William S David, 72Dorloo, NY

aihcp.org
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 (Office)

How Pastoral Care Training Can Make You Become More Effective In Your Vocation As a pastor, there are certain responsibilities that you have to fulfill not only inside the congregation but among its members as well. Although you are primarily in charge of the spiritual well-being of your members, there are instances when you need to provide more than spiritual advice. This is especially true in cases where a member's family is going through a hard time, like for example a serious illness or a very recent loss in the family. Providing pastoral care is not just about reading the appropriate scriptures, as you need to have the appropriate pastoral care training before you can effectively provide advice and extend the care that your members need during trying events. Many pastors and clergymen these days choose to enroll in pastoral care training courses because the training helps them deal with various situations that may come up in the course of their ministry. Training programs include courses that combine theology and psychology - two areas that a pastor should have a good grasp of if he is wants to be able to provide the right type of counseling. Pastoral care training also often includes counseling of members, as a pastor's vocation does not just end in tending to the sick or dying. Members who are emotionally and spiritually troubled also need a pastor's guidance. Because of this, most people who want to become a pastor in their local church choose to enroll in Christian counseling courses and obtain Christian counseling certification. This type of certification is offered to anyone who wants to specialize in the field of counseling that involves providing advice to church members and visitors who are in need of spiritual guidance. Clergymen who want to undergo pastoral care training are also encouraged to obtain Christian counseling certification if there are plans of setting up an office to cater to people from all walks of life aside from their members. Certification programs in this field will allow a pastor to learn effective counseling techniques and approaches that will benefit the community. Those who are in the field of professional healthcare can also take advantage of these courses if they want to provide assistance to people based on their Christian beliefs. There are many ways to obtain pastoral care training and some may be more effective than others. If you are on a full schedule and barely have the time to enroll in a traditional training program, you can always opt to study on your own. There are all kinds of self-study materials and literature on pastoral care that you can choose to take advantage of. However, these materials are often incomplete or are not accredited by the appropriate organizations. Although you can study on your own and try to obtain certification through this method, you may not get the most efficient and effective education possible. What you can do is look for distance certification programs in websites like http://www.aihcp.org/ in order to have the most comprehensive training. The American Institute of Health Care Professionals has various certification and recertification programs that can be very useful in your vocation as pastor or in your career as a Christian counselor. There are also continuing education courses that you can take advantage of if you feel that you need to add to the skills that you already have. Improving and developing your knowledge of pastoral care and Christian counseling not only benefits you in the long run, but it can also benefit the people you are serving and helping. Take the time to check different websites and determine which ones offer the most suitable training and certification programs according to your needs.