Crisis Response & Trauma Care 101

Course Lessons and Descriptions

CRTC 101: Trauma and Crisis Care: Why We Serve
– Diane Langberg, Ph.D.

The very nature of trauma is that it is difficult to see and speak about. This lesson will discuss the foundation of crisis work and the costs involved.

CRTC 102: Crisis Response: An Overview of Emergency Mental Health and Chaplaincy
– Jennifer Cisney, M.A., Tom Webb, Th.M., and Capt. Jim Nelms, B.A.

This panel discussion will define and illustrate the concept of how emergency mental health helps us to fulfill our role in the Church and how we can, like Christ, help those who have suffered.

CRTC 103: The Ethics and Protocol of Crisis Care
– Capt. Jim Nelms, B.A.

Approximately fifty-percent of the professionals who responded to Hurricane Katrina returned reporting psychological symptoms similar to the victims they encountered. The provision of care to crisis victims requires significant variation to generally accepted standards in the community of mental health providers, laity and clergy. This lesson provides an overview of adjustments that must be made when a disaster occurs.

CRTC 104: Collateral Damage: Firestorms of Faith
– Ken Nichols, Psy.D.

A life crisis varies in intensity and character. The impact of a life crisis ranges from disruptive to devastating. The list of potential life-shattering crises is without noticeable boundaries. Family, friends and the local church saturate the suffering saint with practical help and spiritual encouragement

CRTC 105: Crisis Theory and Assessment
– Jennifer Cisney, M.A. and Joshua Straub, Ph.D.

This course will discuss the roots of crisis response, the controversy that has arisen around it, and why it works. We will also emphasize the importance of assessment and identify some red flag symptoms to watch out for throughout the assessment process.

CRTC 106: A Theology of Suffering and the “Crisis of Faith”
– Ron Hawkins, Ed.D., D.Min.

This lesson is designed to help you better understand the biblical nature of suffering and how it can lead to a crisis of faith.

CRTC 107: Stability after Crisis: The First Seven Days
– Kevin Ellers, D.Min.

This lesson will discuss an often overlooked part of crisis response, the everyday crisis that occurs behind closed doors within our own families, churches, and neighborhoods. Crisis can go on for a very long time but this course will focus specifically on the first seven days after a crisis.

CRTC 108: Getting Plugged In: The Logistics of Responding to Crisis and Disaster
– Kevin Ellers, D.Min. and Jennifer Cisney, M.A.

This lesson will outline how to actually be deployed for crisis response once an individual is trained and ready to join a team.

CRTC 109: Death Notification and Family Assistance
– Gregory Young, M.Div.

Making Compassionate Death notifications to the Next of Kin following a crisis large or small is one of the most difficult things that we may have to do, and very few people who are called upon to make notifications are adequately trained to do so. This course explores several aspects that are essential in making a compassionate death notification. Crisis communication techniques and “Best Practices” are discussed as well as what is helpful and not helpful to say to loved ones when bearing the bad news

CRTC 110: Suicide: Coping with the Aftermath
– Tom Webb, Th.M.

Suicide is a word that no one wants to hear and a topic of conversation that is often avoided. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control, three people commit suicide per hour. Loved ones left behind after a suicide of a family member or friend find themselves overwhelmed with shock and heartache. This video is designed to equip responders with what the Bible has to say about suicide and how to be a source of encouragement and hope as an ambassador of Christ to those who face the nagging questions and turmoil related to suicide.

CRTC 111: Children and Crisis
– Capt. Jim Nelms, B.A.

There are many feelings and reactions common to people who survive crisis. However, some identifiable expressions are influenced primarily by the victim’s age. This lesson is an overview the unique reactions of children who have survived significant crisis. These events will be defined for the purposes of the lesson as critical incidents. The lesson will, in general terms, address common themes of reaction in terms of three age groups; Pre-school (ages 1-5), Childhood (ages 6-10) and Pre-adolescence and Adolescence (ages 12-18).

CRTC 112: Ambassadors of Faith and the Ministry of Presence
– Charlie Davidson, D.D.

A ministry of presence is something that any Christian can provide to those suffering and in crisis. All a person must do is be present as a representative of God. Though the task is uncomplicated, it is not necessarily easy. There are many instructions that a caregiver must follow in order to best serve others.