Pastoral Care Emergencies

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Methodology
Findings
Recommendations
Conclusion
Book Review
The role of clergymen in solving family problems
Reference List

Introduction

Many men find it hard to handle the stress that comes with the loss of a job. There have been cases where men have attempted to commit suicide after losing their jobs. Many of them, however, opt to go back to their old stress-relieving behaviors for consolation.

Sebastian, for example, went back to drinking. He could not imagine his family suffering while he was alive. His interpretation of this situation was that he had disappointed the family. Drinking was, therefore, a way of managing his stress.

Problem statement

Sebastian has much stress because of losing his job. He has been behaving abnormally in recent days. Precisely, he shouts at his wife, children, and any other person who interacts with him. He can no longer provide for his family. He cannot buy food, clothes, shelter, and other basic amenities. Lack of these things is the cause of his stress.

Justification

Sebastian needed to get pastoral care. He’s yelling and shouting was a sign of his stress. If we had not given him our services, he could even have harmed his wife and children. Such cases have, in the past, caused many deaths. It was, therefore, necessary for both Sebastian and Sarah to go through pastoral care to solve their problems.

Methodology

Our pastoral care in this case mainly involved handling Sebastian and Sarah’s stress. This stress resulted from Sebastian’s loss of employment. I had an interview with them in a private room to establish what had caused their problems.

During the interview, I asked them questions about the cause of their stress and the status of their family. I also asked them whether Sebastian had ever lost a job before. I also wanted to know how long he had been looking for a job. In addition to these questions, I wanted to know the plans they had for dealing with their situation. They opened up and shared all the information I needed.

Findings

During the interview, I discovered that:

Sebastian’s stress was troubling every member of the family. He was harassing his wife and children, and, as a result, transferred his stress to them.
Their problems started when they finished their money. Sebastian could not get more money for the family, and hence, the stress.
Counseling Sebastian’s family would not be enough to solve their problems. They had more needs other than emotional needs. In addition to counseling, they needed food, clothing, and shelter. Counseling them when they lacked basic needs would not have achieved good results.

Recommendations

The main cause of Sebastian’s stress was the lack of money. Therefore, I referred him to organizations that could give him financial support. This support was would help him provide the basic needs for his family while looking for a job.
Since Sebastian was under deep stress, I advised him to seek other professional counselors. Counseling would help him overcome his stress.

Conclusion

Lack of money was the main cause of Sebastian’s stress. He transferred his stress to all his family members. Solving this family’s problems, therefore, had to involve solving Sebastian’s financial problems, and counseling the whole family.

Evaluating the effectiveness and ways of improving service delivery

The best way to gauge the effectiveness of my services is through assessing my clients’ responses. [1] Checking their responses can be through interviewing them directly or keenly watching their behavior. Watching their behavior gives the most reliable results.

In pastoral care provision, every experience is a learning opportunity. I have learned how to handle similar cases in the future. In case I come across similar cases, I will know that when one member of the family experiences stress, he is likely to transfer his stress to other members. So, when solving the problem, I will not only deal with the first person to experience stress but the whole group around him. Feedback from Sarah and the children are very critical in determining Sebastian’s recovery progress.

Book Review

Marriage and Family Emergencies: Family Violence, Psychiatric Emergencies

This chapter addresses some emerging issues within the family setup. Particularly, it discusses physical violence, incest, and psychiatric problems that occur within the family. The writer divides physical violence into spouse and child battering and fights between married partners. Toward the end of the chapter, the writer guides clergymen on how to help family members whenever such cases occur.

The writer states that battering is a very common form of violence among families. He defines battering and reports that more men beat up their wives compared to women who beat their husbands. He advises pastoral care providers to discard misconceptions that lead to such violent actions.

The author also talks about fights between partners. The chapter suggests that most couples fight because they grew up in families where parents fought every day. The writer proposes frequent visits by pastoral leaders as a solution to this problem.

