E-mail: cdoehring@iliff.edu
People who experience work as highly meaningful can easily become emotionally exhausted and morally stressed, leading to burnout and spiritual neglect or abuse. This online learning process begins with exploring and prioritizing personal values psychologically and theologically. Working in small groups, students share reflections on moral stress arising from conflicts between high priority values and life limiting childhood values that still shape how they cope with stress. They focus on changing a habit that will help them integrate an authentic spirituality into their daily experiences of coping with all kinds of stress: physical, emotional, relational, vocation, and financial. They share journals about implementing this habit, supporting each other in spiritually sensitive and compassionate ways. They reflect theologically on newly gained insights about self-care and managing power dynamics and relational dynamics in professional relationships.
Students who are scholar in the Spiritually Integrative Financial Resilience (SIFR) program will pay attention to the role of financial stress and its relationship to moral stress. This topic will be optional for students not in this program.
Chapters and articles will be posted under weekly group discussion assignments
Book to purchase (we will also try to post these chapters on the course site):
Duhigg, Charles. (2012). Chapter 3 (pp. 60-93), Chapter 5 (pp. 127-153), Appendix (pp. 275-286)
The power of habits: Why we do what we do in life and business . New York, NY. Random House. 978-1-4000-6928-6. ISBN 10: 1847946240 ISBN 13: 9781847946249
Here is a scanned PDF of these pages
Duhigg 2012 Power of Habit selected pages.pdf
See Taylor Library's list of online book sellers for purchasing options.
Here is a link to some suggestions for spiritual practices you might use in this course to enhance the habits you are working on
http://spirituallife.iliff.edu
Course Weekly Schedule:
To experience a three-step process of spiritual integration that increases self-care by:
To increase our capacity as spiritual caregivers who embody compassion and who can guide others through a process of spiritual integration of moral stress that increases well-being of persons and organizations.
Postings will be graded on a weekly basis from weeks Two onwards, with 5 – 7 points for your posting and response.
Normally incompletes will not be given in this course, since learning occurs through weekly reading and care team forums. Students who miss more than one week of postings will need to drop the course.
Incompletes: If incompletes are allowed in this course, see the Master's Student Handbook for Policies and Procedures.
Pass/Fail: Masters students wishing to take the class pass/fail should discuss this with the instructor by the second class session.
Academic Integrity and Community Covenant: All students are expected to abide by Iliff’s statement on Academic Integrity, as published in the Masters Student Handbook, or the Joint PhD Statement on Academic Honesty, as published in the Joint PhD Student Handbook, as appropriate. All participants in this class are expected to be familiar with Iliff’s Community Covenant.
Accommodations: Iliff engages in a collaborative effort with students with disabilities to reasonably accommodate student needs. Students are encouraged to contact their assigned advisor to initiate the process of requesting accommodations. The advising center can be contacted at advising@iliff.edu or by phone at 303-765-1146.
Writing Lab: Grammar and organization are important for all written assignments. Additional help is available from the Iliff Writing Lab, which is available for students of any level who need help beginning an assignment, organizing thoughts, or reviewing a final draft.
Inclusive Language: It is expected that all course participants will use inclusive language in speaking and writing, and will use terms that do not create barriers to classroom community.
MDiv Learning goals related to Theology and Religious Practices (PR): 1. engage in analysis of contemporary religious traditions and institutions
McGuire, M. B. (2008). Lived religion: Faith and practice in everyday life. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, p. 4.
2. in order to assess, design, and perform meaningful leadership practices with sensitivity to contextual realities and relationships.
This course helps spiritual caregivers and religious leaders experience and facilitate spiritual integration of moral stress that enhances self- care and social justice, through an understanding of how moral stress is exacerbated by intersecting social systems of privilege and disadvantage.
All students must agree to abide by professional confidentiality in all matters, which means that they will preserve anonymity by disguising the identity of cases when seeking consultation and case reporting. Student disclosures to one another and to the professor will remain confidential, unless the law requires otherwise. In all cases, students must be aware of the mandatory reporting laws of the state in which they provide professional caregiving. If they are designated spiritual caregivers within their religious tradition, they need to also be aware of what their religious organization requires. If students have reason to suspect or have first-hand knowledge of recent, current, or ongoing child abuse or neglect perpetrated on a child currently under the age of 18 years, elder abuse, sexual and domestic violence, or threats of homicide or suicide in any of the pastoral situations they use for fulfilling the requirements of this course they need to seek immediate consultation with supervisors, denominational leaders, and the professor of this course so that proper reporting procedures can be ascertained. We will work together to establish an appropriate pastoral relationship with all parties facing these crises.
State laws on mandatory reporting are available at State Laws on Mandatory Clergy Reporting Colorado mandatory reporting requirements may be found at Colorado Revised Statutes 19-3-304, 1a, 2(aa, II, III); 13-90-107c.
