MYC aims to be an Islamic environment where each individual feels a valuable and loved part of the whole Muslim community, where she receives support, respect and guidance in every aspect of her life. The counseling team is a crucial element to establishing this environment, since they spend the most time with the campers. Over the past 43 years, counselors have comforted, inspired, and guided MYC campers.

Counseling at MYC is a delicate balance of developing a big-brother/big-sister relationship with counselees while maintaining a certain degree of authority in order to ensure safety and to stick to the greater camp schedule. The counseloršs goal is not to solve a camperšs problems (remember you only have one week), but to create an Islamic environment of support, understanding, and guidance, to lead campers to the tools for resolving personal issues. This can be accomplished by counselors setting the tone for the groupšs dynamic and by bonding with each camper individually. In both contexts, being involved and concerned from the first minute will put you on the path to developing a good relationship with your counselees and establishing trust.

MYC values a diversity of Islamic thought, cultural backgrounds and levels of Islamic practice, and therefore counselors should be sensitive to these elements of a camperšs life while creating this supportive environment.

Download this document (.doc) to learn more about counseling, or download this application (.doc) to be a youth counselor at this year's MYC.

Amira Quraishi, Counselor Coordinator