Incest is the other problem that the author addresses in this chapter. He reports that very many cases of incest occur, but victims do not report them. According to the author, most cases of incest involve step-fathers and sometimes biological fathers. [2] He warns clergymen against directly involving themselves in such cases. Instead, he advises them to refer the clients to other specialists.

The last problem this chapter discusses is the emergence of psychiatric problems among members of the family. He describes common psychiatric problems and gives possible solutions to them. According to Switzer, the role of the clergy in this problem is to provide counseling services to the victim whether at home or in a hospital. [3]

Key points in the chapter

Physical violence
Spouse and child battering
Fighting between partners
Incest
Psychiatric emergencies in families

The role of clergymen in solving family problems

Responding to this pastoral care

The chapter proposes various solutions to violence and psychiatric emergencies. The first one is support from both the pastor and other members of the church. According to Switzer, family members will openly talk about their problems when they realize that the clergy and church members support them. [4]

In the case of emotionally disturbed clients, the chapter advises the pastor to visit them frequently. A conversation between the pastor and an individual with an emotional problem helps the patient relax. During such discussions, the pastor should understand that the patient might talk about imaginary things.

Clergymen should also make follow-ups on the progress of the patient. [5] Such visits are important to both the family and the patient. The conversations between the pastoral visitor and members of the patient’s family are equally important since they eliminate confusion.

Special considerations in this pastoral care

There are some special issues that pastoral care providers need to consider when handling people facing these problems. Such considerations include self-safety, confidentiality, voluntary disclosure of information, determining whether they can handle the case or not, and the policies and procedures of the organization.

When handling cases of violence or people with psychiatric problems, pastoral care providers need to consider their safety first. Such clients can hurt them. They should, therefore not be too close to the victims to the extent of forgetting about their safety.

They should also determine whether they can handle the case or not. In case they cannot handle it, then they should refer it to professionals with the right skills. They should not take a problem they cannot solve.

In addition, they should consult medical specialists before visiting patients with emotional problems in hospitals. Some hospitals do not allow other experts to visit their patients when they are handling them. Sometimes, the states of patients are too critical for visitors to talk to them. They should also act within the policies of their organizations.

In handling some family matters such as incest, it is important to have confidentiality. Most families do not like telling other people about such matters. Care providers should, therefore, not tell any other person about it. They should not even try to handle this problem because they might cause problems in the family. Instead, they should refer them to other professionals.

The part I find meaningful

The most important part to me of this chapter is the sub-topic discussing incest. I like the proposition it gives on how to handle cases of incest. It advises pastoral care providers to only deal with the initial stages of this problem. It forbids them from handling such problems because they may end up multiplying them. They should refer this problem to authorities and other professionals. According to my, this information is very meaningful because pastors, being close to victims, may lead to the stigmatization of victims in the family.

Importance of this knowledge on my role as a chaplain

This knowledge is very important to my job as a chaplain. It has helped me know the real problems that families face. In my teachings, therefore, I will address such issues. I will link them to my biblical teachings in a manner that may not raise suspicion. This type of teachings can help transform society by reducing the likelihood of the occurrence of such issues in families.

Impacts of this chapter on my thoughts

Reading this chapter evokes many thoughts in my mind. The first one is the thought that a family is a place with many problems that result from different sources. It also helps me see the role of pastoral care providers in solving family problems. After reading this chapter, I see the role of a chaplain as a counselor. He should help families recover from both emotional and physical problems.

Self-care in pastoral care provision

Pastoral care providers need to ensure that they are safe when attending to clients. Some clients are violent while others have emotional problems. It is, therefore, dangerous to deal with them. When handling such people, I will first assess their emotional status before dealing with them. I will work with them with caution or refer them to specialists who are more knowledgeable than me. I will also not force them to disclose information. The safest way of handling them is meeting them in the presence of their relatives.

DK Switzer, Pastoral Care Emergencies, Fortress Press: Minneapolis, 2000.
Switzer, p. 166.
Ibid., p. 168.
Switzer, p. 169.
Ibid, p. 171.

Reference List

Switzer, DK, Pastoral Care Emergencies. Fortress Press: Minneapolis, 2000.

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