Author: Dominick Flarey

Various Types and Styles of Crisis Intervention

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Crisis Intervention comes in several forms depending on your individual or company needs. These needs will dictate the type of training and certification that each company will require. Having certified instructor in crisis intervention allows a company to have certified trainers on site to train and instruct new employees or to act as consultants when a question of crisis intervention might need some expert advice. Online training allows staff to review courses and lessons at their own pace. This also allows the staff to take tests and exams online to gain certification. Crisis intervention training is offered a variety of ways to allow for certification and ease in keeping up with new trends by retaking courses after a set period of years for re-certification. Please check with your human resources department or a creditable crisis intervention training institute if you are interested in learning more about crisis intervention training certification.

crisis intervention
Do you have any questions about crisis intervention?

What style of crisis counseling do you feel would best suit you?   It is a matter of personal preference.    You need to see which style fits you the best.    Just remember your education can you save lives.   So make the most of it and get the best education possible.

Legal Nurse and HIPPA

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Legal Nurse Consulting Corner

HIPPA Privacy Rules In Simple Terms

HIPPA stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. This act, which was passed into United States law in the year 1996 under the mandate of President Bill Clinton, is intended to do several things at the same time. HIPPA is a very complex act that can seem inaccessible and difficult to understand to patients, entities and even some physicians. HIPPA privacy rules for health care are simply, when it comes down to it, a federal law used to protect patients from their information being used or released without their consent to other entities. This article discusses issues related to HIPPA as a review for practicing legal nurse consultants.

What Is Covered Under HIPPA

All your medical charts, your medical history, any conversation you might have with a medical professional, your billing information and any information on your insurance company’s computer systems are all protected by HIPPA from being shared to anyone unless it is necessary to do so.

When Is It Necessary?

When it comes to your care, if you are ever in an emergency, HIPPA allows for your medical history and information to be shared. Your information can be shared with your family or other caretakers, but you can stop this by putting a request in writing. Health professional are also allow it to be shared for billing, to protect the public’s health (if they think you might have an infectious or highly contagious disease, like the virus that causes SARS) or for the police to make reports on wounds. Doctors are not allowed by law to share any of this information with your employer and the information cannot be given to third parties that would use it for marketing or advertising.

Who Is Governed by HIPPA?

Not all health organizations that you are involved it will answer to HIPPA. Doctors, hospitals and insurance companies will, but if any other companies have your information like the place where you purchased life insurance, your employer, your school or even state agents, they do not have to abide by HIPPA.

What Are You Entitled To?

You can see your health records whenever you want, but you must submit a written request to get this done. You must say how you are going to use this information and who is going to see it. You may be charged for copies of your records.

What is a HIPPA form?

Health care providers need to inform patients how their information will be used and could possibly be shared. Health care providers must also ensure that the patient is always aware of his or her rights. This would usually be done in a HIPPA form. This is a document written in simple and straightforward language and it should ensure that the individual knows of his or her right to complain about any information being shared regarding medical records.

What Constitutes As A HIPPA Violation?

You might be accidentally violating HIPPA if you show your own medical records to a friend after having obtained them. Doctors and health insurance companies might be committing one if they are discussing your condition verbally or in a written form without your consent. A good indication of a HIPPA violation is if your medical records have been accessed too many times – this can happen due to curiosity and patients with very rare conditions are particularly vulnerable to this type of HIPPA violation.
Since its start, The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) has been a rather controversial law. Although many patients like the protection it provides, it can be difficult for physicians to make the right judgment calls when they do not have all the information available to make a difficult decision. There can be a court summons of someone’s medical records, but this is a complicated and very long process that hinders how effectively doctors can do their job.
It has also affected some medical researches because they are no longer allowed to look at statistical data on medical charts to provide a historical sample of significance in their studies. This means that doing a historical study of a particular type of disorder or disease could be near impossible.
Additionally, HIPPA is very complicated and it can be quite difficult to follow. That is why many people in the health industry need to have extensive training when it comes to it. Many legal nurses are well versed in HIPPA and provide consultations to health care organizations regarding the many issues involved in the Act. They also provide staff education and training seminars related to HIPPA issues. To learn more about legal nurse consulting, access here.

