Full Schedule For 2025

All classes will be held at US Digital Outreach Center located at:

1400 NE 136th Avenue Suite 201

Vancouver Washington 98684

“Refund Policy”

Cancellations made within 30 days or more in advance of the event date will receive an 85% refund. Cancellations made less than 30 days from event date will receive a 50% refund. If you do not want a refund, you may apply 100% of the cost towards a future class, it does not need to be the class you paid for. Credit for future class must be used within 1 year.

Date

Course name and description

Cost

Below are the dates, course name and cost

January 17-18

Group Crisis Intervention – CISM

This course will prepare you to understand a wide range of crisis intervention services. Fundamentals of Group CISM will be outlined and you will leave with the knowledge and tools to provide several different group crisis interventions, including demobilizations, defusing and the Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD).

2 Day Course: 8:00 am – 4:30 pm

February 1

Domestic Violence

Although there are many degrees of domestic violence, it is a problem that most commonly escalates and is often overlooked in the church and society at large.  This course is intended to help the chaplain identify domestic violence and understand the way in which it impacts involved individuals.  Additionally, this course will help the chaplain understand the safest practices when engaging in a domestic violence situation.  This is a 2-hour course. A background check is required for this course.

1 Day Course: 8 am – 10 am

February 1

Conflict Resolution

A chaplain will find that critical incidents often spawn serious conflict arising from an overwhelming of normal coping mechanisms, past emotional injuries, and sometimes just encountering individuals that only know how to communicate by inciting conflict. The intent of this course is to help provide some effective techniques by which to reduce conflict. This is a 2-hour course.

1 Day Course: 10:15 am – 12:15 pm

February 1

Sexual Assault

Due to the percentages of those who experience sexual assault, every trauma interventionist needs to have at least a basic understanding of this subject. This course will help interventionists understand the complexities of assisting those who have been injured by sexual assault, meet immediate intervention and advocacy needs, learn how to work with other emergency personnel and advocates, and where to refer. This is a 2-hour course. A background check is required in order to take this course.

1 Day Course: 1:15 pm – 3:15 pm

February 17

Legal Concepts in Chaplaincy

It is important for the chaplain to understand what the law says about chaplaincy at both the state and federal levels. This course is intended to lay the foundation for understanding the protection, privileges, responsibilities, and liabilities as a chaplain. This is a 2-hour course.

1 Day Course: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

February 28 – March 1

Grief Following Trauma – CISM

It is inevitable in the course of life we will encounter traumatic death and loss issues both personally and maybe professionally.  Most often feel ill prepared to provide effective care throughout the grief process.  This course will cover key grief and loss concepts relating to trauma and traumatic death.  Participants will increase their knowledge of how trauma impacts the grief process and will gain skills for evaluating and supporting persons who have experienced grief and loss following a traumatic event.  Completion of “Grief Following Trauma” is a 14-hour, 2-day course.  Once completed, a certificate from the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation will be issued.

Not included in the chaplaincy tuition and needs to be paid separately for those who are enrolled in our chaplaincy program

2 Day Course: 8:00 am – 4:30 pm

March 15

Performing an Intake

An intake is the process of gathering information from someone who has requested assistance. Intakes are utilized to gather pertinent information, find key concepts of the matters to be discussed, and to make determinations as to what type of assistance will be needed and if you are the right person to be assisting. This is a 2-hour course.

1 Day Course: 8:00 am – 10:00 am

March 15

Biblical Counseling Basics

Biblical counseling covers a wide variety of topics. This course is intended to provide some basic framework which includes the number of meetings, the desired intent of such meetings, and some tools to help ensure that the one providing the counseling and those receiving the assistance can both define what a “win” is. The course will also discuss some of the common pitfalls that can cause more harm than good to either or all parties. This is a 2-hour course.

1 Day Course: 10:15 am – 12:15 pm

March 15

Suicide Prevention

This course identifies 12 variables often associated with suicide and a simplified three step model to help you as the chaplain to make a quick assessment as to the likelihood of the individual you are working with, in moving forward with a suicide attempt. In addition, some strategies for communicating with a suicidal individual will be discussed. This is a 2-hour course.

