Author: Dominick Flarey

Work and Addiction Problems

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Employees with addiction can be a big issue.  Simply giving up on them may not be the answer though and finding them help to increase their productivity and unlock their potential can be rewarding not only to the company but also to oneself.

Those with addiction issues are late for work, miss it altogether, or may even have emotional issues while at the office or with other employees on the ground.  While too much disruption is obvious grounds for termination, many employees have value.  Some have been part of a business for years and their skills at their position are hard to replace.  In such cases, addiction help is important.  Employers can help good employees find the help they need.  In addition, employees who see their work value reducing because of addiction issues, need to rectify their issue and find better ways to cope with stress and other issues to avoid losing a good position and pay.

Helping employees with addiction is critical to success. Please also review AIHCP’s Substance Abuse Counseling Program

Commentary

The presence of addiction in an employee may manifest itself through various behavioural and physiological symptoms. These can include, but are not limited to, a decrease in productivity, impaired decision-making capabilities, increased absenteeism, physical health issues such as poor nutrition and weight loss, withdrawal from social activities and emotional responses such as irritability and mood swings.

Helping an Employee with Addiction

In order to assist an employee who is suffering from addiction, it is imperative to employ a holistic approach which includes both educational and therapeutic components. This could include providing resources for the individual that offers psychoeducation about addiction, as well as offering referrals for addiction counseling or support groups. Additionally, workplace accommodations such as flexible scheduling or modified duties may be employed in order to ensure an environment conducive to recovery.

In addition,  it is important to begin by engaging in a comprehensive assessment with the individual to identify the nature and scope of their addiction. This can be achieved through a holistic approach which includes psychological testing, interviews, as well as gathering feedback from family members or other individuals close to the employee.

Organizational Prevention

Addiction prevention in the work force is a critical factor in maintaining productivity, employee morale, and ultimately the profitability of an organization. It involves implementing strategies such as education, awareness campaigns, and access to professional resources for employees who may be at risk for or already exhibiting signs of addiction. By engaging in this type of intervention, employers can help create a safe and healthy work environment that reduces the risk of substance misuse and the associated consequences.

Companies can offer a variety of addiction prevention seminars or education for employees. Addiction prevention policies are also important to set guidelines and expectations

 

The implementation of addiction prevention seminars for companies is an effective means to address the public health crisis of substance abuse in the workplace. These seminars are designed to educate employees on the risks and consequences of substance abuse, as well as provide guidance on how to identify and address potential problems among coworkers.  Such seminars typically involve interactive activities, informative lectures, and educational materials delivered by qualified professionals in order to provide participants with an immersive learning experience regarding the risks of addictive substances and effective strategies for managing their use. Furthermore, these seminars can serve as a platform to create a culture of support and understanding while promoting positive mental health practices.

Universal substance abuse policies for companies refer to a set of regulations that apply to all members of the organization and are designed to prevent and reduce the misuse of substances, such as drugs and alcohol. These policies typically involve screenings, education programs, sanctions for violations, and referral services for employees in need of assistance. Furthermore, these policies also encompass measures to prevent potential risks associated with substance use at work, including reduced productivity, physical hazards from impairment, and liability related to employee health and safety.

Conclusion

In conclusion, substance abuse in the workforce is a major problem that affects employers and employees at every level. The damage to productivity, workplace safety, physical and mental health, and employee morale cannot be overstated. It is essential to implement effective policies that identify and address substance abuse in the workplace. Employers must understand the signs of substance abuse and have an appropriate response plan in order to protect their organization from legal liability and financial losses.

Substance Abuse Counselors can help companies face addiction issues through presentations and other policy guidelines.  Employees can find help individually with the aid of Substance Abuse Counselors to help better cope with work stress.  Some Addiction Counselors may be tied to a particular organization, or may be already licensed professional counselors.  Regardless, many individuals need group or individual counseling to gain control of an issue.

