Grief Counseling Program: Suicide and Grief Counseling

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Grief Counseling and Suicide

The deepest element of suicide is despair and is something Grief counseling should watch out for. The Church for ages condemned this action as the unforgivable sin or the sin of Judas, but modern research has shown many suicides result not 

due to merely a loss of hope but also various mental maladies. With this in mind, pastoral care and grief counseling ideas have shifted within the church. No longer condemning and forbidding Christian burial, the church now compassionately prays for the soul of the departed and focuses on healing counseling techniques for the suffering family. The same important techniques need to be applied towards those who attempt to take their life. Suicide prevention and post suicide counseling is an important element in pastoral and Christian counseling. AIHCP offers courses for certification in Christian counseling, Grief Counseling and Christian grief counseling with special emphasis on pastoral response to suicide. If you feel a calling to help those in the deep despair and hope to bring ministry in this field to your parish or church, this certification may be helpful.

 

7 Corporal Works of Mercy and Pastoral Thanatology

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

 The call to assist the dying is more than a career but a vocation.  Pastoral Thanatology encompasses the essence of care of the dying by combining the psychology of the dying with a pastoral and theological care. This care follows the path of scripture and the teachings of Christ in caring for the dying by not only giving the proper attention to physical needs but to also spiritual needs. The care given by pastoral givers in nursing homes, counseling centers and hospitals parallels the Seven Corporal Works of Mercy. These seven works care for the physical needs of one’s neighbor and are scripturally based off the teachings and words of Christ.
Pastoral Care and the Seven Corporal Works of Mercy
One of the Seven Corporal Works of Mercy actually is to care actually to care or visit the sick. In that care, one does not only perform their duties but also answer a vocational call of service to their fellow man. Within the visitation or care of the sick, one finds themselves performing other acts of mercy which include giving drink, food, and clothing the naked. These are all actions Christ asks from his followers when he told his apostles and disciples that when you do these acts for the least of my brethren then you do it for me. While care of the dying  goes beyond the mere physical and even goes to the point of the Spiritual works of mercy where comfort and counsel become imperative, one cannot deny the sacred calling of nurses and other health care administers who take a simple chore and turn into an action of Christian excellence. These physical acts of mercy benefit all and should be cultivated as habitual actions of virtue within the soul of the caregiver. Through this, his or her actions will shine through and give the comfort and love the dying patient needs.  Below are a list of the Seven Corporal Works of Mercy. To feed the hungry. To give drink to the thirsty. To clothe the naked. To give shelter to the homeless. To visit the imprisoned. To visit the sick. To bury the dead As one can see these simple seven acts of charity are actions that all Christians should undertake in their social obligations to the world. Yet what an excellent opportunity is presented for someone in pastoral care giving situation to practice these actions and share the love of God with the dying. While these initial actions are merely at the physical level and the spiritual acts and last rites remain the most important element to the dying, one cannot still neglect the physical needs of a human being. Our nature is comprised of spirit and flesh and God commands his people to respect both elements with love and dignity.

By Mark Moran, MA, GC-C, SCC-C

Case Management and Helping Families

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

I have pretty much always known what I wanted to do with my life and I never. At first I wanted to get into social services and help get children out of abusive homes and bad situations and the like. Then I realized I had need to get more personal with these people. To really affect and have a positive impact on their every day lives after incidents like these occurred. That is  

when I started studying to become a case worker. Getting your case manager certification is not an easy task, but with a little research and some good old fashioned studying, you won’t have a problem. Some psychological classes are involved but they were not really anything I have not been through before. All in all, getting my certification was a fulfilling experience that I will never regret, and now, because of it, I have the job of my dreams! I am one of few people who would not turn back time if given the chance.

Being a Case Manager

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

  A case manager is the person that handles the business portion of healthcare for a patient. This person is a trained professional that oversees the care on every level, for a patient. They coordinate the care provided by many different 

professionals to be sure the plan is safe and effective for the patient. They also communicate with insurance companies or employers to make sure the care that is provided is cover and for how long. In general, they balance patient advocacy with cost containment. Case manager certification processes can differ depending on the school they attend. Most certification programs require certification as a registered nurse, practical nurse, social worker or physical therapist. Case manager certification also requires training in developing and maintaining relationships. They need to be able to coordinate between the client, medical professionals and payees. They also need knowledge in disease management, health care management, psychological and developmental treatment. Most states require certification that can be obtained in as little as six weeks. Case manager certification requires a written exam and internship, as well as continued education to be certain they are up to date on changing regulations.

