A Pastoral Counselor's Model for Wellness in the Workplace

Psychergonomics

Robert L Menz, Richard L Dayringer

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781317956099
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business generale
• Index: Business

From the author: If this information helps the professional caregiver, it will help the employee; if it helps the employee, it will help the company! A Pastoral Counselor's Model for Wellness in the Workplace: Psychergonomics takes the concept of ergonomics beyond physical and environmental concerns to include a holistic interconnectedness of mind, body, and spirit. This unique book examines how psychosocial factors like family, conflict, emotional stress, addiction, and financial pressures can impact an employee's health and well-being. It incorporates a new paradigm of health care into wellness in the corporate setting, adding a new dimension to human health and safety. A Pastoral Counselor's Model for Wellness in the Workplace explores the workplace reality that illness and injury are not just the result of simple linear causes. Companies have data to determine how much they spend on insurance and worker's compensation claims but no way to measure the effects absenteeism, productivity, quality of work, and employee morale have on operating expenses. Using a holistic model of understanding, employers may now consider that an injury may be the result of an employee's depression, an accident might be caused by substance abuse, and an illness could be brought on by being worried sick. A Pastoral Counselor's Model for Wellness in the Workplace examines how employeesand employerscan be affected by:

• money troubles
• marriage problems
• depression
• grief
• stress
• conflicts
• addictions
• alcoholism
• anger

A Pastoral Counselor's Model for Wellness in the Workplace: Psychergonomics is an essential resource for all helping professions, particularly in the areas of mental health and addiction. The book is an invaluable tool for pastoral counselors, chaplains, human resources managers, employee assistance professionals, psychotherapists, health care professionals, and educators.

Part I:
Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors in the Workplace

Professional health care chaplains and credentialed pastoral psychotherapists are poised to be an appropriate vehicle and professional means by which psychosocial-spiritual issues in the workplace may be addressed.

Chapter 1
Introduction

No [one] can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of your knowledge.

Kahlil Gibran

. . . an overwhelming number of Americans recognize the close link between spiritual faith, religious values, and mental health, and would prefer to seek assistance from a mental health professional who recognizes and can integrate spiritual values into the course of treatment.

Roy Woodruff

Psychergonomics is a concept and a process toward wholeness that integrates multifarious dimensions of wellness and the human experience. Psychergonomics will be further discussed in this chapter and Part II of this book, especially Chapter 3 which is primarily dedicated to the subject.

First, however, I would like to direct attention to a profession that is eminently qualified to address this subject. Psychergonomics calls for embracing wholeness. When the spiritual dimension is ignored, as it often is, well-being is lacking and wholeness is missed. Many mental health professionals do respect and incorporate spirituality into their practice. These professionals are already prepared to pursue the ideas discussed in this book. Another profession, however, also stands prepared to implement wholeness into their practice, but may be overlooked when it comes to wellness in the workplace. Specifically, I am referring to ministers who are trained and credentialed in health care and psychotherapy. Spirituality has become an increasingly popular theme over the past several years. Particularly since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the search for fundamental understanding and meaningfulness has been overwhelming.

A 1957 study that was repeated in 1976 brought to light the American propensity to value spirituality. The resulting book, Mental Health in America, revealed that the American public more often turned to clergy with their personal problems than to physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, or any other mental health professional (Veroff, Kulka, and Dorran, 1981). More recent research shows that this trend continues. The American Association of Pastoral Counselors (AAPC) and the Samaritan Institute joined to fund a new expanded survey that was completed in November 2000 by Greenburg Quinlan Research, Inc., of Washington, DC. Dr. Roy Woodruff, executive director of AAPC, reported the research findings in an AAPC publication. Some of the results follow.

• Eighty-three percent of respondents feel their spiritual faith and religious beliefs are closely tied to their state of mental and emotional health.
• Seventy-five percent of respondents say it is important to see a professional counselor who integrates their values and beliefs into the counseling process.
• Sixty-nine percent believe it would be important to seek a professional counselor who represents spiritual values and beliefs if they had a serious problem that required counseling.
• Seventy-seven percent say it would be important for an elderly parent or relative who was in need of treatment to get assistance from a mental health professional who knew and understood the relative’s spiritual beliefs and values.
• Perhaps most remarkable, more people prefer pastoral counselors and others with religious training to any other category of professional mental health caregiver.

The researchers at Greenburg Quinlan concluded:

There appears to be a favorable environment for the type of role pastoral counselors can play, especially for the growing elderly population. Voters say it is important to them that mental health counselors be able to integrate spiritual health and mental health in the course of counseling. These data also show a widely held belief that emotional well being is closely linked with spiritual faith. (Woodruff, 2001, p. 2)

A Look at Professional Chaplains

Since each religion or denomination sets its own standards for whom they will ordain, the requirements for a bonafide clergyperson spans the gamut. Some faith groups do not require any college degree. Most mainstream groups require a master’s degree. Beyond churches, many organizations also employ the services of a chaplain. A chaplain is a clergyperson who works in an ecumenical setting, yet not all of these settings require special certification of their chaplains. Within this book, the word chaplain refers to a professional that has specialized training far beyond the college and seminary experience.