Please also review AIHCP’s Substance Abuse Counseling Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals.  The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification

Additional Resources

“Substance abuse, dependence and the workplace: A literature overview”. Breggie Smook; Marie Ubbink; Elma Ryke; Herman Strydom. Social work (Stellenbosch.  Online) vol.50 n.1 Stellenbosch  2014. SciElo.  Access here

“Employed men and women substance abusers: Job troubles and treatment outcomes”. Valerie Slaymaker, PhD., etc. al. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment Volume 31, Issue 4, December 2006, Pages 347-354. ScienceDirect.  Access here

“Substance abuse among nurses—Defining the issue”. Debra Dunn, RN. AORN Journal Volume 82, Issue 4, October 2005, Pages 572-575, 577-582, 585-588, 592-596. ScienceDirect.  Access here

“Organizational consequences of staff turnover in outpatient substance abuse treatment programs”. Danica Knight, PhD. etc, al. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment Volume 42, Issue 2, March 2012, Pages 143-150.  ScienceDirect.  Access here

ADHD Consulting Certification Article on ADHD and Life

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Undiagnosed ADHD can push untrue labels on individuals.  Lazy, irresponsible, rude, or indifferent are many labels that can appear.  Some individuals who are not diagnosed have hard times maintaining relationships or keeping jobs.  ADHD can be a big problem if never treated.

ADHD can have negative effects on life. Please also review AIHCP’s ADHD Consulting Certification

 

The article,“‘What’s Wrong with Me?’ The Toll of 34 Years with Undiagnosed ADHD” by Aron Croft takes a look how ADHD affected his life.  He states,

“College was terrible. I dropped out twice – once running away to a tiny Island in New Zealand, but that’s another story. I used alcohol, pot, and cigarettes at varying times to drown out my despair. The turmoil and failure of my undergraduate career further eroded my sense of self.”

To read the entire article, please click here

It is important to find treatment if you exhibit ADHD like behavior so you can function properly in social settings, work and school.  It is also equally important to help children who have it so they learn to cope.

Please also review AIHCP’s ADHD Consulting Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals.  The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in ADHD Consulting

Christian Counseling Certification Article on Church Councils

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

In Christianity, Scripture has served as a guiding principle for morality and truth.  Councils help utilize Scripture and Christian morality and theology to current problems.  Since the 2000 history of the Church, numerous Ecumenical Councils have been called.  Most major Christian denominations accept the first four councils and the Orthodox and Catholic Churches mutually accept the first seven.   Obviously since the mutual schism between East and West, both have had their own councils, especially the Catholic Church.

Councils are considered authoritative guides in Orthodoxy and Catholicism.  It is believed that through the ecumenical presence of the entire Mystical Body, represented by the hierarchy, that the Holy Spirit infuses truth into the proceedings.  Many Protestant denominations do not hold to this belief.

In Catholicism in particular, the Council is considered an important living form of truth found via the Holy Spirit.  The Council must adhere to the deposit of faith and Scripture when dealing with new heresies and moral dilemmas.  The Council must also be convened and in union with the Roman Pontiff.

Councils serve as important tools within Christianity to address current issues and apply the teachings of Scripture and the apostles to those issues.

 

In Orthodoxy, this is not the case.  Unity with Rome has no bearing on the legitimacy of the council.

The most recent councils in Orthodoxy was in 2018 and for the Catholic Church in the early 1960s at Vatican II.

In essence, but not officially listed, the first council of the Church was the Council of Jerusalem, when the Apostles and disciples met regarding the issue of circumcision for Gentile Christians.  St Paul and St Peter debated the rule of the law over non Jewish Christians but the assembly decided that this law would not be imposed upon Gentiles.

After the Roman persecutions, Christianity was able to emerge as the Empire’s official religion in the 4th Century.  The First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD dealt with the issue of Arius who taught the Son was a special creation of the Father.  This heresy was condemned in the Nicene Creed.  The First Council of Constantinople in 381 AD re-confirmed the condemnation of Arius.

The Council of Ephesus in 431 AD answered the question of Nestorius who declared Mary was only the mother of Christ but not the mother of God.  The Church declared since Jesus is not two independent parts but one person, that Mary was indeed the Theotokos or Mother of God.

The Council of Nicaea condemned the teachings of Arius. Please also review AIHCP’s Christian Counseling Certification

 

Again in 455, The Council of Chalcedon condemned the heresy of Eutyches and Monophysite heresy that instead of dividing the two natures of Christ as Nestorius did, instead lumped Christ’s two natures into one incomplete nature that lacked many human qualities.

Later in 553 AD, the Second Council of Constantinople again confirmed the teachings of the previous councils regarding these heresies.  However, a compromise heresy in 681 AD emerged which taught that Christ had two natures but no human soul.  This heresy of Monotheletism was condemened at the Third Council of Constantinople.

Other councils, such as Nicaea II and later councils of Constantinople would also condemn the Iconoclast heresies which denounced the veneration of sacred images.

