Spiritual & Psychological First Aid Training
A Critical Incident Stress Management Course
Join us for this 2-Day Training on August 18th & 19th
We have scheduled our next Chaplaincy Training class for Monday and Tuesday, August 18th and 19th, 2025. It will be a 14-hour, two-day training course created by the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation. (ICISF)
Although the course typically costs upwards of $500, we have made arrangements to offer the course at our church for only $30. Registration information will be available next week. I will forward that link to you when it becomes available.
Check-in begins on Monday, August 18th, at 8 am with class starting at 8:30 am.
Contact Judy M. with any further questions | jmcmahon@ccphilly.org
Purpose of Course:
To increase awareness and enhance an individual’s ability to provide effective spiritual and psychological care to survivors in times of loss, disaster, emergency, trauma, and crisis settings.
Course Description:
Research validates that the help and support people receive in times of crisis matters. Providing effective emotional and spiritual care to individuals, families, and communities in difficult times is critical and can help promote resiliency. This two-day course endeavors to build helping skills and a better understanding of the unique role of the crisis responder and trains participants in the fundamental principles of spiritual and psychological first aid (SPFA). Care provided in SPFA may be defined as a practical, compassionate and supportive presence designed to mitigate acute distress, assess needs, provide essential supportive care, and link with other support systems as needed for ongoing spiritual, emotional, and mental health care. (When taught at an ICISF Conference, the following may apply: 14 Contact Hours, pending approval for the following CEUs: 14 CE Credits for Psychologists; 14 CE Hours for California MFTs and LCSWs; 14 Contact Hours for National Certified Addiction Counselors OR 1.4 General CEUs from UMBC; 14 PDHs for EAPs; 14 Nursing Contact Hours). Completion of this class and receipt of a certificate indicating full attendance (14 Contact Hours) qualify as a class in ICISF’s Certificate of Specialized Training Program.
Course Objectives:
After this course, successful students will be able to:
- Identify evidence-informed foundations for SPFA
- Articulate an understanding of a “supportive presence” and “companioning.”
- Define the essential elements of connecting and communicating with people in crisis
- Prepare survivors to understand commonly experienced psychological/ behavioral reactions and the process of recovery
- Identity indicators of resiliency, recovery, and post-traumatic growth to encourage help, hope, and healing
- Identify how meeting basic human needs is foundational to providing SPFA
- Demonstrate essential interventions to help stabilize and protect people in crisis
- Create a safe environment that facilitates effective listening and crisis communication
- Link survivors with existing community support services and develop an ongoing care plan.
- Demonstrate skills for assessing the spiritual and emotional needs of individuals in crisis
- Utilize a spiritual assessment framework to identify ways to help an individual draw on spiritual and religious resources to cope and foster resiliency
Course Participants:
Targeted participants will be trained clergy, chaplains, mental health professionals, crisis responders, and individuals who desire to enhance their skills in providing SPFA to survivors of loss, disaster, emergency, trauma, and crisis settings.
Course Format:
This two-day (14-hour) course creatively utilizes an interactive educational format. Participants will engage in group discussion, individual and group exercises, interactive lecture, observation of videos, and practice through role plays.
Details:
Providing effective emotional and spiritual care to individuals, families, and communities, following critical incidents and in times of crisis, requires special training, skills, and understanding of the unique role of the crisis responder. This course seeks to prepare front-line helpers to meet survivors’ emotional and spiritual needs by providing a basic understanding of the ministry of presence, connecting, basic assessment skills, appropriate intervention, and developing an ongoing care plan and referral.
What You Will Learn:
- Articulate an understanding of the ministry of presence and companioning.
- Define the essential elements of connecting and communicating with people in crisis.
- Demonstrate assessment skills for determining emotional and spiritual needs.
- Demonstrate essential interventions to help stabilize people in crisis.
- Link those served with existing community support services and develop a care plan.
Distress Statement:
The content of these Crisis Response Training (CRT) workshops and/or presentations may include graphic or disturbing subject matter and may be emotionally distressing to some participants. Participants are encouraged to leave the training at any point should they find the material excessively distressing. This curriculum is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered or used as a substitute for professional medical/psychological advice, diagnosis, and treatment.
2025 Chaplaincy Training
By registering, you agree to be bound by the terms of Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia's Resolution on Participation in Church Activities.
