Camps as Social Work Interventions: Returning to Our Roots.

This article argues for restoration of the value of camping programs as effective social work interventions. Therapeutic camp programs provide a unique intervention through which vulnerable children and youth may make gains in their emotional and social functioning while having fun with peers. An evaluation of a camp program for children and adolescents with learning disabilities and psychosocial problems offers a compelling illustration of how camp can provide an effective context for social group work interventions. Evaluative findings are presented, along with campers' and parents' impressions of the program. Therapeutic camp programs link new approaches with enduring social work principles that reflect social work's roots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]