Crises and Current Issues in Pastoral Counseling – PACO 840

Course Description

This course provides an in-depth study of the onset, duration, and appropriate interventions for various crises encountered in pastoral counseling. This study will include topical discussions of crises including natural and manmade disasters, trauma, suicidal ideations, and familial crises.

Rationale

As a basis for their work, pastoral counselors should have a thorough understanding of Crisis theories and their relevance for guiding the therapeutic process. In addition to understanding core theoretical principles, pastoral counselors need to appreciate contributions from various theoretical approaches to the actual practice of crisis counseling. This understanding serves to heighten counselor effectiveness in formulating effective treatment strategies and in aiding in the delivery of powerful interventions in an efficient and timely manner.

Course Assignment

Textbook readings, lecture presentations, and articles

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (4)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student will participate in 4 Discussions designed to allow the student to interact with course materials. Each thread must be at least 500 words and demonstrate course related knowledge. In addition to the thread, the student is required to reply to the thread of at least 1 classmate. Each reply must be at least 250 words. The student must incorporate course materials, support his or her assertions using scholarly research, and use current Turabian or APA format. (CLOs: A, B, C, D, F)

Community Referral Notebook Assignment

The student will develop a notebook that must include at least 1 local, state, and national referral resource for each dimension of crisis care, as specified in assignment guidance and the grading rubric. (CLOs: B, E)

Interview Reports Assignment

The student will interview 5 individuals who have gone through some type of violence-related trauma. The student will then present the results in a written narrative for each interviewee. The student should also review assignment guidance and the grading rubric. (CLOs: D, E)

Research Paper Assignment

The student will write a research paper on one of the following topics:

• Therapies and treatments of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
• Familial crises
• Palliative care
• Law enforcement chaplaincy
• Biblical perspective of crises intervention.

The body of the paper should be about 8–10 pages, not including title page, reference page, etc. Adequate research will include at least 8 scholarly sources and should be written using current Turabian or APA formatting. Students should review assignment guidance and grading rubric for details and clarification. (CLOs: B, C, F)

SIPR Quizzes (14)

Each quiz will cover the Learn material for its respective AACC Suicide PAIR Certification Program DVD presentation. Each quiz will be open-book/open-notes, contain 10 multiple-choice and true/false questions, and have a time limit of 30 minutes. At the conclusion of the course, the student is encouraged to submit the AACC final exam electronic scan form, included in his or her AACC workbook, with his or her quiz answers to the AACC to achieve Suicide PAIR Certification. (CLOs: A, B, F)