This course is designed for any frontline staff in support of camper mental health and their own mental health at camp.
If you lead a staff who works with kids, or your own role involves working directly with children, your job has become more difficult in the past decade. Youth mental health has declined rapidly with our most marginalized communities getting hit the hardest. Young staff struggle, not just to support the kids they care for, but also with their own well-being and resilience.
This course can help. It frames Mental Health in a way that empowers young staff to support kids, WITHOUT trying to be therapists
The course offers some simple tools for building genuine connections and assisting kids who are struggling, without the goal to fix or heal them.
This course also helps staff to understand their own well-being and gives suggestions for how staff can take care of themselves while working in your program.
It has been a true pleasure for us here at Fence Post Learning to partner with Camp Sizanani Life Skills in South Africa.
Over the past 2 years, we have offered our Staff Training courses to their staff free of charge, and during the summer of 2025, we carried out an evaluation of the Mental Health for Frontline Staff course with surveys before and after the training, and then at the end of the summer.
The results showed that after taking the course, staff had “more tools to support kids” (93%) and increased confidence in their ability to support kids (96%). Most importantly, these increases remained throughout the summer, with staff reporting 3 months later that the “training helped with learning useful skills (91%).
Specifically, staff noted learning skills around listening, conflict resolution, and understanding camper needs. The full evaluation report by Delta Consulting Group LLC can be found here.
Camp Sizanani does a lot of trainings and many of these are not evaluated at length post training. Being able to evaluate a training and compare it with the positive obvious changes you see in those that participated is incredible. Even more incredible was to not only seeing staff feeling much more confident in dealing with matters from skills they acquired from the training but having them express how confident they felt in handling these matters.
Neo
Camp Sizanani
In this section, I discuss what factors contribute to mental health.
In this section, I talk about stressors and coping mechanism.
In this section, I talk about how best to support campers.
In this section, I discuss the different challenges at camp and how to build connection.
In this section, I talk about ways to support campers in the moment.
In this section, I give you tips on self care and your own well-being.
Hi, I’m Dave Brown.
Over the past 20 years, I’ve worked directly with children and families in a variety of roles and settings. I’ve been a Therapist, Counselor, Camp Director and Trainer. I’ve worked in treatment centers, schools, nonprofits and summer camps.
I support individuals and organizations in a few ways:
Live training, presentations, and keynotes
Consulting and Strategic Planning
Whether you already work with kids or are planning to start soon, this course will give you some specific tools to make your job easier.
Per Seat
If purchasing as a group (min 10 seats)
A 75+ mins self-paced online course with short video clips, assignments and quizzes in between.
Assignments prompt leadership staff to consider the content and reflect on their own experiences and their particular camp program.
This course does not result in a final grade and the quizzes are not designed to be graded.
10-25 Seats: $10 per Seat
26-100 Seats: $9 per Seat
101-300 Seats: $8 per Seat
301+ Seats: $7 per Seat
I never want pricing to be a barrier for camps who want this training. Please contact me via this website or email me directly at if you have special circumstances or needs.
The courses can be completed on a computer, tablet, or phone by staff at any time you choose.
Some directors have staff complete the courses before they arrive to camp, others give staff time during training to complete them.
The Membership and the Train the Trainer products offer alternative methods that you might be interested in.
Some directors make the courses mandatory either before camp or during the summer as Continuing Education.
Others offer them as Professional Development, an optional educational bonus to either do before or during camp.
Yes, the videos stream to your device, so if you do not have internet access at camp, staff will need to complete them before they arrive.
Yes, as your group’s administrator, you can log in to view the progress of your staff.
We do not track staff progress or send reminders. You are responsible for ensuring staff complete the course.
Yes, a report on the analysis of data from the 2023 season can be found here.
Yes, they can download and send or print a certificate of completion.
I stand behind the quality of my content and are committed to ensuring your satisfaction as a valued customer. Investing in a course is a decision that should be backed by confidence, which is why I offer a straightforward guarantee.
If, for any reason, you find yourself unsatisfied with the quality of the content I provide, rest assured that your investment is protected. I am more than happy to refund your money in the first 14 days, no questions asked.
My commitment to your satisfaction is a cornerstone of my service. I believe that you deserve an experience that exceeds expectations, and my guarantee reflects my dedication to delivering just that.
