Assisting the Process: Life Transitions in the Context of Spiritual Care and Counseling

When we speak of “life transitions,” we’re usually talking about dramatic, sometimes unforeseen developments that represent major shifts in the course of life—things like birth, death, marriage, divorce, chronic illness, and so on. Life transitions, though, may also include comparatively more subtle (but often no less important) adjustments brought on by things like retirement, children leaving home, moving, relationship endings, and more. Simply put, life transitions are changes that, unexpectedly or not, alter the course of life and lay significant claims on our hearts.

This course will examine life transitions in the context of spiritual care and counseling, looking careful at the ways in which religion and spirituality can help (and possibly hinder) the negotiation of life transitions. In addition, while this course will consider beliefs and practices from the five major world religions, as well as those from Native American spirituality and indigenous faith traditions, it will anchor itself deliberately in the Dharma-based religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism). Whereas much work on multifaith approaches to spiritual care and counseling often puts more emphasis on the Abrahamic traditions (consciously or not), this course will turn that trend on its head a bit. By doing so, we hope to both increase students’ awareness of religious others and help the class develop a more robust set of tools for spiritual care and counseling.

We will begin the course with a film, Nina Paley’s Sita Sings the Blues (2008), which tells the story of a modern young woman processing a painful break-up through contemplation on the Ramayana and the music of early twentieth-century jazz singer Annette Hanshaw. This should serve quite well as a conversation-starter, and segue nicely into readings, lecture, and discussion about religion and spirituality in life transitions. Our required texts will include Daniel Schipani and Leah Dawn Bueckert’s upcoming Multifaith Perspectives on Spiritual Care, as well as What Really Helps: Using Mindfulness & Compassionate Presence To Help, Support, And Encourage Others by Karen Kissel Wegela and Grief, Transition, and Loss: A Pastor's Practical Guide by Wayne E. Oates. There will also be selected short readings and articles made available online.

ASSIGNMENTS:

• two (2) short reflections (5-7 pgs.) on life transitions you have experienced, taking into consideration material in the course on these kinds of transitions
• one (1) Powerpoint presentation to be shared with your classmates about approaches to a life transition in a religious community you are unfamiliar with and would like to know more about (e.g. “Jainism and Retirement” or “United Methodists and Divorce”)
• a final paper (15-20 pgs.) exploring an aspect of spiritual care and counseling work related to life transitions; the paper may be either a research-oriented (e.g. “An Investigation of Traditional Short-Term Pastoral Counseling Strategies Used with Children Following the Death of a Parent”), or more theological in nature (e.g. “A Muslim Theology of Care for Parents Dealing with ‘Empty-Nest Syndrome’”).

ATTENDANCE POLICY

Attendance for online class sessions is required. If you know you will be unable to attend a class session please inform the professor in advance. Missing two sessions will result in an automatic lowering of your final grade by 10%. Missing three or more sessions will result in automatic failure of the course.

OFFICE HOURS

As this is an online course, office hours are by appointment. The professor is available to you by phone, Skype, or email.       

Week of January 21^st – “Meeting – A Transition of Our Own”

• Conference Call with Danny Fisher and classmates
• BLACKBOARD ASSIGNMENT: Please post your own personal questions about life transitions and/or Dharmic religions. You are required to post at least one, but may post as many more as you would like.

Week of January 28^th – “Dharmic Religions and Life Transitions – A Beginning Exploration”

• MOVIE: Sita Sings the Blues (2008), dir. Nina Paley (this film can be viewed for free online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzTg7YXuy34

Week of February 4^th – “Birth”

• READING: begin What Really Helps: Using Mindfulness & Compassionate Presence To Help, Support, And Encourage Others by Karen Kissel Wegela

Week of February 11^th – “Relationships”

• READING: finish What Really Helps: Using Mindfulness & Compassionate Presence To Help, Support, And Encourage Others by Karen Kissel Wegela

Week of February 18^th – “Marriage”

• READING: begin The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

Week of February 25^th – “Divorce”

• READING: finish The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
• FIRST REFLECTION PAPER ASSIGNMENT DUE

Week of March 4^th – “Children Leaving Home”