How To Deal With Grieving Children When A Pet Dies

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Pet Loss Grief

The final ending of life is death. This concept may be easy to grasp but its effect may leave people devastated. The bond between children and their pets are unique and special. For a child his pet may provide companionship, love, entertainment, friendship etc. A child may consider his pet to be the closest living thing with which he can share his secrets, emotions, thoughts and such other feelings. Pets for children may be a perfect example of unconditional love, affection and loyalty. Children generally spend a lot of time with their pets, like playing with them, going for a walk with them, sleeping with them, watching television with them and so on. When the beloved pet of a child dies the special bond that they shared is broken and the child does not know how to tackle the situation. This article offers some suggestions for how to deal with grieving children when a pet dies.
Parents may ask how to deal with grieving children when a pet dies? The reality is there is no definite answer to this question as different children may react in different manner, depending upon the depth of the relationship that they shared with their pets, their age, and personality. A child on the death of his pet may feel sad, guilty, depressed, lonely, angry, betrayed and anxious, all at the same time. Such a situation is very tough for a child to handle and parents must provide the utmost support, understanding and sympathy.

 Feelings of Grief

In order to comfort their children parents should not give them false hopes, or try to replace the old pet with a similar looking one. The death of the pet may be a good time to reveal the true facts about life. The example of changing seasons can be a good way to make a child understand about life and death. The spring season can be compared with birth and winter season with death. Small children at first may not be ready to accept the truth and they may ask numerous questions. It is very important to answer these questions with patience and honesty.

After the death of their pets some children may exhibit drastic behavioral changes like getting angry regarding trivial matters, isolation from friends and family etc. Parents should note these changes and take time to talk with their children. Children should be encouraged to speak about their emotions, to express their fears and sorrows. Criticizing or judging a child for his reactions may not give favorable results. Grief is the natural outcome of the death of a loved one; therefore children should not feel ashamed to cry as it is a natural process to vent such feelings.

Parents must involve their children and ask for their suggestions regarding the funeral or memorial service for their pets. Family members and friends can write special massages regarding the good moments that they had spent with the pet. The child whose pet has died can be encouraged to write a good bye letter to his pet. It is very essential to make the child realize that the pet was loved by the entire family and everyone is sorry about the loss. Parents often have video recordings of special times that their children have spent with their pets. Showing such recordings can bring back the sweet memories which can be comforting for the child.

 Strategies to Deal with Pet Grief

Drawing pictures of the pet, placing a headstone at the site of burial, planting small plants in memory of the pet, donating money to charity for animals etc. are activities that a child can do in memory of his dead pet. Children may have their own ideas of what would give peace to the spirit of their dead pet. Parents should not ridicule should ideas. As a way of comforting their children parents can also share their stories of how they reacted to the death of their favorite pet or how they dealt with the situation.
Time is the biggest healer and this is the foremost point that should be considered while answering the question of how to deal with grieving children when a pet dies. With time the child will learn to live without his pet but the memory will always stay. Sympathy, love and compassion of parents can quickly heal the wounded heart of a child who has lost his or her beloved pet. To learn more about pet loss grief counseling, access here.

What Is The Difference Between Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy?

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

What is the difference between hypnosis and hypnotherapy? This is a common question that most of us ask while seeking options to better our health and our lives in general. Although these two terms sound just about the same, each stands for an entirely different meaning, with the common relationship between the two being that they both refer to ways of altering the state of the mind. So, what exactly is the difference between these two terms?
The Difference between Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy
The simplest way to go about expressing the actual difference between hypnosis and hypnotherapy is by defining them. The definitions provide a hint for the different meanings of these two terms in relation to the mind and consciousness.
To start with, hypnosis is simply a consciousness state where your mind becomes receptive and open to suggestions. It is a state of mind that most of us go through on a daily basis, for instance when daydreaming, when watching a movie, or when you fall asleep while reading a book!
Hypnotherapy, on the other hand, is a therapy form whereby a hypnotherapist and you both apply the hypnosis technique to try and identify your false beliefs with an intention of changing them so that you may move on in life.
Using a garden analogy to explain the difference in the above definitions, hypnosis is like sowing the seed and watering it so that it can germinate and grow in to a healthy plant. Hypnotherapy, on the other hand, is like weeding the garden so that you can remove any unwanted plants, the weeds.
What do each of these techniques do?
With hypnosis, there is an induction process, just like the process of sowing a seed, where you move in to a state of consciousness and through positive affirmations and suggestions, you change the things in your life that you are ready to change. You can get in to this conscious and relaxed state yourself or through the help of a therapist. The end result is a relaxed mind, a pleasant feeling, and openness to thought and behavioral changes.
Though not a substitute to professional medical and health care but a complimentary procedure, hypnotherapy is used to help people improve their lives through a number of ways. These include simple stress reduction and relaxation, helping individuals to withstand and manage pain, helping with trauma, coping with medical procedures, reducing functional disorder symptoms and the general well being of a person. It is a therapy option used to help people cope with emotions and trauma.
Who practices these techniques?
Anyone can go through hypnosis without the assistance of a second party. It is a relatively simple technique that can come in to play even when one is doing the simple daily activities like watching movies or reading books, with better effects being achieved if it is practiced consciously. However, a person who practices hypnosis on others is called a hypnotist.
With hypnotherapy however, you need the help of a hypnotherapist, who is a trained person to assist others with this technique. Besides hypnotherapy, a hypnotherapist usually has certifications and qualifications in some other professional training like mind science, counseling and therapy.
These qualifications allow a hypnotherapist to provide very in-depth inquiries and consultations before the actual therapy sessions so that they can tailor the most appropriate care procedures for a particular patient. Actually, most of these hypnotherapists work together with physicians where they receive referrals for patients who need such care.
Good to note here is that hypnosis should not be confused with the kind of hypnosis employed in entertainment, otherwise called stage hypnosis. This discussion focuses on the therapeutic hypnosis that helps a person to improve on a certain area of their life by clearing their mind and concentrating on activities and a mindset that may lead to possible solutions to their problems, which is more like meditation.