In Larry VandeCreek and Laurel Burton’s white paper, Professional Chaplaincy: Its Role and Importance in Health Care, a succinct overview of chaplains is offered.

Professional chaplains are theologically and clinically trained clergy or lay persons whose work reflects:

• Sensitivity to multi-cultural and multi-faith realities
• Respect for patients’ spiritual or religious preferences
• Understanding of the impact of illness on individuals and their caregivers
• Knowledge of health care organizational structure and dynamics
• Accountability as part of a professional patient care team
• Accountability to their faith groups

In North America, chaplains are certified by at least one of the national organizations that sponsor this paper and are recognized by the Joint Commission for Accreditation of Pastoral Services.

• Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (approximately 1,000 members)
• Association of Professional Chaplains (approximately 3,700 members)
• The Canadian Association for Pastoral Practice and Education (approximately 1,000 members)
• National Association of Catholic Chaplains (approximately 4,000 members)
• National Association of Jewish Chaplains (approximately 400 members)

Whether in the United States or Canada, acquiring and maintaining certification as a professional chaplain requires:

• Graduate theological education or its equivalency
• Endorsement by a faith group or a demonstrated connection to a recognized religious community
• Clinical pastoral education equivalent to one year of postgraduate training in an accredited program recognized by the constituent organizations
• Demonstrated clinical competence
• Completing annual continuing education requirements
• Adherence to a code of professional ethics for health care chaplains
• Professional growth in competencies demonstrated in peer review (VandeCreek and Burton, 2001, p. 7)

In 1998, the Association of Professional Chaplains was established when the former College of Chaplains and the Association of Mental Health Clergy merged. The Association of Professional Chaplains certifies and serves chaplains in all types of health and human services settings representing more than 150 faith groups and comprising twenty specialty groups.

Clinical Pastoral Education

Clinical pastoral education (CPE) is a dynamic and experiential training program that is requisite to becoming a professional chaplain. Under professional supervision and peer review, the CPE student learns through personal reflection, pastoral formation, and professional competence as he or she moves toward a given specialty. Components of CPE include didactic presentations, verbatim/case presentations, helping skills lab, interpersonal relations seminar, and theological/psychological integration. A unit of CPE constitutes at least 400 hours of these mentioned activities in addition to clinical practice. A minimum of four units is required to stand before a committee to assess readiness for certification by one of the certifying organizations. Most professional chaplains have completed more than four units, and many have over ten units of CPE. In my CPE experiences at the Veterans Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, and the Baptist Memorial Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, there were very few medical procedures and surgeries that I did not have opportunity to observe in a student capacity. Likewise, there were very few medical-psychosocial-spiritual situations that I was not exposed to. Personally speaking, hour for hour and dollar for dollar, CPE has been the most meaningful educational experience of my career.

Psychergonomics calls for a broad exposure to the dynamics of health. Many caring professions provide a holistic understanding of wellness. However, clinically trained, board-certified chaplains are certainly poised to embrace the holistic concept.

A Look at Pastoral Counselors

Before there were psychotherapists, there were “men of the cloth.” Times have changed. A minister today would not think of practicing medicine or law unless he or she had the license to do so. Yet despite the emergence of the relatively new discipline of psychotherapy, clergy are still called upon for counsel. It is not atypical for a seminarian to learn the limits of his or her training, and the art of referral is an important lesson to learn early in ministry. Yet to varying degrees, most clerics offer some form of counseling.

Within this book, however, the term pastoral counselor is not a reference to pastors who counsel but a reference to a specialized discipline for those who have been trained in theology and credentialed in psychotherapy. Or, stated another way, pastoral counselors are certified mental health professionals who have had in-depth religious or theological training.

The intentional integration of religion and psychology for psychotherapeutic purposes began when renowned minister Norman Vincent Peale and psychiatrist Smiley Blanton established the American Foundation of Religion and Psychiatry in the 1930s. This foundation is now the well-known Institute of Religion and Health. In the decades that followed, pastoral counseling continued to mature and find a place in the mental health community.

In 1963, the American Association of Pastoral Counselors (AAPC) was founded. The purpose of AAPC is to certify pastoral counselors, accredit pastoral counseling centers, and approve training programs. AAPC represents a set of professional standards for approximately 3,200 pastoral counselors and 100 pastoral counseling centers in North America and around the world.

In the AAPC publication, Pastoral Counseling: A National Mental Health Resource, the AAPC requirements for pastoral counselors are outlined.