• READING: begin My Family and Other Saints by Kirin Narayan

Week of March 11^th – “Moving”

• READING: finish My Family and Other Saints by Kirin Narayan

Week of March 18^th – “Retirement”

• READING: (articles and short readings to be uploaded)

Week of March 25^th – READING WEEK (NO CLASSES)

Week of April 1^st – “Chronic Illness”

• READING: “Spirituality and Quality of Life in Chronic Illness” by Maxine Abegbola, RN, MSN, for The Journal of Theory Construction & Testing, vol. 10, no. 2 (2006) (http://dspace.uta.edu/bitstream/handle/10106/4978/Adegbola_SpiritualityandQualityofLifeinChronicIllness.pdf?sequence=1)
• READING: “Pain and Suffering as Viewed by the Hindu Religion” by Sarah M. Whitman, MD, for The Journal of Pain, Vol 8, No 8 (August), 2007 (http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/pastoral/events/Hindu_painsuffering.pdf)
• READING: “Working with Chronic Pain” by Chris Stewart-Patterson, MD, for Shambhala Sun, May 2003 (http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2190)
• READING: “Learning To Live A Full Life With Chronic Illness” by Toni Bernhard for National Public Radio, January 31, 2011 (http://www.npr.org/2011/01/31/132675079/learning-to-live-a-full-life-with-chronic-illness)

Week of April 8^th – “Death, class I”

• READING: begin Grief, Transition, and Loss: A Pastor's Practical Guide by Wayne E. Oates

Week of April 15^th – “Death, class II”

• READING: finish Grief, Transition, and Loss: A Pastor's Practical Guide by Wayne E. Oates
• SECOND REFLECTION PAPER ASSIGNMENT DUE

Week of April 22^nd – “Other Transitions”

• READING: “Death and Dying in the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition” by Ven. Pende Ken Hawter (http://www.buddhanet.net/deathtib.htm)
• READING: “Hindu End of Life: Death, Dying, Suffering, and Karma” by Susan Thrane, MSN, RN, OCN (http://www.nursingcenter.com/prodev/ce_article.asp?tid=1085798)
•  “Guidelines for Health Care Providers Interacting with Patients of the Jain Religion and Their Families” by the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council (http://info.kyha.com/documents/CG-Jain.pdf)
• “Healthcare Providers Handbook on Sikh Patients” by Queensland Health (http://www.health.qld.gov.au/multicultural/support_tools/hbook-sikh.pdf)
• POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS DUE; MUST BE UPLOADED TO BLACKBOARD BY THIS DATE.

Week of April 29^th – “Professional Chaplaincy and Life Transitions”

• READING: “Professional Chaplaincy: Its Role and Importance in Healthcare” by Larry VandeCreek and Laurel Burton (http://www.professionalchaplains.org/content.asp?admin=Y&pl=160&sl=83&contentid=162)
• READING: “A Dictionary of Patients’ Spiritual & Cultural Values for Health Care Professionals” by the HealthCare Chaplaincy (http://www.healthcarechaplaincy.org/userimages/doc/A-Dictionary-of-Patients-Spiritual-Cultural-Values-for-Health-Care-Professionals.pdf)
• READING: “Cultural and Spiritual Sensitivity – A Learning Module for Health Care Professionals” by the HealthCare Chaplaincy (http://www.healthcarechaplaincy.org/userimages/Cultural_Spiritual_Sensitivity_Learning_%20Module%207-10-09.pdf)
• READING: “The Hindu Chaplain” by Swami Sarvaananda, Hinduism Today Magazine, July/August/September 2009 issue (http://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=3088)
• “Developing a Buddhist Approach to Pastoral Care: A Peacemaker’s View” by Mikel Monnett, The Journal of Pastoral Care and Counseling, vol. 59, nos. 1-2 (http://www.buddhistchaplainsnetwork.org/profilesinwisdomMonnett.htm)

Week of May 6^th – “Ending – A Transition of Our Own”

• CONFERENCE CALL

Week of May 13^th

• FINAL PAPERS DUE ON MAY 20^th; PLEASE EMAIL THEM TO DANNY FISHER. NO EXTENSIONS!