tools to manage them"... We must share them with the team and make decisions that allow us to be safe in carrying out our work during the leisure activity.
15. Do we ask for support?
If we don't take care of ourselves as role models, it will be harder for us to take care of ourselves. Taking care of ourselves is not an extra, but a basic necessity . And we are talking about taking care of ourselves emotionally, but also organizationally. For example, it may be necessary to talk about how we divide up the tasks, if we feel accompanied during them, if we have spaces to express how we are, or spaces to ask for support.
Asking ourselves questions will help us transform leisure activities into much friendlier and more respectful spaces. As you can see, it's not about having control of all situations or knowing what to say or do at all times, but rather about maintaining an empathetic and receptive attitude that allows us to welcome discomfort and move through it collectively .
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