Hot Tips #5: Mental & Behavioral Health Supports

by Ariella Rogge on June 08

Img 8851.jpg?ixlib=rails 2.1

A summer at Sanborn is one full of new experiences and challenges. Camp is a great place to practice being uncomfortable with and working through a tolerable amount of stress (climbing a mountain, performing at a talent show, riding an advanced horse) with the help of many supportive relationships at camp. Our hope is that your camper comes prepared to manage stress in healthy and productive ways, and we acknowledge that they may need a little help in the absence of some technology based coping strategies. Our camp-counselors are not licensed behavioral health specialists or therapists. They are exceptional listeners, who are trained to help everyone “ride the emotional wave” when big emotions come up. They give great hugs, and can help children and young adults find the fun and possibility while they are at camp, even during a rainstorm.

If your camper experiences excessive worry, persistent feelings of sadness or other MESH (Mental Emotional Social Health) concerns, we want to partner with you to to develop a plan that supports your child within the context of camp’s capabilities. If your camper regularly sees a therapist, we would encourage you to have them talk to your camper about healthy ways to navigate the camp experience–especially areas that might be causing them some worry or concern. (Feel free to share this magazine with them, too!) Some campers will meet weekly or bi-weekly with their therapists while they are at camp, while others allow this tech-free, community focused, growth mindset space in the outdoors to be a supportive place to practice coping skills, build friendships, and discover new individual competencies that lead to high self-confidence and self-esteem.

The self chosen and unique schedule of trips and activities for each camper can make keeping their standard Thursday morning counseling time a challenge. We have identified that the best times to schedule appointments are Monday mornings before 9:30 am MDT, Friday afternoons after 5:00 pm MDT, and around meal times on the weekend. If you are unsure whether or not your camper should, or can, maintain ongoing therapy while they are at camp, please call the appropriate director (Krista at High Trails or Oliver at Big Spring at 719-748-3341) and discuss your child’s needs.

Img 8312.jpg?ixlib=rails 2.1

HOT TIPS FOR PARENTS

  • DO: Take time filling out and/or updating the Camper Profile form. This form provides cabin staff members with parental insights regarding your camper’s mental, emotional and social health.

  • DO: Consider the situations which create the biggest emotions for your camper. How do you help your camper “ride the emotional wave?” What works and what doesn’t? What are their most successful coping skills? Talk about these situations with your camper and share it on the Camper Profile.

  • DO: Get excited about the independence and “agency” your camper will have at camp.

  • DO: Let your camper participate in the pre-camp Digital Empathy tool offered by Tikit Health. It gives them the opportunity to share with camp leadership and camp staff some of their sources of strength as well as any concerns they might have about coming to and being at camp. (This link will be sent out the morning the camp session begins)

  • DO: Tell your camper you believe in their ability to do hard things and to understand that they may feel uncomfortable sometimes at camp but they will not be unsafe.

Img 8113.jpg?ixlib=rails 2.1

HOT TIPS FOR CAMPERS

  • DO: Talk to your counselor if you are having really big, overwhelming or frustrating emotions.
  • DO: Practice mindfulness strategies like box breathing or using your five sense to stay present
  • DO: Have a growth mindset at camp…instead of “This is too hard” try saying “This is going to take some time and effort.” Instead of thinking, “I’m not good at this” try thinking, “What am I missing?”
  • DO: Practice deep breathing when you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed–getting more oxygen to your brain and slowing your breathing down can make you feel more centered and calm
  • DO: Be hopeful. Be future oriented and set goals, ask for help when you need it, and find pathways and solutions to barriers and obstacles.
Img 8827.jpg?ixlib=rails 2.1
Back to Blog
Tags
Ariella Rogge
About Ariella Rogge

Ariella started her career at Sanborn when she was twelve. After five years of camper and five years of Sanborn staff experience, she continued her work with kids in the high school classroom. Ariella and her family returned to Sanborn in 2001 to take on the Program Director role which she held til 2012. She and Elizabeth Marable became co-directors of High Trails in 2013 and then Ariella became the High Trails Director in 2020. In the fall of 2022 she became the Director of Sanborn Western Camps, overseeing the director teams of both Big Spring and High Trails. She lists mountain golf, Gymkhana, climbing mountains and making Pad Thai in the backcountry as some of her favorite activities at camp. Ariella received a B.A. in English from Colorado College and is a certified secondary English educator,an ACCT Level 2 Ropes Course Technician, an ARC lifeguard and NREMT and WEMT. She lives in Florissant in the summer and in Green Mountain Falls during the school year so she can stay involved with the busy lives of her husband, Matt, and two teenage sons, Lairden and Karsten.