After the schism, various Councils from Lateran to Trent to the Vatican Councils would occur which would deal primarily with Catholic issues, while in the East, the Orthodox Churches would deal with their own internal matters.

Yet despite the unfortunate splintering of the Christian Churches since the first seven councils, the Church has received a strong foundation from the councils in guidance to who Christ is and the defense of the faith from early Christian heresies which would have distorted the true nature of Christ found in the Gospels and handed down from the apostles. These early councils continue to define orthodox Christianity today.

Please also review AIHCP’s Christian Counseling Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals.  The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Christian Counseling.

 

Grief Counseling Certification Video on Traumatic Grief

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Sometimes grief and loss can be so vicious, so cruel and sudden that it can tear a person apart.  What a person can see, witness and experience can traumatize the soul.  In these intense types of death and loss, a person may experience various trauma and complications within the grieving process.   War, crime, natural disaster, mass death, and sudden losses can all cause intense trauma for the griever.

Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification and see if it matches your academic and professional goals.  The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification as a Grief Counselor

Pastoral Thanatology Program Video on World Religions and Dying

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

When helping the dying, it is also critical to help them with their spiritual beliefs.  This may well involve one dealing with another one of a different faith.  It is important to try to find one a representative of one’s faith as soon as possible if death is approaching or if one needs spiritual rituals conducted, but if not, and it is not possible, it will be important to be able to sojourn with the dying.

It is important to respect the dying’s wishes, their religious beliefs and to listen.  It is also helpful to have some knowledge of other faiths and the beliefs that coincide with dying.  Please also review AIHCP’s Pastoral Thanatology Program and see if it matches your academic and professional goals.  The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Pastoral Thanatology.

 

Please also review the video on death beliefs

Christian Counseling Certification Article on the 7 Mansions of St Teresa of Avilla

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

We have numerous blog posts on this topic and I encourage anyone type in the search button to find posts regarding St Teresa and the Interior Castle.  This blog serves as a brief introduction to the famous work.  Written in 1588, St Teresa wished to help souls find their way to God.  The Castle serves as a metaphor of the interior soul and the mansions are the various rooms within the castle.   The duty of the soul is to know God more perfectly entering more deeply into the castle.   God is always present in the castle and near, but the soul must overcome the trials, distractions and sin of the world to find God.  Many never find the ultimate mansion until the next life, and even so, this union is imperfect due to temporal reality, but it is the closest taste of Heaven possible for souls who do complete such saintly levels on earth.

One can find deeper union with Christ as one progresses through the mansions of the soul. Please also review AIHCP’s Christian Counseling Certification

 

Most human beings of good nature may struggle through the first 3 mansions, and few may enter into the 4th and 5th.  We should all strive though our very best to become as close to God as possible.  St Teresa illustrates the soul as a silk worm who must eventually build its own cocoon to become a beautiful butterfly.  The longer it crawls, the longer it must wait to become re-born.  For those who never enter into the mansions, they are paralyzed by sin, hypnotized by the illusions of the world.

The soul must acknowledge the presence of God, its own imperfections, seek forgiveness and enter into prayer and meditation to enter the first mansion.  The first three mansions are purgative in that they break the soul of earthly attachments.  Many spend their life teetering between mansions.  Falling back and forth to the world and then back to God.

The First Mansion is an invitation to prayer.  It is an acknowledgement of sin and one’s own true self.  It forces one to accept humility in one’s state before the throne of God.  The soul though is tempted by many worldly things.  In fact, as the soul advances, it is barraged more and more by the enemy in an attempt to prevent spiritual growth.

In the Second Mansion, the soul has grown in holiness.  It prays, it seeks good company and holier books and things regarding the faith.  It pushes the soul to seek God in times of tribulation due to the constant warfare waged by the enemy.  In active mental prayer, the soul seeks God.  It looks to withdraw oneself from outward senses and look inside towards God.

In the Third Mansion, the soul has overcome many of the initial difficulties of change.  The soul sincerely wishes not offend God but is not ready to fully surrender to the will of God.  The soul must overcome aridity and perceived absences of God’s presence.  The soul is tried and pushed to greater limits to see God through pure love not necessarily a warm presence.

The Fourth Mansion invites the soul to illumination and perception of greater mysteries.  The soul enters into a prayer that is passive in recollection.  This pure gift from God presents itself and the soul involuntarily closes off to the world.  In addition of the Prayer of the Quiet, the soul experiences more peace.  Unlike active recollection in prayer which is like a aqueduct to the ocean, passive recollection is with the source of the ocean itself.  It is with the Divine.  The soul has opened itself to these gifts.