Forensic Nursing Practice: A Growing Specialty

Posted on by Dominick Flarey
Gavel with red heart and pills on white. Medical law concept.What is Forensic Nursing?

Specialized nurses that focus mainly on medicine with science and criminology as it pertains to the law are known as forensic nurses, and are practicing forensic nursing. Normally forensic nursing consists of assisting forensic scientists and forensic psychologists in collecting data in order to create a more realistic picture of the events that lead to each particular case. They have specialized training in the collection of forensic evidence, as well as criminal procedures and more. They are also called upon in court to provide their forensic expertise in the form of a testimony. The forensic nursing field often works with criminal victims that are the product of violent and intense mental and physical abuse. They serve mainly as the liaison between both the medical field and the criminal justice system. For this reason, it is critical that forensic nurses are familiarized with both fields. With the advancement of forensic technology, forensic nurses play a critical role in the criminal justice system used today.
The majority of forensic nursing is done outside of the hospital. They are normally the first medical representatives called upon to make the first assessments of a victim’s condition and dictate which procedures will follow next. It is typical for forensic nurses to posses the ability to properly asses the victims in a chaotic environment. Some situations can be hectic and a forensic nurse must be able to remain calm and make quick and correct decisions with a stressful situation surrounding them.
Forensic nursing is also needed in other areas outside of the criminal justice world. In the event of a natural disaster, these nurses play a large role in determining whether victims caught in a storm, hurricane, earthquake or flood will make it through alive or not. In the event that there are some people that did not survive a natural disaster, these nurses use their forensic training to help identify bodies and collect evidence to better aid research.

 How to Become a Forensic Nurse?

If you are interested in the forensic nursing field, there are several programs that are designed to train a person and prepare them for this field. First, however, you must become and gain experience as a registered nurse. While you are on your way to becoming a registered nurse, it will be beneficial to take as many courses in forensic science and nursing as possible. Different courses will be available depending upon the school you choose. It is recommended that you consider which course there schools offer before hand as the choices and quality of their course offerings will vary. Attend your chosen college or university and complete your RN degree. This will normally take 2-4 years depending if you decide to get your associates or bachelor degrees. Such degrees offered are normally associates of science in nursing (BSN), associates of science in nursing (BSN), or register in an RN program. Also, you will be required to pass your NCLE exam to gain your license and begin working as a registered nurse. Once you have graduated and accumulate a few years as an RN, you will then have to start specializing in the various forensic nursing fields. Such fields include courses in forensic clinical nursing, correctional nursing, forensic investigation, forensic psychiatric nursing, forensic gerontology, death investigation, sexual assault examination and legal forensics. When you have the appropriate experience working as a registered nurse and have gained knowledge within the previously mentioned fields, you will need to earn your certification that demonstrates this knowledge and commitment to the forensic nursing field. Such certifications include the FNCB, the IAFN, SANE-A and SANE-P certifications and the forensic nurse specialist certification from the American Institute of Health Care Professionals, Inc.
It is a difficult and long road to get into the forensic nursing field however it is a rewarding and interesting profession. As the demand for forensic nursing increases, the salary and benefits for this profession will rise. Currently, forensic nurses can make anywhere between $25-$60 per hour depending upon that persons experience and employer. Many forensic nurses continue to work as registered nurses on a full time bases. This usually is accompanied with an on call forensic nursing status which is paid 1 ½ ties their base pay rate. Whether you are currently working as a registered nurse or looking to gain entry into this field, forensic nursing may provide you with that step up in your career that you have been looking for.

Grief Counseling and Prolonged Grief

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Grief Counseling has to treat prolonged grief different than regular grief reactions.  While Bowlby’s ideas on attachment theory were originally designated for infants and their primary caregiver, the idea of attachment and the forming of bonds are still very important elements in how one will respond to a loss of a loved one.  In regards to complicated grief, its trajectories can lead to numerous pathological issues that need professionally addressed, however, surprisingly most people respond with resiliency to grief within the first six months.  Only 15 percent of the population experience complicated or prolonged symptoms.  Still, this number nevertheless represents a large number because everyone experiences loss.  With this in mind, treatment of prolonged grief is essential.