1 Day Course: 1:15 pm – 3:15 pm

April 19

Emergency Service Worker Profile

Certain professions or organizations have an exclusive membership that, if unknown to the outside service provider, can make it almost impossible to gain entry for the purpose of offering effective assistance. In this course we will examine the emergency workers that a chaplain most often encounters and provide some basic information that will help him/her to serve these brave men and women when they have experienced a critical incident. This is a 2-hour course.

1 Day Course: 8:00 am – 10:00 am

April 19

Chaplaincy Equipment

The nature of the work of the chaplain often requires the ability for immediate call out. Because of this, the chaplain needs to know his/her field of work and the conditions he/she might encounter, as well as any protocols set by the field in which he/she works. This course is designed to help chaplains develop a list for building a “go bag.” This is a 2-hour course.

1 Day Course: 10:15 am – 12:15 am

April 19

Incident Scene Protocols

When co-laboring with individuals who work in these fields, it is critical to know what their standard operating procedures are in order to avoid jeopardizing your safety, or that of another, and to make sure your presence is desired and assistive. For a chaplain who tries to enter into this work on his/her own terms, he/she will find that it will be a short term of service before he/she is unwelcomed and uninvited. This course will lay the foundation to help chaplains understand the challenges faced and the attitude it takes to be successful in this field of chaplaincy. This is a 2-hour course.

1 Day Course: 1:15 pm – 3:15 pm

June 20-21

Assisting Individuals in Crisis – CISM

Crisis Intervention is NOT psychotherapy; rather, it is a specialized acute emergency mental health intervention which requires specialized training. As physical first aid is to surgery, crisis intervention is to psychotherapy. Thus, crisis intervention is sometimes called “emotional first aid.” This program is designed to teach participants the fundamentals of and a specific protocol for individual crisis intervention. This course is designed for anyone who desires to increase his knowledge of individual, one-on-one crisis intervention techniques in the fields of Business & Industry, Crisis Intervention, Disaster Response, Education, Emergency Services, Employee Assistance, Healthcare, Homeland Security, Mental Health, Military, Spiritual Care, or Traumatic Stress. Completion of “Individual Crisis Intervention and Peer Support” is a 13-hour, 2-day course. Once completed, a certificate from the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation will be issued.

2 Day Course: 8:00 am – 4:30 pm

July 18-19

Group Crisis Intervention – CISM

Designed to present the core elements of a comprehensive, systematic, and multi-component crisis intervention curriculum, the Group Crisis Intervention course will prepare participants to understand a wide range of crisis intervention services. Fundamentals of Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) will be outlined; and participants will leave with the knowledge and tools to provide several group crisis interventions, specifically demobilizations, defusing, and Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD). The need for appropriate follow-up services and referrals when necessary will also be discussed.

This course is designed for anyone in the fields of Business & Industry Crisis Intervention, Disaster Response, Education, Emergency Services, Employee Assistance, Healthcare, Homeland Security, Mental Health, Military, Spiritual Care, or Traumatic Stress. Completion of “Group Crisis Intervention” is a 14-hour, 2-day course. Once completed, a certificate from the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation will be issued.

2 Day Course: 8:00 am – 4:30 pm

September 8

Caring for Grieving Children

Due to differing stages of development, it is important to understand that children do not deal with grief in the same way that a teenager or an adult would. This course is designed to provide the chaplain with tools to help grieving children and also to learn when he/she might need to refer them for additional care. This is a 2-hour course.

1 Day Course: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

September 22

Ministry of Presence

The initial callout of a chaplain directly following a critical incident is often to simply be present and meet basic needs. When someone is in shock, the timing is not appropriate for processing the event; but there is much to be done that will pave the way for successful interventions to come. This is a 2-hour course.

1 Day Course: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

October 4

How to Deliver Death Notifications

When someone receives what is probably some of the most difficult news in his life, the way in which it is delivered can impact him for many years to come. This course will teach a systematic approach that will reduce the potential for psychological and or physical injury to both the bearer and recipient of this difficult news. This is a 2-hour course.

