Introduction to Disaster Spiritual Care now available through Chaplain Distance Learning
Chaplain Distance Learning will offer the course “Introduction to Disaster Spiritual Care” in January 2019, with several additional start dates over the course of the year. The course lasts four weeks and work is asynchronous and self-paced. From CDL’s description, those who successfully complete the course will:
- Understand and be familiar with the theory of a disaster lifecycle
- Recognize the basic disaster spiritual and emotional needs within the different phases of a disaster lifecycle
- Begin to identify and comprehend the scope of disaster response operations – local, regional and national – and the role of disaster spiritual care within those operations
- Know the effects of proximity and exposure to disaster on long-term spiritual and psychological responses
- Begin to be able to identify common psychological, emotional, physical, cognitive and spiritual reactions following disasters
- Develop basic helping skills in disaster spiritual care and how to use them (e.g. listening, appropriate use of religious resources)
- Understand the value of intentional emotional and spiritual presence and how such presence is established and utilized
- Be familiar with Individual crisis communication & interventions
- Develop for yourself the essential principles for providing sensitive and appropriate spiritual care in multi-cultural and/or multi-faith environments
- Identify various socio-cultural standards and issues necessary to provide/facilitate care in a manner that meets the unique needs of various cultural and religious groups
- Gain familiarity with and understand the National VOAD Disaster Spiritual Care Points of Consensus
- Have a working knowledge of principles of ethics in disaster spiritual care
- Acquire self-care strategies
- Begin to organize and manage how you assess, intervene, methods one might use in interventions and intended effects/outcomes
- Reflect and develop your own personal disaster spiritual care theological/religious framework that provides insight, understanding, support and hope in times of crisis
- Recognize healthy & unhealthy coping mechanisms
- Referrals in general and pastoral counseling referrals in particular
Discounts are available to BCCs from ACCA, APC, CASC/ACSS, CPSP, NACC, NAJC, NAVAC, and NCVACC, as well as CPE Supervisors and Associate Supervisors from ACPE, NACC, and CASC/ACSS. A further discount is available to those volunteering in Disaster Spiritual Care with the Red Cross. Find out more and register here.