Grief Counseling and the Function of Sadness

The emotion of sadness serves two functions. In previous articles, we discussed how it allows the person time to reflect, meditate and heal from the loss.  This enables the person to find new meaning in one’s life narrative.  Secondly, we pointed out that sadness also manifests itself physically to awaken others to one’s needs of emotional support.  These components of the emotion of sadness are all natural and essential in normal grieving, but can become malignant to one’s emotional health if prolonged.
It is important to note that prolonged grief differs from depression.  In depression, one loses self esteem and feels emptiness due to no physical or mental stimuli but prolonged grief is an acute response to loss.  Prolonged grief is a desperate and painful yearning for the loss object.  It is an obsessive fixation that can find no value in anything else.  It is a haunting pain that finds only the ghosts of the deceased or loss.  It is also associated usually with guilt and lack of esteem in regard to the person and the deceased.  False notions breed within the mind, producing more intense yearnings that cannot even find joy in past memories.  These unhealthy attachments can also be intensified with people who were more economically or emotionally dependent upon the deceased.
Grief Counselors and other professional counselors can help those with prolong grief.  One treatment is exposure treatment.  Exposure treatment forces the person to face his or her pain and talk about the most painful aspect of the relationship with the deceased.  It is through this that counselor and patient can talk together about what the person feels is bothering them.  It is the hope of the counselor to find out if any false notions exist within the patient during this session.  Feelings of guilt, anger, or lack of self esteem can all be identified and addressed.  In addition to this, the counselor will eventually set up goals for the person.  Usually people who suffer from prolong grief have become reclusive.  The  grief counselor will try to push the person into the social settings to form new interests and attachments.  The purpose is not to eliminate the past attachment, but to help create a healthy adapted bond with the deceased.  The person should be able to integrate the loss of the deceased into his or her life narrative but also write new chapters and find happiness in other things.
While these things are crucial it is important to note two things.  First medication may also be applied.  In these cases, medical professionals need to be involved and second, since it is complicated grief, the grief counselor should be working in accordance with a LPC.  Of course, if the grief counselor is already an LPC, then this is all the better.
If you would like to learn how to become a certified Grief Counselor, then please review.
By Mark Moran, MA

Grief Counseling Certification: Grief Counselors and Traumatic Loss Effects On Society

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Traumatic loss affects the social structure.  Since we are social creatures by nature, the butterfly effect blows through the winds of life and affects every aspect of humanity.  Katrina, 911, and the latest Tsunami in Japan all reflect this as every corner of the Earth viewed the destruction from these events.  With these aspects in mind, grief counselors are called upon not only to treat victims but also bystanders who are scarred by the horrific sights and stories they witness in person or on television.

Themes Grief Counselors Can Face

A few themes noticed by experts include the following social ideas on how grief effects society.  First, the minimizing tendency to deny the possibility of traumatic events happening to oneself.  One is only to soon to proclaim, “This cannot happen to me”.  This leads to the dangerous idea and theme of how well unprepared people are for traumatic events.  One can especially see this in the case of government reactions.  It also shows that governments are far from void of emotional response as any other person would be.  Also one can see government response is not spared from classism and racism in its response. Another developing theme effecting society is the fact that death imprint is more universal and far reaching than ever before due to internet, television and up to date news.  During WWII, campaigns and victories were heard after the event, but today, one can witness the battle as it is fought.  Another theme is the fact that people socially accept natural catastrophes quicker than they do human caused pain.  Ideas of violence and genocide strike the human heart greater than the roar of a hurricane. Finally, one can also see a social theme addresses the importance of ritual.  When various rituals of burial are denied during massive catastrophes with great death, the grief recovery of an individual can be compromised.
All of these social implications point towards a variety of issues that can lead to complicated forms of grief not only in victims but also bystanders.  Grief counselors, social workers and other emergency relief workers should be aware of these things when helping those that are victims to great grief caused by nature or man. If you are interested in a grief counseling certification, please review our program.
Mark Moran, MA

Certified Grief Counseling and Oscillation

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

The idea of oscillation is new to Grief Theory and  certified Grief counseling in that in incorporates happy states of reprise from sadness until the mind and soul are ready to encounter the sadness again.  This up and down process continues until severity and regularity gradually decrease and the person is able to cope better and adapt to everyday living. The West has for sometime been cautious of such feelings because it was thought to be a state of denial but modern psychological findings are discovering that people do indeed go through ups and downs during the grief

process.  This is not to dismiss stage theory as a useful analysis of the grief process but it does point that stage theory does have some inaccuracies in describing the universal phenomenon of grief.  In fact, many people do not even follow the chronological stages of grief.  The paradigm of traditional grief thought is being replaced with a more fluid process that understands the oscillation and resiliency as natural factors during the grief process.

