WELCOME TO ENGAGEMENTS
TO PROFESSIONAL CHAPLAINCY PRACTICE
Having been trained, nurtured and equipped at the school of
Chaplaincy practice in Nigeria 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
counseling 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 meditate 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.
Are you interested in online professional chaplaincy training
to enable you offer beneficial chaplaincy care and services, get registered at
the prestigious chaplaincy institute – Prodam-J Chaplaincy Institute for
adequate and proper professional chaplaincy education and training to make you
outstanding among your equals? Call 08033072375; 07055287861; 08035092416 or
WhatsApp – 09091981944
Chap. David Mike-Jacobs
CPC, CPST, BCC.
Professor of
Anthropology, Certified Chaplaincy Educator & Trainer.
Blog: thechaplain1.blogspot.com
20th Oct,
AD2022