WELCOME TO ENGAGEMENTS
TO PROFESSIONAL CHAPLAINCY PRACTICE
Having been trained, nurtured and equipped at the Professional
Institute of Chaplaincy practice to the level of competence you have attained
today, severally and corporately, you are hereby given a provision to practice
chaplaincy. Welcome to;
a. Active participation in professional
chaplaincy practice.
b. Engage or begin to engage in professional
chaplaincy practice.
c. Attempt professional chaplaincy.
d. Commence the provision as pastoral
chaplaincy care and service delivery.
e. Engage in professional chaplaincy for
profit in the following fields of endeavour.
Types of chaplaincy
services that can be rendered at the present level of competence.
Types of counseling you should be able to engage in at your
level as competence as you are graduating.
Counseling:
1.
Children counseling called (pediatric
counseling):
Chaplains involve children counseling
is called pediatric chaplains or counselors.
2.
Adolescent/Teens counseling:
Chaplains who are favourably dispose with
passion to adolescents/Teens and understand the usual problems they face in
life at their age will be of assistant to them in providing counseling with the
chaplains offering such services known to called Teen/Adolescent Chaplain or
Counselor.
They should be prepared to make
themselves available for profitable intervention and counseling and as well be
able to profitably handle the Teen/Adolescent counseling.
3.
Youth counseling:
Chaplains who are favourably disposed
to the youth and are interested in helping them solve the usual problems they
are prone to in life should be able to profitably provide counseling to the
youths. Chaplains that render such services are called youth counselors or
youth chaplains. Remember such chaplains and counselor must be able to identify
with the youths at their levels and also come to be favourably accepted by
them.
NB: I need to bring to your notice
here that the first three types of counseling requires that chaplains or
counselors give themselves to the study of good and bad parenting, parenting
styles, peer group pressure and the effects on children, adolescents and youths
in our various communities and societies. The effects of broken homes, step
fatherism or motherism must also be studied by counselors or chaplains offering
counseling and care service to people in these three categories detailed above.
Remember knowledge is said to be
power. The more you know about the usual problem of people of these age the
better you are or the more qualified you are to offer chaplaincy services,
interventions, care and counseling, amongst them.
4.
Adults counseling:
Chaplains who are favourablly
disposed to helping adult finds solutions to their usual problems of adulthood
should be able to provide intervention and counseling services to these set of
people. Chaplains offering services among adults may be called adult chaplains
or counselors. These adults are people who have graduated from youth to
adulthood whether married or unmarried. Problems people in this category are
unique, special and diverse requiring knowledgeable handling of skillful
professional chaplains.
5.
Couples counseling:
Chaplains who are interested in
relationship issues and are favourablly disposed to helping them should be able
to help couples in solving common problems confronting couples in this age.
There must be thorough understanding of what are and kinds of couples you are
trying to help at any point in time. Chaplains who offer services to couples
may be called couple counselors or chaplains.
6.
Pre-Marital counseling:
Chaplains who are interested in
helping people who are thinking or considering going into marriage relationship
should be able to operate profitably amongst the set of people. The aspect that
can easily make chaplains known is match – making or helping to find husband or
wife for those who desire such services, this is an area that can easily profit
counselors if done well within the law of the land.
7.
Marriage or marital counseling:
Chaplains who have passion for
married couple/people and are interested in helping find solutions to the
common problems of married people should be able to render profitably
counseling or chaplaincy services to couples or partners. Chaplains offering
such services may be called marriage counselors or marriage chaplains, there
must be good understanding of what marriage is on the part of the chaplains. Unmarried
chaplain should not venture into providing this service as there will be no
form of experience where such chaplain can draw from.
8.
Family counseling:
Chaplains who are favourablly
disposed to helping families by providing solutions to common problems of
families in our age should profitably render the service needed amongst
families or to families such chaplain and counselor offering such services may
be called family counselors or family chaplains.
9.
Career Counseling:
Chaplains who have passion for career
development of the people of our age, should profitably be able to offer career
counseling at this level of competence. However the chaplain must have the
understanding of what careers are, how they can be developed and subjects to do
in school. Such chaplains and counselor offering such services may be called
career counselor or chaplain.
