The National Association of Catholic Chaplains

Menu
  • Membership
      • Apply for Membership
      • Frequently-Asked Questions about Membership
      • Request Retired Membership
      • State Liaisons
      • Newest Members
      • Membership Directory
      • Member map
      • Celebrating Our Members’ 25-year Membership and Certification
      • In Memoriam: deceased NACC members
    • Close
  • Certification
    • Initial Board Certification
      • Board Certified Chaplain (BCC)
      • Certified Associate Chaplain (CAC)
      • Palliative Care and Hospice Advanced Certification (PCHAC)
      • VA Initial Board Certification
      • Recognition of Strategic Partners Board Certification
      • Newly Certified Chaplains
      • Close
    • Renewal of Certification
    • Certification Competencies & Procedures
      • Certification Competencies & Procedures
      • Important Background on NACC Certification Competencies
      • Professional Code of Ethics for Spiritual Care Professionals
      • Certification Commission
      • Certification Appeals Panel
      • Ethics Appeals Panel
      • Close
    • Mentors
    • Recognition of Strategic Partners Board Certification
    • Verifying Certification
    • Maintaining Certification in Retirement
    • Graduate Theological Programs
    • Close
  • Education Resources
      • 2022 National Conference
      • 2022 Webinar Series
      • Recorded webinars (2009-2021)
      • Calendar of Events
      • Graduate Theological Programs
      • CPE Programs
      • NACC Professional Networking Calls
      • Continuing Education Hour Requests – Guidelines and Forms
      • Ongoing Educational Opportunities
      • Local/Regional Gatherings & Events
      • Past Conferences (2004 – 2020)
      • Vision
    • Close
  • Resources
    • Antiracism Resources
    • Administrator Resources
    • Awareness Resources
    • Chaplaincy Care Resources
    • Coronavirus Resources & Updates
    • Job Listings
    • The Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling
    • Partners in Pastoral Care
    • Research
    • Specialty Care Resources
    • Spirituality and Prayer Resources
    • Spiritual Care Department Resources
    • Vision
    • Close
  • About NACC
    • About the NACC
      • Mission/Vision/Values
      • Constitution and ByLaws
      • Strategic Plan
      • History
      • Close
    • Annual Awards
    • Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition (CPMC)
    • Choose Chaplaincy
    • Health Care Collaborators
    • Association Leadership
      • NACC Board of Directors
      • National Office Staff
      • Episcopal Advisory Council
      • Close
    • NACC Publications and Documents
      • Vision
      • NACC Now
      • Annual Reports & Financial Reviews
      • Documents and publications
      • NACC Blog
      • Close
    • Partners in Pastoral Care
    • Partners for Professional Excellence in Spiritual Care
    • Vision
    • Close
  • Choose Chaplaincy
  • Contact Us
      • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
    • Close
  • Donate Now
  • Member Login
Home » Ongoing Educational Opportunities » Honoring Grief…Intending to Heal
← Back to all Opportunities

Type of Event: Other Educational Opportunities

Honoring Grief…Intending to Heal

“Healing means, first of all, the creation of an empty but friendly space where those who suffer can tell their story to someone who can listen with real attention.”
– Henri Nouwen

 

“Honoring Grief—Intending to Heal” is a grief support companion training program for those who are new to companioning the bereaved and/or for those who are currently supporting the bereaved in various capacities and want to hone their skills.

The companioning model can be integrated into—and can greatly enhance—any modality of support to the bereaved, be it as a counselor, support group facilitator, minister, social worker, hospice worker, chaplain, funeral home employee, nurse, physician, spiritual director, friend, or family member.

This approach to supporting the bereaved makes a clear distinction between other models that focus on treating, fixing, curing, analyzing, and resolving another’s grief. Instead, the companioning model is about “being authentically present to the mourner, allowing the mourner to teach and guide you, and even being a temporary guardian of the person’s soul” (Alan Wolfelt).

The art of being a grief support companion is deceptively simple but most find it challenging as it demands personal accountability of—and tending to—one’s own losses, as well as allowing oneself to be vulnerable. It is a model that is counter-intuitive, counter-intellectual and counter-western-cultural. This training program’s approach and contents includes a healthy balance of head and heart.

Components of the Companion Training Program include:

  • in-depth exploration of the companioning philosophy (with sensitivity to serving differing ages, cultures, ethnicities, and spiritual backgrounds)
  • basic understanding of grief and its significance
  • connecting spirituality and grief
  • basic understanding of healing in grief
  • surveying the necessity of being with difficult emotions and feelings
  • clarifying the necessity of purposeful and intentional healing
  • learning and practicing companioning skills with particular emphasis on:
  1. real presence
  2. creating and holding safe spaces
  3. the art of curiosity through an appreciation and integration of “beginners
    mind”
  4. developing listening and questioning skills
  • practical implications of using the companion model in various grief support modalities.

Gatherings will include:

  • presentation and educational activities
  • small and large group interaction
  • meditation and griever-friendly rituals
  • opportunities to practice skills
  • opportunities for personal integration.

Program Requirements:

  • Attendance at all five Saturday gatherings
  • A space of 1.5 years since a significant loss is preferred
  • Reading, intentional reflection, integration and other assignments prior to the first gathering and between gatherings.

Participants who complete the program will receive:

  • four grief related books
  • practical handouts
  • certificate of completion of four Continuing Education Units.

Honoring Grief is approved for four CEUs (40 Contact Hours) through the University of Wisconsin—Parkside Continuing Education.

Registration and Application Process:

  1. Complete and submit the registration form and the non-refundable deposit.
  2. Once your registration is received, you will be emailed a biographical application form which is required to be completed and submitted for review by the training program team.
  3. You will be notified regarding your acceptance into the program and mailed the assignment for the initial gathering. You must apply by by Tuesday, December 31, 2019.

Saturdays, January 25, February 22, March 21, April 25, and July 11, 2020. (Snow date May 9)
8:30am—4:30pm

Cost of $475 includes $50 non-refundable deposit, all five training days, four books, handouts and materials, meals, and CEUs.

www.sienaretreatcenter.org/events/honoring-grief%E2%80%A6intending-heal

← Back to all Opportunities
The National Association of Catholic Chaplains

Upcoming Events

  1. Ministry to Officers (CPMC Town Hall event)

    July 7 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
  2. Chaplaincy in a Women’s Prison (CMPC webinar)

    July 13 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
  3. NACC Member Peer Support Networking

    July 18 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

View All Events

Become a Member Would you like to get Certified?

Free Publications

Don’t miss the latest news, subscribe to our newsletter today! You don’t have to be a member to subscribe.

National Association of Catholic Chaplains
4915 S. Howell Avenue, Suite 501
Milwaukee, WI 53207
Get Directions

Phone: (414) 483-4898
Fax: (414) 483-6712
Email: [email protected]

Our office hours
Mon-Thur 8:00am – 5:00pm Central Time
Friday 8:00am – 12 Noon
Sat-Sun closed

Job Listings

Current job opportunities for chaplains, priests, CPE residents, supervisors, directors of pastoral care, managers, mission directors, and more.

Job Listings

Free Publications

Don’t miss the latest news, subscribe to our newsletter today! You don’t have to be a member to subscribe.

Donate Now

Learn more about making a tax-deductible donation to NACC.

Donate Now

Connect with us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
© 1997 - 2022 National Association of Catholic Chaplains - Sitemap

Built by Westwords