1 Day Course: 8:00 am – 10:00 am

October 4

Compassion Fatigue

The first rule a life guard is taught is to not become a victim when attempting to rescue someone who is drowning. This concept is also true for all who work or volunteer in fields that assist others in crisis. Too many individuals and/or families are damaged or destroyed when this subject is overlooked. We will discuss the common areas where this becomes critical and help chaplains develop guidelines and practices that, if utilized, will help avoid these pitfalls. This is a 2-hour course.

1 Day Course: 10:15 am – 12:15 pm

October 4

Duties and Boundaries

The intent of this course is to insure each chaplain in training thinks about what their duties are to the person(s) you are working with, as well as the boundaries you need to establish in order to protect yourself and others whom you love and have relationships with. It is my hope you that after taking this course you will take some time and consider your duties and establish your boundaries. This is a 2-hour course.

1 Day Course: 1:15 pm – 3:15 pm

October 17-18

Grief Following Trauma – CISM

It is inevitable in the course of life we will encounter traumatic death and loss issues both personally and maybe professionally.  Most often feel ill prepared to provide effective care throughout the grief process.  This course will cover key grief and loss concepts relating to trauma and traumatic death.  Participants will increase their knowledge of how trauma impacts the grief process and will gain skills for evaluating and supporting persons who have experienced grief and loss following a traumatic event.  Completion of “Grief Following Trauma” is a 14-hour, 2-day course.  Once completed, a certificate from the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation will be issued.

Not included in the chaplaincy tuition and needs to be paid separately for those who are enrolled in our chaplaincy program

2 Day Course: 8:00 am – 4:30 pm

November 8

Understanding Depression

Depression is a word that is used to describe various levels of the feeling of sadness; however, the chaplain needs to know this word at a clinical level in order to identify what intervention strategies might be the most effective when assisting someone who has or is experiencing a critical incident. He/she will learn what depression and clinical depression are and how that might impact the way in which he/she assists someone experiencing either of these conditions. This is a 2-hour course.

1 Day Course: 8:00 am – 10:00 am

November 8

Suicidology

This course has been designed to examine the research, statistics and principles regarding suicide. There are many myths and rumors, even from those who profess to be well educated in the field of suicidology, which have resulted in inadequate assistance being provided to a suicidal person, or in aiding their family members come to terms with the loss of a loved one. This is a 2-hour course.

1 Day Course: 10:15 am – 12:15 pm

November 8

PTSD Basics

Post-traumatic stress is something that many experience following a critical incident; however, there are some whose coping mechanisms are so overwhelmed that this post-traumatic stress leads to an injury or an inability (formerly termed a disorder). This course will not deal with treatment, but will focus on what PTSD is, its causes, and the role of the trauma interventionist in working with individuals with PTSD. This is a 2-hour course.

1 Day Course: 1:15 pm – 3:15 pm

December 2

God’s Hope for the Hurting

When disaster strikes, there are common questions that come to the surface for those working in faith based services. This course is intended to lay the ground work for the chaplain in training to develop the foundation that will help answer those questions when the time is right and will also help the chaplain when faced with some of the more challenging critical incidents. This is a 2-hour course.

1 Day Course: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

December 12-13

Assisting Individuals in Crisis – CISM

Crisis Intervention is NOT psychotherapy; rather, it is a specialized acute emergency mental health intervention which requires specialized training. As physical first aid is to surgery, crisis intervention is to psychotherapy. Thus, crisis intervention is sometimes called “emotional first aid.” This program is designed to teach participants the fundamentals of and a specific protocol for individual crisis intervention. This course is designed for anyone who desires to increase his knowledge of individual, one-on-one crisis intervention techniques in the fields of Business & Industry, Crisis Intervention, Disaster Response, Education, Emergency Services, Employee Assistance, Healthcare, Homeland Security, Mental Health, Military, Spiritual Care, or Traumatic Stress. Completion of “Individual Crisis Intervention and Peer Support” is a 13-hour, 2-day course. Once completed, a certificate from the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation will be issued.

2 Day Course: 8:00 am – 4:30 pm