The Fifth Mansion continues the love for the Divine in prayer.  The Prayer of Union pushes the soul further from the world and makes it fall asleep to it.  The soul appears to withdraw from the body.  In this deeper love, the soul seeks greater penance.   The soul, as the analogy of silk worm, begins to create its cocoon and seeks a deeper union.

The Sixth Mansion can be likened to Engagement to the Divine.  The soul is deeply in love and shares with God deep raptures, visions, locutions, flights of spirit, ecstasies and tears of separation in this fallen world from the Divine.  However with this deeper union comes equal trials of persecution, illness, and hardships.

Final union occurs in the Seventh Mansion.  In this mansion, the soul has awoken to the true reality of God.  There is a spiritual marriage between the soul and the Divine.  The soul ceases to experience aridity, but only a tender love for God and neighbor.  Crosses exist and are welcomed, but they cease to unsettle the soul.  The soul loses fear and experiences a peace of constant presence of the Divine.  The soul however despites its great desire to pass into the Beatific Vision, accepts it place on earth and shares the love of the Divine with one’s neighbor.

Christ’s human nature experienced a perfect union with the Divine infusion of the Blessed Trinity via the Son. However of course, although two natures, there was one Person in the Hypostatic Union and this union was complete from the moment of the conception of Christ.   The Blessed Virgin Mary also experienced this deep union, not merely through grace but the Incarnation itself, and her womb being a vessel of the Divine itself.

Most Christian Counselors will deal with individuals struggling with the first three mansions, especially the first.  Christian Counselors can help individuals find greater union with God by mapping the path set by St Teresa and helping individuals deal with the trials they will experience as they go deeper into union with God

Please also review AIHCP’s Christian Counseling Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals.  The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification as a Christian Counselor.

 

Grief Counseling Certification Article on Avoidance in Grief

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Good article below from What’s Your Grief .

Avoidance can be big issue in anything we do not wish to face.  It is natural to avoid distasteful things in our life that bring back bad memories.  Places, things, even scents can remind one of the past.  We naturally tend to gravitate towards things of happy memory.

Trying to avoid grief and its emotions never works. Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification

 

However, with grief, while initially helpful, one needs to eventually face the issue or the bereavement process will halt.  One cannot keep avoiding a certain room, or a particular place.  Many try to cope by avoiding by immersing themselves in work, or other things to silence the pain.  However, avoiding the pain can cause bigger issues that prevent overall healing.

The article, “What is Avoidance Behavior? An Explainer” by Eleanor Haley takes a closer look at avoidance behaviors and how they can negatively affect.  She states,

“When you are grieving, every person, place, or thing connected with your loss takes on the risk of reminding you of something painful. And in the early days of grief, reminders are everywhere. Not only are they all around you, but they’re inside, too, in your thoughts and memories. ”

To review the entire article, please click here

Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification Program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals.  The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Grief Counseling

 

Grief Counseling Certification Video on Grief Models

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Individuals experience and react to grief differently.  There are multiple different ways individuals grieve.  Some are more extrovert, while others are more introvert.  What type of griever are you?  How do you express grief?  Do you express grief in a healthy way or a detrimental way?  Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Courses and see if they offer the training you need to become a better griever but also a better grief counselor.  The program ultimately leads to a four year certification for qualified professionals

Grief Counseling Video on Romantic Loss

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Beyond the loss of a person due to death, many suffer the pain of breakups and divorces throughout life as well.  The loss of a person or a relationship can be very emotionally painful and take much time to fully adjust to life without that person.  From simple breakup to messy divorce, the loss and adaptation varies on the connection and bond between the couple.

Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification Program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals.  The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification as a Grief Counselor.  The video below reviews the problems and issues facing those dealing with romantic loss

 

Please review the video  below

Christian Counseling Certification Video on the Occult

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Christian Counselors face difficult times when dealing with the Occult and individuals facing possession.  It is imperative they help the person find the spiritual and sometimes physical safety they need.  It is essential that Christian Counselors work with appropriate mental health care providers and church professionals if they suspect demonic activity within a person.  Such spiritual warfare is extremely dangerous.  Faith in Christ is essential.

Please also review the video below and also AIHCP’s Christian Counseling Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals.  The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification as a Christian Counselor