Reflection On Spiritual Orientation

While reading the Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, I did not expect to come across a spiritual discipline that would be a perfect combination of my own idea of spiritual formation, and a wonderful way to connect with the Lord. What I mean by this, is that I was wanting to create a gratitude journal, but I wanted it to be deeper than just a list of things that I was thankful for. That is why I fell in love with the idea of writing responses to the questions that were posed in the Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, but still taking a few minutes to write a list of things that I am grateful for! A journal like this is also a great way for me to see the strong points in my day or week, and the areas where I need improvement. Since journaling has always

In providing basic health care in hospitals, medical practitioners should not only focus on giving physical treatment to patients but also provide spiritual and psychological assessment and management for them. This practice as suggested by many studies (see Chapman, 2003; Eberst, n.d.,) can help the hospitals develop a new method of healing that is more holistic in approach. The Joint Commission (2005) recommends spiritual assessment program which can help the medical officers to know the needs of the patients aside from the usual physical treatment. It will help them

The previous three questions are helpful in focusing on what is important and not important in one’s life and what has worth, and assists in redirecting one’s desires and gaining insight into what is most important in life.

McMinn unveils the realism of what essentially happens in the counseling office. He dives into the fitting together “Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling”. McMinn explains how “those who enter therapy in the midst of their pain experience a restorative counseling relationship that brings acceptance hope, and meaning into their broken lives” (McMinn, 2011, p. 20). There are various questions surrounding Christian counseling that McMinn faces head on in this book when it comes to the challenges counselors face as it relates to integrating religion and spirituality in their sessions. Life on the frontier as McMinn puts it, is where counselors face six basic challenges. Challenges such as moving from two areas of competence to three, blurred personal-professional distinctions, expanded definitions of training, confronting dominant views of mental health, establishing a scientific base or even defining relevant ethical standards (McMinn, 2011). Personal journey’s that McMinn has taken throughout his career provide him with the knowledge, skills and abilities to depict how we should face these challenges. McMinn talks about how many counselors have a need to interpret studies, have good psychodynamics and figure out which cognitive therapy is right for their counseling. As he states, “Christian counseling is more complex than other forms of counseling because our goal are multifaceted (McMinn, 2011, p.

Two challenges faced by counselors include training in spiritual formation, something that comes solely through deepening their own relationship with God, and establishing boundaries between their personal and professional life while still drawing upon personal experience in the counseling sessions. A third challenge presents

Throughout the past week, we have been reflecting upon the work that was completed throughout the semester. I found that my writing has improved

Under his ten reasons, I note the common questions usually raised in a spiritual direction session: "Where is God in this situation for you?" "How is God in this for you?" "Where is God in all of this?" "How might God be calling you to respond in this situation?" "Who is God in your life?" "Where is God hiding?" "Who is God?" "What is God calling you to do?" I have asked some of these questions in the sessions but not all of them. These are some good questions to evoke the story of the directees and allow them to deepen their awareness of God's presence. I will have to learn to use these questions in my sessions at appropriate times. I agree with his comment that "As you become more aware of the Divine in your life, there is a good chance that your ideas about the nature of God and God's relationship to the universe and you will change." I believe this personal change will result in a closer relationship with God and deepen one's life in

I felt nervous at the beginning of teaching the skill, due to the importance of the OSCE, but I began to relax because I had prepared for the assigned skill and the key points I had written allowed me to structure the teaching session. Additionally, having been the junior student in a

Mark R. McMinn’s (2011) Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling establish a way to bring Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality to Christian Counselors. He introduces a replica of how to integrate the three disciplines in the counseling office. The purpose of the book is to instruct counselors how to integrate categories of Psychology, Theology and Spirituality into Christian Counseling. McMinn (2011) contends that many challenges both professional and personal face Christian Counselors on the frontier of intradisciplinary integration. (Intradisciplinary integration is the new emerging frontier for Christian Counselors).

As the semester begins, I would like to continue to work on enhancing the previous goals and skills in my previous practicum class as well as use more advanced skills. I would like to work on implementing and illustrating enactments and scaling interventions in my sessions/videos. Be able to identify and understand situations/feelings that arise in therapy sessions pertaining to self-of-therapist and enhance my professionalism. Hence, having confidence to lead my therapy sessions by relying on what I have learned in previous classes. Also, be able to use proper clinical language. Moreover, continue to work on understanding my limitations, biases, comfort levels and work on being transparent in order

According to Hutchison (2013) the biopsychosocial approach used by many social workers is an examination of the biological, psychological, and social systems; all are seen as interconnected. In recent years the spiritual dimension has also gained popularity in research and recognition as being inseparable from other dimensions of personhood. Culture is also seen as a powerful environmental dimension that demands acknowledgment to truly gain insight into a person’s worldview. The following is a brief summary of these dimensions in regards to youths experiencing bullying.

As a future teacher, you will be self-reflecting on your teaching and the activity that you had the class complete as part of the lessons. By reflecting on what you presented in class, you will learn how to and what to modify in future lessons which will help you become a stronger teacher (Ed-TPA). Please answer the following prompts (honestly) with a minimum of 4 sentences for each section.

I improved on my understanding of education by having the opportunity to learn more about lesson plans. This class has helped me to grow in my understanding of students by allowing me to interact with them on a regular basis. Teaching lessons has become something that this course allowed me to become more comfortable with. While I still need to improve on my time management while creating lessons, I believe that this course has shown me what I need to do to teach an effective lesson.

Ironically, spiritual and religious considerations were foundational in U.S. higher education historically. It was not until the late nineteenth century it began to shift to a fragmental one with a devaluing of liberal arts education (Lindholm, J. ,2014). Not only the education was operated with a business-like model but also the positivistic culture of academe conditions faculty and students to separate personal values from disciplinary content, coupled with associated notions that the spiritual dimension of experience is an illegitimate focus for serious scholarly inquiry. This represents another, often powerful, source of tension for the spirituality in this environment. Indeed, so-called dominator conceptualizations of spiritual and religious beliefs , structures, and relationships have also been used to rationalize behavioral atrocities and to justify chronic injustice and misery. Associated fears lead some to presume that those who would choose to focus on spiritual or religious dimensions of student and faculty life are motivated by a desire to “convert” others to their own beliefs and practices or to eradicate from the academy those who they feel don’t have the “correct” orientations and values (Lindholm, J. ,2014, P4). However, this culture change in academia cannot stop people from pursuing the meaning and purpose of their existence on this planet. Most of us, in some part of our life, have been seeking healing and reconciliation with self and others. This

I will explore a few of unique approaches as outlined in the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola. I will describe my experience of integrating some of the concepts of spiritual direction into my practice.