COURSE INFORMATION

Christianity has always viewed grief as a true human reality that is not to be escaped but accepted and transformed into something new and redeeming.  GC 630 continues this Christian theology and attempts to apply it to ministry.  The text for the course “The Unwanted Gift of Grief” exemplifies this notion as grief as a gift.  The text is not intended for one to escape the pain but hopes to invite one into it and through that pain create a “transformation and new life”. The course Christianizes the behavioral sciences not only within the text but also looks at the “Unwanted Gift of Grief” through the story of Job.  This second text and commentary on Job nourishes the spirituality of the counselor and equips the counselor with greater understanding of one of the greater Old Testament works on grief.

Course Code: GC 630.

Contact hours of continuing education = 50.

Prerequisite: You must have successfully completed SC 510 , GC 600, GC 610 and GC 620, before taking this course.

Instructor/Course Author:

Mark Moran, M.A., SC-C, GC-C

Link to Resume: Resume

TEXTBOOKS: There are two (2) required textbooks for this course:

The Unwanted Gift of Grief: A Ministry Approach by Tim. VanDuivendyk. Psychology Press, 2006. ISBN: 978-0-7890-2950-8

Link to Purchase on Amazon.com: click here

Job: An Introduction and Commentary by Francis Anderson.  (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries). Inter-Varsity Press, Leicester, England.    ISBN:  0-87784-263-9

Link to Purchase on Amazon.com: click here

TIME FRAME: You are allotted two years from the date of enrollment, to complete this course. 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.

GRADING: You must achieve a passing score of at least 70% to complete this course and receive the 50 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 AIHCP and will be permitted one more attempt to retake the online examination.

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 50 Contact Hours.

The American Institute of Health Care Professionals, Inc. is an Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the Florida State Board of Nursing  Provider # 50-11975.

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 Kentucky 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 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 completion of this course, you will be able to:

1. To Christianize notions of grief as not only suffering but as redemptive gift
2. To learn how to face pain as a Christian
3. To help others through the journey in the Wilderness of Grief
4. To identify various factors that affect the Wilderness of Grief
5. To understand the dynamics of one who suffers in the darkness of unbelief
6. To understand the nature of miracles and healing within the context of suffering
7. To grasp  Christian methods and ways to sojourn with those who suffer
8. To highlight various ways towards Christian transformation of grief
9. To aid one in their own tribulations with grief
10. To study and understand how Job—as a prefigurement of Christ—accepted grief

COURSE CONTENT:

A brief abstract of content:

• Grief as Gratitude, Grief as Gift
• Everyone Grieves Differently
• Factors that Affect the Wilderness of Grief
• Unbelievable Darkness
• Frustration and Anger Amid ”WHY”
• Praying for a Miracle
• Wrestling with Sadness and Depression
• Healing: Experiencing the Light Again
• And Yet…We Never Forget
• Being a Sojourner
• Sojourning with Those in Unbelievable Darkness
• Sojourning with Those Frustrated and Angry Amid “WHY?”
• Sojourning with Those Praying for a Miracle
• Sojourning with Those Wrestling with Sadness and Depression
• Sojourning with Those in Healing and Light
• Marriage: Tough Enough without Grief
• Ways of Making Through the Wilderness of Grief
• The Story of Job
• The Study of the Book of Job
• The Design of the Book of Job
• The Literary Background of the Book of Job
• The Literary Character of the Book of Job
• The Poetry of the Book of Job
• The Composition of the Book of Job
• The Text and Language of the Book of Job
• The Date and Authorship of the Book of Job
• The Problems of Suffering in the Book of Job