Types of care that can
be provided in chaplaincy practice at this level of competence:
1.
Pastoral care:
Pastoral care which was one of the
foremost care provided in chaplaincy practice should profitably be provided at
your present level of competence including the following activities.
i.
Identifying
with clients like a good shepherd.
ii.
Standing
with clients in their situations.
iii.
Have
concern for clients without condemnation.
iv.
Praying
with the clients or standing in the gap for clients in prayer.
v.
Conducting
deliverance or exorcism for clients where necessary.
vi.
Teaching
clients how to meditately and patiently wait upon the Lord.
NB. Pastoral care must be understood
by care givers and providers that chaplaincy emanated from pastoral care.
2.
Spiritual care:
Chaplains in providing the needed
care for people in chaplaincy practice should profitably be able to care for
the clients and the soul of human beings for as long as they remain human
beings and in scope and nature.
Chaplains must know that there are
problems called spiritual problem that seek to destabilize people spiritually,
this making them vulnerable in the physical realm. There are also problems that
defies, medical care and medication, such problems require spiritual attention
e.g. demonosis originating from demonic and Satanic attacks or afflictions.
3.
Emotional care:
There are numerous problems of people
and clients which are purely emotional and feelings oriented chaplains must be
able to differentiate problem promoters and should profitably attend to people
with emotional problems with the intention of helping to meet their emotional
needs.
4.
Mental health Care:
Chaplain as problem solver should
profitably be able to provide needed solutions to problems released unto our
world and are in the form of mental health problems, the needed relief and succor
for Clients held down by mental health problem. Although mental health problem
do not signify that the particular client is suffering from insanity but mental
health problems are disastrous and sometimes lead to loss of lives.
Chaplains even at the present level
of competence are encouraged to be able to identify common mental health which
include:
i.
depression,
ii.
stress,
iii.
insomnia,
iv.
confusion,
v.
negative
thinking leading to suicide or suicidal thought and attempt most of the time.
5.
Health care:
Chaplains who have the interest and
passion to provide profitable health care services to patients in the hospital
settings should be able to attempt such at the present level of competence
provided they care to know what is done in hospital as chaplaincy practice to
in-patient, out-patients and their relations.
Chaplaincy practice in the hospital
setting is not synonymous with Hospital visitation, hospital evangelism,
hospital ministry but having permanent or temporary place in the hospital as
staff chaplain to enable the chaplain plan and execute chaplaincy work in such
hospital.
Establishments, Work
and Operations that can make professional chaplains known to the public:
1.
Psycho-social counseling center:
Where psycho-social counseling
intervention and therapeutic treatments can be offered by chaplains and other
professionals as interdisciplinary ventures.
2.
Professional counseling center: were chaplains can offer
professional counseling and interventions to the people.
3.
Professional Chaplaincy center: where chaplaincy services are
offered and declared to be generally of the people.
4.
Rehabilitation center: where people who have been addicted,
beaten, battered, traumatized, stigmatized are offered assistance or help to
restore them to normalcy or the state and condition before their tragedies or traumatic
experiences.
Chaplains are expected to know those
who should be offered rehabilitation and recovery programmes such as;
i.
trafficked
girls,
ii.
abused
children,
iii.
alcoholics,
iv.
victims
of rape,
v.
internally
displaced people,
vi.
victims
of terror,
vii.
People
who have come to the understanding that they have bedeviled with bad habits and
behaviours, wanting positive change in their lives.
5.
Orphanages: where abandoned babies can be cared
for.
6.
Day care Centre: for both children and older adults
can access Professional chaplaincy care services.
7.
Care giving: services from house to house by the
care givers as such services are demanded for those who needed care in their
homes.
With such operations and establishments, professional
chaplains have the opportunities of projecting their works professionally and
make themselves known to the general public. Advertisements of what chaplains
have to offer locally and nationally and otherwise will make them known to
people as well as in the government. Fliers and complimentary card can be
printed and given to people.
Chap.
Prof. Mike David JP, AP,CPC
Certified
Chaplaincy Educator