Pastoral Counselors certified by the American Association of Pastoral Counselors are highly educated professionals. By studying theology as well as psychology, Pastoral Counselors are trained in two disciplines instead of one. The typical education and training for the AAPC Pastoral Counselor at the membership level of Fellow consists of a Bachelor’s Degree from a college or university, a 3 year professional degree from a seminary, and a specialized masters or doctoral degree in the field [of mental health]. A significant portion of this education is spent in clinical training. The primary levels of AAPC certified membership are: Member—an apprentice certification; Fellow—indicating full clinical competence; Diplomate—which qualifies one to work as a supervisor of ministers and Pastoral Counselors. (AAPC, 2000, p. 2)

An AAPC fellow is required to complete a total of 1,625 hours of supervised experience, including 250 hours of direct supervision in a variety of situations. The typical fellow in AAPC, with two graduate degrees and training in two disciplines, often has more education than his or her counterpart in other mental health specialties.

Pastoral counselors stand in good company with such mental health giants as Carl Jung, William James, Abraham Maslow, Karl Menninger, and M. Scott Peck who all sought to blend the dimensions of psychology and spirituality in the pursuit of human wholeness.

Program Models

Many companies have programs or departments that provide assistance to troubled workers. Companies sometimes vary in what they name their employee assistance programs. Employee counseling, employee services, wellness program, health services, and employee assistance are not uncommon labels placed on these programs offering help to employees. These services may be internal or external to the company’s organizational structure, may be provided on site or off site, and may be administered by highly respected professionals or committed co-workers. The following model, which this writer operates within, incorporates the best of the typical internal and external programs. In this model the company engages community leaders representing a broad range of vocations and expertise to serve as a board of directors for the program. The program’s structure and procedures are addressed from the outset. Together, the board of directors and key company personnel agree on the fundamental ingredients of the program and its personnel. With this structure it has all the strengths of an internal program (that is, an intimate awareness of the organization and its processes, an on-site office, and high credibility with managers). At the same time, the program is managed by the board of directors, lending itself to the fundamental strengths of an external program (which includes a perception that it is not a part of management and an off-site office which lends itself to better confidentiality). Everyone knows that personal and personnel files will never mix, and issues of confidentiality are accepted.

In any regard, a successful program will identify and assist employees, and usually their family members, in improving and/or correcting problems related to alcohol and drug abuse, marital and family difficulties, stress and other emotional distress, and legal and financial issues. It is my expectation that with the growing awareness of holistic interconnectedness, and henceforth the concept of psychergonomics, these goals will be accomplished in a more comprehensive fashion. Certainly, in a time of quality management and international standards, corporations will expect professionalism par excellence from their employee assistance provider.

Definitions

Already, within the introductory pages of this book, words have been used that are not found in everyday speech and will be unknown to some readers. Since these words provide the foundation for this book and will be used repeatedly, precise definitions are in order. Some of these words have been partially defined in the context in which they have been introduced. Others need further clarification before we proceed.

Ergonomics

Ergonomics became a common term in the workplace during the 1980s and 1990s. Ergonomics is an applied science concerned with the study of the problems that people have in adjusting to their environment—especially adapting work conditions to suit the worker. Issues such as lifting, repetitive motions, and arranging the workstation to fit the employee are addressed to prevent or minimize strains, injuries, and surgeries. Workplace injuries are costly to both employers and employees. Employees do not want to be injured at their jobs, and employers must find ways to reduce the financial harm that results when an employee is hurt and worker compensation claims are made. Consequently, ergonomics considers ways to manipulate the work site, the sequence, and the flow to make the job better fit the employee. Sometimes the employee is given a platform to stand on to make his or her work more posture neutral. Sometimes it is a matter of adjusting the height of the chair, putting a soft mat on a concrete floor, adding power tools, improving lighting, or rotating jobs. All of these interventions are extremely cost effective if they reduce the frequency and severity of injuries. Smart employers are not waiting for outside agencies to point out hazards or safety issues. Instead, they aggressively seek to understand how a specific job can be made safer and ergonomically sound for a given employee.

Psychergonomics

Psychergonomics is, to my knowledge, a new term. I coin this term here to extend the understanding of ergonomics to include a more holistic model of health and suggest that holistic assistance programs and holistically oriented professionals are the suitable means to accomplish mind-body-spirit wellness in the workplace. As the paradigm of health care has shifted from disease and illness to health and wellness, the workplace must shift from reactive to proactive intervention. The hurt caused, the damage done, and the money spent to clean up or respond to employee troubles must begin to shift to the front end of the spectrum. Prevention is the key to psychergonomics. The “pay me now or pay me later” concept is paramount. Any monies spent for educating, equipping, and preventing will indeed be cost effective. Hopefully, within the pages to come, an understanding will be achieved, a conce...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• ABOUT THE AUTHOR
• Contents
• Preface
• PART I: CHAPLAINS AND PASTORAL COUNSELORS IN THE WORKPLACE
• PART II: PSYCHERGONOMICS
• Appendix. Understanding for Wellness
• References
• Index