Camping: An Approach to Releasing Human Potential in Chronic Mental Patients

Therapeutic camping for the mentally ill may provide an opportunity for remotivating chronic hospital patients. Two camping sessions initiated by the Maryland Department of Mental Hygiene were attended by 90 state hospital patients, each of whom had been hospitalized for at least two years and appeared to be making no progress in the hospital. Responses of patients to the camping experience were varied; no correlation between diagnosis and the patient's reaction to camping was apparent. However, within three months following the camp sessions, 41 patients were able to be discharged from the hospital.