Grief Counseling Meets Resiliency

The reality is resiliency is more common than thought and is a natural method of coping.  While early studies are trying to determine if resiliency is genetic, the common notion today is that it is psychological and some have better coping abilities than others.  Obviously the traumatic level of the event does objectively effect the coping but overall an individuals ability to cope both externally and internally is advantageous over those who only cope inwardly or outwardly.  Another element of coping involves one’s outlook.  People who are able to find good out of evil and have a higher power they find solitude in are more likely to exhibit resilient behavior than those who do not.
Grief counselors need to identify these factors and encourage them in their clients to foster greater and faster recovery.  Adaptation to loss is quicker for those who exhibit these traits. If grief counselors can identify these traits, they can help others cultivate them so as to avoid complicated or pathological states of grief in the future.

By Mark Moran, MA

Christian Counseling and Lenten Ideas on the Numeral 40

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Christian Counseling and the Number 40

The Lenten theme of “40” and “Desert” is a reoccurring theme. Let us today look at the time of Israel and the 40 years in the desert and see how we can utilize this concept with Christian Counseling Ideals.
For doubting God after the numerous miracles, Israel was punished with a wandering in the

desert for Forty years. This was even imposed upon Moses. Only children under the age of 21 of that sinful generation would be spared the denial of the Promised Land. During this time, the Jewish people under the guidance of Moses wandered the desert for an additional Forty years. It would be under Joshua that they would eventually enter into the Holy Land.
Here we see two motifs that correlate with Lent. The idea of the number Forty being a period of repentance and the idea of a desert. The desert signifies the world and sin. In the temporal realm, Christian pilgrims on Earth suffer in the desert until the final reward of the Promised Land. As the faithful Israelites entered into the Promised Land after Forty years, so too shall the follower of Christ enter into the Promised Land which is Heaven.
This however is an Old Testament analogy of the desert led by the Prophet Moses, the next idea of “40” and the “Desert” is even more amazing via Christ in the New Testament. However, we will leave that for another day. In the meantime, it will suffice to meditate upon the wandering in the desert of the Jewish people and how it relates to our own wandering in the desert of the world.
If you want to learn how to become certified in Christian Counseling then review.

By Mark Moran, MA

Christian Counseling and Christ’s 40 Days in the Desert

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Christ’s Time of Temptation

The ideal of the desert and the number Forty also are useful motifs for penance in the New Testament. These symbols as used in the Old Testament also relate to the New testament and continue the theme, especially in the case of Christ and his temptations in the desert.  Christian Counseling sessions should utilize this motiff for Lenten discussions.

Again emphasis is placed on the desert as a place where sacrifice and renewal is found against Satan. Satan tempted Christ three times. He urged him to jump and allow angels to catch him from a cliff, promised him food and demanded adoration in exchange for all the kingdoms of the material world. These temptations contradicted the fasting that Christ was undergoing. Whether Satan at this time realized that Christ was the Logos is speculated, but the fact he remains he did sense a holiness never found in previous prophets and wished to tempt Christ during his period of fasting. Ultimately, it is in the desert that Christ in all his humanity faces Satan and emerges victorious unlike the fall of Adam. In much the same way, we must fast in the world for Forty days and emerge victorious like Christ over Satan. While the temptations may differ, they still represent the devil’s attempt to destroy our Lenten sacrifices. What temptations does Satan give one? They could correlate with an opposite vice of a virtue we are practicing in Lent, or represent a desire we are trying to curb. In all these ways, we must pray to Christ to send these temptations away.
Through the Forty days of Lent, we must overcome temptation, renew our faith in Christ, fast and prepare for the Resurrection. As Christ emerged from the desert prepared to do his Father’s work, so can we emerge prepared to do the will of the Father.
If you are interested in the Christian Counseling Program, please review it over and see if it matches your academic needs.  As a certified Christian spiritual counselor, you can help others find Christ
By Mark Moran, MA