A Therapeutic Summer Weekend Camp for Grieving Children: Supporting Clinical Practice Through Empirical Evaluation

Abstract

Through collaborative action-oriented community research, agencybased clinicians, and university-based researchers engaged in a two-year theorydriven evaluation of a therapeutic summer camp for grieving children. The evaluation examined the camp practice model and children's engagement in therapeutic camp activities and psychosocial functioning based on the camp staff and parental caregivers' assessments. The first year findings led to a synergistic decision-making process that strengthened one of camp therapeutic activities. The overall results reveal a high consistency among staff on assessments of engagement and psychosocial functioning, and parental caregivers' satisfaction with the camp. Limitations of research evaluation and implications for practice are considered.

Healing Components of a Bereavement Camp: Children and Adolescents Give Voice to Their Experiences

“…The current study explored what intervention strategies were most impactful for the campers. Though there are some previous studies with qualitative components examining the impact of grief camps for children and teens (Barrett, 2004;Creed et al, 2001;Farber & Sabatino, 2007;Loy, 2000;Nabors et al, 2004), these studies showed mixed results and/or neglected to interview the children themselves. Also, this study differs from other studies that have used qualitative measures to explore grief camps by interviewing the children at least 3 months after the experience and not immediately following the camp sessions, allowing the campers some time to process the experience and its long-term impact.…”

“…A mixed methods approach to evaluating the camp was applied. Children who attended one of the camp sessions showed an increase in problems in psychosocial functioning as measured by a quantitative instrument, whereas campers attending a second camp session showed a decrease in problems with psychosocial functioning (Farber & Sabatino, 2007). The limitations of the study included instruments that had not been validated, as well as a lack of a control or comparison group.…”

“…Other campers attended a camp with a curriculum anchored in psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral therapy. The curriculum was intended to help the campers cope while working through their grieving process and to reduce psychological distress linked to cognitions of the loss (Farber & Sabatino, 2007). A mixed methods approach to evaluating the camp was applied.…”

Coping with parental death as seen from the perspective of children who attended a grief camp

“…Brief weekend camps for bereaved children have been available since the early 1990s (Sorensen and King, 1999) and their prevalence and quality has continued to expand. Farber and Sabatino (2007) used Likert scales to rate children’s involvement and their psychosocial functioning when examining their camp sessions, but findings were inconclusive. No direct verbal input was provided from the children in the study.…”

Grief and loss and children: a guide for caregivers and educators

“…Young children may show signs of regressive behaviours (Farber & Sabatino, 2007;Schoen, Burgoyne & Schoen, 2004). This may be an attempt to reclaim a time of safety or security on the part of the child, before the disruption due to loss occurred.…”