Are these techniques right for you?
Truth be told, hypnosis and hypnotherapy have had their share of controversies. However, they have been proven, time and time again, to produce much better results in resolving some disorders and diseases. For instance, hypnotherapy has been shown to be more effective than medication at treating irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). These methods are safe, side effects free, and if anything, they lead to a better sleep and a more relaxed you.
To answer the question of what is the difference between hypnosis and hypnotherapy, we can simply conclude that it is the approach and the intended purpose, with the basics being almost the same. For information on hypnotherapy courses, access here.

Holistic Nursing Energy Healing

Posted on by Dominick Flarey
holistic nursing energy healing
holistic nursing energy healing

Energy healing is a new technique used by some health care professionals. It looks beyond the physical elements of the human body and examines how negative and positive energy effect the health of the body. Since soul and body are fused and mutually affect each other, negative spiritual energy can also cause harm that is later manifested in the body. With these ideals in mind, energy healing looks at the various chakras of the body and hopes to utilize these release points in connection with the health of the body. Holistic nursing seeks out these alternative type of therapies and attempts to utilize them in practice and in harmony with Western medicine. If you are interested in energy healing and holistic nursing, you should consider becoming a certified holistic nurse. If you qualify, you can take the core courses at AIHCP and become certified in this interesting field of study.

Is stress management counseling to better health?

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Stress management counseling could be the answer you are looking for in regards to health and wellness.   Far too many times we all ignore signs of stress induced health risks.   Lack of sleep, hypertension, high blood pressure, depression can all be signs of stress.    Getting stress counseling can help identify what it triggering the stress and teach you stress management practices that can relieve your stress and help you become a healthier you.

Stress Management Counseling and Your Health

The article, “Stress management is key to good health”, by Tanya Wilke states

“Many people think of stress as another word for tension or pressure.

Actually, stress is the way each of us responds to change. Understanding stress can help you use it to your advantage and potentially turn “stressors” into positive energy.”

For the full article please go here.

If you want to learn more about stress management counseling, please feel free to visit our site.

Pioneers of Grief Research

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Leaders in Grief Research

J. William Worden

 Worked with the grief of widows and how they moved on after the death of their husbands. His numerous awards and memberships are the following —Influential Leader Award in Grief and Loss, American Academy of Bereavement (2005) Association of Death Education & Counseling-ADEC (Founding Member) International Work Group on Death, Dying, and Bereavement-IWG (Founding Member) Influential Leader Award in Grief and Loss, American Academy of Bereavement (2005) Clinical Practice Award, Association of Death Education and Counseling (1993)

Elizabeth Kubler Ross
1926-2004- She was a psychiatrist and a pioneer in near death studies. She was the author of Death and Dying (1969) in which the Kubler-Ross model was first introduced.

Edward John Mostyn “John” Bowlby
1907–1990. He was a British psychologist most notable for his interest in child development and his ideas on attachment theory.

Erich Lindemann
Most notable for his studies on traumatic grief especially in regards to the Cocoanut Grove night club fire in the 1940s.

Sigmund Freud
1856-1939. He viewed grief as a pathological issue that if not resolved resulted in dysfunction.

