How Menninger is Helping Local Summer Camps

Menninger Clinic | How Menninger is Helping Local Summer Camps
Menninger Clinic | How Menninger is Helping Local Summer Camps
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Summer is here, and The Menninger Clinic is helping make it a mentally healthy season for both staff and campers at Houston’s beloved camps.
 
Menninger has joined forces with the Greater Houston YMCA to provide training and mental health support for their summer program staff. This collaboration supports both the YMCA’s summer day camps at YMCA locations across the Houston area, and the overnight Camp Cullen, located on the shores of Lake Livingston, 90 minutes north of the city.
 
For the summer day and overnight camps, Menninger professionals provided an integral part of training for more than 500 staff. Additionally, we facilitate weekly educational sessions for summer day camp directors. At Camp Cullen, we provide ongoing counseling for camp counselors. Collaborations have expanded to include a new camp partner, Camp Olympia in Lake Livingston, where Menninger delivers training and educational services to all counselors.
 
“The theme for training this year was ‘Pause’, focused primarily on communication skills,” says Director of Community Collaborations Kate Lykes, LCSW. “This program encourages staff to take a moment to assess the circumstances before reacting. We taught and modeled effective communication techniques for interacting and connecting with campers and colleagues. These programs emphasize connection.”
 
Approximately 600 staff members participated in the program – counselors that have an impact on well over 5,000 campers this summer.
 
In addition to these training efforts, Menninger is pleased to announce the hiring of Jenna Jackson as a new associate clinician, joining Lykes in Menninger’s Community Collaborations, including the camp programs. Jackson joined Menninger in September 2023 as a Social Work Fellow in the Compass Program for Young Adults, holds an LMSW, and is an LCDC intern from the University of Houston. She brings her training and project management skills to the team.
 
“The Menninger Clinic is committed to mental health far beyond our walls. We are mobilizing – collaborating with partners to support mental wellness from within our communities, for our communities,” Lykes says.
 
Read our Annual Report on Giving story for more about our partnership with youth camps here.