Confidentiality
Personal disclosures and conversations occurring in online discussions and with learning partners are not to be discussed outside of your community of learners in this online course without agreement and permission.
We will abide by the bounds of professional rather than absolute confidentiality. Syllabus guidelines regarding Colorado reporting laws and practices will be followed.
Levels of Self-Disclosure
Each person is responsible for his or her level of self-disclosure. There will be no pressure to disclose more or less, either in online discussions or with learning partners. The purpose of self disclosure (as with any self disclosure in pastoral care conversations) is not to process our own experiences, but to enhance group learning. Students can use their own support systems when they need to process their own experiences.
Professor’s Availability
I am available as needed for general educational guidance in relation to this course. For more personal concerns emerging from the course, I am available for support, clarification, and advice. I am not able to offer ongoing counseling or therapy. I will offer support, and will help students evaluate the extent to which counseling may be helpful and make appropriate referrals.
Feelings and Emotions
Given the emotional content of reflecting on habitual ways of coping with stress, there may be moments when we react strongly to each other. When this happens we need to first do an internal check-in with ourselves to process our reactions, before we post our responses. Next, we need to judge whether a response would enhance group learning, or whether it is solely for the purpose of processing our own feelings. If the former is the case, we need to respond with an “I” statement that identifies our feelings, not a “you” statement, particularly one that implies a global assessment of the other person. This internal processing is especially important in an online format where we are talking about ways of coping with stress because responses that come across as critical are more likely to induce shame when we can’t communicate compassion through our body language or tone of voice.
Language Framework
It is important to use inclusive language, and language that respects all forms of sexual, gender, and sexual orientation diversity.
Revising and Monitoring Ground Rules
It is important that we all share in monitoring and revising these ground rules if the class is going to have the safety and engender that trust that is required for positive learning.
Confidentiality
Personal disclosures and conversations occurring in online discussions and with learning partners are not to be discussed outside of your community of learners in this online course without agreement and permission.
We will abide by the bounds of professional rather than absolute confidentiality. Syllabus guidelines regarding Colorado reporting laws and practices will be followed.
Levels of Self-Disclosure
Each person is responsible for his or her level of self-disclosure. There will be no pressure to disclose more or less, either in online discussions or with learning partners. The purpose of self disclosure (as with any self disclosure in pastoral care conversations) is not to process our own experiences, but to enhance group learning. Students can use their own support systems when they need to process their own experiences.
Professor’s Availability
I am available as needed for general educational guidance in relation to this course. For more personal concerns emerging from the course, I am available for support, clarification, and advice. I am not able to offer ongoing counseling or therapy. I will offer support, and will help students evaluate the extent to which counseling may be helpful and make appropriate referrals.
Feelings and Emotions
Given the emotional content of reflecting on habitual ways of coping with stress, there may be moments when we react strongly to each other. When this happens we need to first do an internal check-in with ourselves to process our reactions, before we post our responses. Next, we need to judge whether a response would enhance group learning, or whether it is solely for the purpose of processing our own feelings. If the former is the case, we need to respond with an “I” statement that identifies our feelings, not a “you” statement, particularly one that implies a global assessment of the other person. This internal processing is especially important in an online format where we are talking about ways of coping with stress because responses that come across as critical are more likely to induce shame when we can’t communicate compassion through our body language or tone of voice.
Language Framework
It is important to use inclusive language, and language that respects all forms of sexual, gender, and sexual orientation diversity.
Revising and Monitoring Ground Rules
It is important that we all share in monitoring and revising these ground rules if the class is going to have the safety and engender that trust that is required for positive learning.
| Date | Day | Details | |
| Sep 12, 2014 | Fri | Week 1 Introducing the course and ourselves | due by 05:59AM |
| Sep 19, 2014 | Fri | Week 2 Care Team Forum | due by 05:59AM |
| Sep 19, 2014 | Fri | Week 2 Reading and Listening Assignments and Reading Forum: Looking at our values | due by 05:59AM |
| Sep 26, 2014 | Fri | Week 3 Reading Group Forum: Contemplating a process of change | due by 05:59AM |
| Sep 26, 2014 | Fri | Week 3 Care Team Forum | due by 05:59AM |
| Oct 03, 2014 | Fri | Week 4: Reviewing the process of change and starting a journal | due by 05:59AM |
| Oct 03, 2014 | Fri | Week 4 Care Team | due by 05:59AM |
| Oct 17, 2014 | Fri | Weeks 5 & 6 Reading Forum: Reflecting theologically on stress | due by 05:59AM |
| Oct 17, 2014 | Fri | Weeks 5 & 6 Care Team Forum | due by 05:59AM |
| Oct 24, 2014 | Fri | Week 7 Reading Forum Reflecting on financial stress | due by 05:59AM |