I came across an article in Outside Magazine a few weeks ago that had me chuckling.
“Can a Campfire Improve Your Mental Health? Many Therapists Say Yes.”
To summarize the piece, therapists and nonprofits are using campfires to help a variety of folks (teens included) open up about their struggles.
And the science backs it up. A 2014 study found that sitting around a fire decreases blood pressure, fosters relaxation, and improves social connection.
Reading it, can you see why I couldn’t help but smile?
There was no surprise here, of course, because we’ve been seeing this exact thing at Kenwood & Evergreen for decades. With the one difference being, we don’t call it “therapy”.
For us, it’s just part of the natural cadence of the day.
Things wind down, the stars come out, the wood goes into the circle, a staff member lights a match, songs get sung, voices get quieter, and conversations go deeper.
All of that science from above is happening in the standard order of things here.
What Else Counts as “Therapy”?
If we’re going to start calling campfires “therapy,” what else at camp deserves this newly expanded label? Now don’t get me wrong…I am a huge supporter of high-quality therapy. It changes lives every day. It changed mine.
Because when I walk around K&E on any given day, I see dozens of moments that could probably justify their own research studies and fancy therapeutic labels.
Moments that look completely ordinary. Kids being kids. Counselors being counselors. Summer unfolding as it always does.
So let’s take a look at some other forms of therapy that we apparently offer.
Walking-Across-Camp-With-A-Friend Therapy.
Watch any path between activities. Two kids, maybe three, just walking and talking. No destination pressure. No agenda. Just the simple act of moving together, conversations flowing as naturally as their footsteps. Where else does this happen anymore without someone checking a phone? It involves being present. Physically close. Eye contact. Connection.
Big Brother/Little Sister Therapy
Our 15-year-olds hanging out with our little campers. Teaching them Gaga strategies. Showing them the best spot to watch the sunset.
Sharing their camp memories and lighting a fire of excitement that burns all summer for our newest campers.
Where else in their lives do kids get this? Maybe from a particularly loving older sibling, but teenagers are often inward-gazing.
Camp Big Brothers/Sisters live for these interactions. They can’t wait to take on these roles. Just older kids who genuinely want to share what they know with the next generation.
Canoeing-To-Nowhere Therapy
A counselor and a couple of campers in a canoe. Not racing. Not trying to reach the other shore. Just paddling, floating, talking.
The point isn’t Point A to Point B. The point is doing something together. Being on the water with time to think, talk about whatever, and laugh together.
Our oldest campers share their favorite moments with the rest of the campers at our final campfires on the last nights of camp. Above all else, they consistently say, “It’s the little moments that mean the most.”
Family-Style-Meal Therapy
Three times a day. All summer long. Kids and counselors passing platters, pouring drinks for each other, negotiating who gets the last piece of garlic bread.
As parents with impossible family schedules, we struggle to manage this once or twice a week with all that’s happening. At camp, we do it for every single meal. No screens. Just faces across the table.
Lying-On-Your-Back-Looking-At-Stars Therapy
Might be my favorite. Up on Senior Hill, the Field of Dreams or the Evergreen Ballfield, kids flat on their backs, the Milky Way splashed across the sky, shooting stars overhead.
Conversations about everything and nothing. Feeling small and part of something so much bigger in the best possible ways.
The Real Point
Look, these aren’t programs we’ve developed or initiatives we’ve launched. They’re just… camp.
No marketing committee designed “Walking-With-A-Friend Therapy.”
No consultant suggested we optimize our canoeing program for therapeutic outcomes.
These moments happen at camp because this is how humans naturally connect when given time, space, and freedom from the usual pressures. Free-range human development? Just kids and counselors at camp.
You can’t improve on a campfire.
There’s no technological upgrade for lying under stars.
What looks like a normal Tuesday at camp is actually something increasingly rare: time for real human connection.
And yes, it’s deeply restorative. The scientists are just catching up to what we’ve always known.
Thank you for choosing this path for your children for this summer and summers to come.
For understanding that 6.5 weeks of “just camp” might be exactly what they need.
Your kids are getting the gift of a million moments that truly build them up and help them to grow as human beings, all disguised as the best summer ever.
They don’t know that walking with friends or sharing family meals is good for their mental health.
They just know they’re happy.
With gratitude for all our campfires and the children and staff that make them so special,
Scott