COURSE INFORMATION
The striking disconnect between the world of ministry and the world of grief research and theory has existed in many texts and courses. Alienating God from suffering and grief and hoping to meet the challenges of grief from a purely secular view has stripped the healing process of its most vital source; the divine. This course hopes to bridge the gap between science and God and give the grief counselor a comprehensive guide for both the mind and the soul. Kelley, in her work, “Grief: Contemporary Theory and the Practice of Ministry” incorporates new modern ideals on grief while including the most important element in healing: God. This course aims at better equipping those who minister to the downtrodden in explaining the modern concepts of grief but clothing them with the warmth of God’s love and teaching. In addition to this, the primary emphasis of the program continues in the topic of Christian suffering via the encyclical, ‘Salvifici Dolaris” by Pope John Paul II and shares some of the late Pope’s ideas on human suffering. Course Code: GC 620. Contact hours of continuing education = 40.
Prerequisite- You must have successfully completed SC 510 , GC 600 and GC 610 before taking this course.
Instructor/Course Author: Mark Moran, M.A., SC-C, GC-C
Email: Mdmoran7@yahoo.com
Resume: access here
TIME FRAME: You are allotted two years from the date of enrollment, to complete all of the required courses in the Christian Grief Counseling program. There are no set time-frames, other than the two year allotted time. If you do not complete the course within the two-year time-frame, you will be removed from the course and an “incomplete” will be recorded for you in our records. Also, if you would like to complete the course after this two-year expiration time, you would need to register and pay the course tuition fee again.
TEXTBOOKS: There is one required textbook for this course:
Grief: Contemporary Theory and the Practice of Ministry by Melissa M. Kelley. Fortress Press, 2010. ISBN 978-0-8006-9661-0
Link to Purchase on Amazon.com: click here
There is one required additional reading for this course: Access here.
GRADING: You must achieve a passing score of at least 70% to complete this course and receive the 40 hours of awarded continuing education credit. There are no letter grades assigned. You will receive notice of your total % score. Those who score below the minimum of 70% will be contacted by the American Academy of Grief Counseling and options for completing additional course work to achieve a passing score, will be presented.
BOARD APPROVALS:
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is an Approved Provider for Continuing Education by the South Carolina Professional Counselors, Marriage & Family Therapists and Psycho-Educational Specialists licensing board, Provider # 4637. Access information
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals (The Provider) is approved by the California Board of Registered Nurses, Provider number # CEP 15595 for 40 Contact Hours.
This course, which is approved by the Florida State Board Of Nursing (CE Provider # 50-11975) also has the following Board of Nursing Approvals, for 40 contact hours of CE
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the Arkansas Board of Nursing. CE Provider # 50-11975.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the Georgia Board of Nursing. CE Provider # 50-11975.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the South Carolina Board of Nursing. CE Provider # 50-11975.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the West Virginia Board of Examiners for Professional Registered Nurses. CE Provider # 50-11975.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the New Mexico Board of Nursing. CE Provider # 50-11975.
Course Refund & AIHCP Policies: access here
ONLINE CLASSROOM RESOURCES AND TOOLS
* Examination Access: there is link to take you right to the online examination program where you can print out your examination and work with it. All examinations are formatted as “open book” tests. When you are ready, you can access the exam program at anytime and click in your responses to the questions. Full information is provided in the online classrooms.
* Student Resource Center: there is a link for access to a web page “Student Resource Center.” The Resource Center provides for easy access to all of our policies/procedures and additional information regarding applying for certification. We also have many links to many outside reference sites, such as online libraries that you may freely access.
* Online Evaluation: there is a link in the classroom where you may access the course evaluation. All students completing a course, must, without exception, complete the course evaluation.
* Faculty Access Information: you will have access to your instructor’s online resume/biography, as well as your instructor’s specific contact information.
* Additional Learning Materials: some faculty have prepared additional “readings” and /or brief lecture notes to enhance your experience. All of these are available in the online classrooms.
Course Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
- To introduce modern and contemporary theories on Grief but with Christian undertones
- To aid the counselor in healing his clients with modern theories that are understood from a Christian perspective
- To equip one better to handle grief from a Christian perspective
- To comprehend the central features of grief and the grieving process
- To contrast the differences between early perspectives on grief and modern perspectives
- To understand the relevance of attachment theory in regards to attachment to God
- To understand Meaning Making from a theological perspective
- To understand the coping with stress from a religious perspective
- To incorporate the healing of wholeness from brokenness with the idea of God’s love
- To see how the author’s analogy of grief as a “Mosaic” fits in with the idea of grief in general.
Content
A brief abstract of content:
Contemporary Topics in Grief
The History of Grief Theory
Attachment Theory and Attachment to God
Meaning-Making after Loss
Grief, Stress and Religious Coping
Grief in Relational Perspective