One must purge him or herself from the attachment and form new relationships. This idea has been replaced with newer ideals of attachment theory and meaning making where the loss is reformatted into the life story and revered and respected but never totally removed from the self.

If you are interested in Grief Counseling Courses, please review the program.
If you would like to take grief counseling training, then please review.

Program for Bereavement Counseling Certification: Grief Models of Recovery

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Program for Bereavement Counseling Certification

Worden’s Four Tasks-dealt with widows and their moving on in life

1.Task 1. Acceptance
2.Task 2. Working through it
3.Task 3. Adjustment
4.Task 4. Emotionally relocate the deceased and move on

 

Kubler Ross Model

Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance

Rando’s Six Rs

Recognize, React, Recollect, Relinquish, Readjust, Reinvest

John Bowlby and the Process of Mourning

Preoccupation, Disorganization, Reoganization

Lindeman’s Three Steps

Acceptance, Adjusting, Forming New Relationships

If you would like to learn more about grief counseling and Grief Support, please click here
The program for bereavement counseling certification includes four core courses.  After completing the program for bereavement counseling certification, one is certified in grief counseling for three years.

Single Life: A Christian Vocation Too

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Online Education Courses in Christian Counseling: The Single Vocation

Today’s modern world has a check list for success. Do you have a good job? Do you have a nice car? With such secularistic views, people feel they are in a race to fill in every blank. One such measuring stick of success is marriage. If one is not married after twenty five, questions arise concerning one’s self worth. This is not a Christian paradigm, nor is it the spirituality Christ expects from lay persons.

For so long, there were two roads a person could take; ministry or marriage. However, recently a third life style has emerged that demands equal respect. In fact, this third life style of the single life has in some cases been called a vocation; A vocation that bears the crosses of loneliness and exemplifies Christian characteristics of virtue. For some this vocation is temporary and it teaches and prepares one for marriage, for others it is a permanent role that demands if not more than marriage or ministry. Such single lay people are able to share their talents, not just within the confines of a family or the church, but are better equipped to teach Christ in the marketplace and are less confined to give to his or her fellow man.
Yet despite this new calling for some, the cross of loneliness can be unbearable for some. As Christian Spiritual counselors, it is one’s duty to help guide the person who is single. Within this guidance, the counselor should look for possible priestly or ministry vocation, but also investigate the urgency for a partner. The person should be given a clear view on the ideals of marriage and what it entails. Secular ideals should be dismissed and replaced with clear cut Christian morals in regards to marriage. The person should also be guided in the values in Christian virtue and how a single person can enhance their spirituality and be open to God’s grace when the possibility of a partner comes his or her way.
In the meantime, the paradigm of the Christian single should mimic that of Jesus Christ. Christ never married, and while Christianity’s high priest, never officially held a religious position. Yet Christ, as a human, experienced all the emotions of a single person-albeit not possessing a fallen nature. Christ’s needs as a single person were tempted in the desert by Satan, and during each trial, he triumphantly rejected the expectations of the world and acknowledged true virtue and good living.
So it is important to emphasize to singles that there is a plan for them. If that plan involves marriage, so be it, but even if it does not, their life destiny still has an intrinsic value which can greatly contribute to the Mystical Body of Christ. In the meantime, the counseling should emphasize in overcoming personal crosses, eliminating false notions of happiness, and emulating a plan in the model of Christ. If these things are emphasized, a person can truly walk away from a session with dignity and value in their single life.  If you would like to learn more, consider taking Christian Counseling Courses.
Also please review our online education courses in Christian Counseling.
By Mark Moran, MA

Bereavement Counseling Certification: Grief Therapy in Art

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Bereavement Counseling Certification:  Grief Therapy

There are many forms of grief therapy. One form is the use of art. It may seem that art might contribute little to the healing of grief, but this article focuses on how one mother did just that. An insightful article that will also warm your heart.

The article, “A mother uses art as a passage through grief” by Francie Minder

“The first years after my 15-year-old daughter, Chava, died of cancer, I was walking around in a fog. Each day was painful as the initial shock and disbelief faded, letting reality sink in. My world had been turned upside down. Eventually I could go through the steps of everyday life, but the extreme loss was with me every second of every day.”

full article: access here

Grief counseling and grief therapy can be so beneficial to those dealing with the tragedy of loss in their lives.  Undergoing such interventions takes commitment as well as time. Grief is a journey that we undertake. There are no real short cuts but various forms of therapies can be extremely beneficial in providing support and courage through it all.
If you are interested in learning more about a bereavement counseling certification, then please review.