Counseling Psychology (g) Archives

A small town. A sudden disaster. An immediate need for knowledgeable people across a range of professions to come together, formulate a rapid response, and work quickly and calmly to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all the townspeople.

In today’s world, these types of situations are unfortunately common. Being prepared to respond is another story. Recently, more than 60 Trinity undergraduate and graduate students across a range of majors, including nursing, social work, education, and psychology, got to have such an experience when a simulated disaster struck the fictional town of Trollsboro.

The students weren’t told ahead of time what the scenario would look like, so they had to immediately start working together to respond to the crisis and then develop a follow up plan to deal with the repercussions of the disaster one month later.

Said nursing major Kate DeKryger ‘22, “It was interesting to see other disciplines at work in front of us and alongside of us. My biggest takeaway from this experience and the challenges that it brought is that no one discipline or group of people, even expertly trained and skilled individuals, can handle crises alone.”

Each group included at least one student majoring in nursing, education, social work, and psychology. The students experienced working together in an interdisciplinary way. Along with respecting the expertise of others, it was a chance for each one of the student to find their voices and advocate for their own insights and opinions.

For Dr. Deb Majewski, Associate Professor of Psychology and Counseling, the simulation fit in perfectly with her graduate-level Counseling 603 Internship II course. “The project offered the students real-world experience in responding to a crisis simulation in conjunction with other disciplines. They were required to collaborate in respectful and deeply caring ways as they considered the needs of the community,” Majewski said.

Majewski’s students found the exercise to be deeply meaningful for them personally. “It built confidence, awareness of their knowledge and natural empathy.”

Listening to the insights and expertise of others is a valuable skill in today’s world, agreed Professor of Education Bill Boerman-Cornell, Ph.D. “Our society needs more practice in hearing what other people have to say.”

According to Dr. Tina Decker, chair of the nursing department, the exercise also gave the students the opportunity to really think about their professional roles. “Students got to act in the role of their profession. They were acting as nurses, teachers, counselors, and social workers, and not as students.”

It was a “disaster” that took a long time to plan. The idea for the interdisciplinary simulation came from a meeting that Assistant Professor of Social Work and Director of Field Education Lisa Doot Abinoja attended several years ago, where a professor at another local university described a simulation exercise they had done.

“We are familiar with experiential learning here at Trinity, and I quickly recognized that we could do that here,” she said. Abinoja reached out to her Trinity colleagues in several different departments, who were enthusiastic about the idea. During the spring semester of 2020, Abinoja received a Collaborative Initiative Grant through Trinity’s Provost’s Office for the simulation. “We originally planned to meet first in June 2020 for a Spring 2021 event,” she said. “With COVID, we quickly knew that wouldn’t happen and were able to delay a year.”

During that time, Abinoja, Decker, Majewski, Boerman-Cornell, Dr. Cini Bretzlaff-Holstein, Director of the Online BSW Program and Associate Professor of Social Work, and Dr. Michael Dieter, Assistant Professor of Education, began doing a great deal of prework. That included adding the simulation exercise to each class’s syllabus with a specific learning outcome. “The main outcome was working in an interdisciplinary way and how students embodied their profession,” said Abinoja. Each professor provided equal weight to the assignment, which helped to ensure success. “For example, we did not want this to be extra credit for one class, while it would make up a third of the grade in another class,” she said.

The experience also allowed professors to work closely with each other in an interdisciplinary manner, said Boerman-Cornell. “It was fun to get to know our colleagues in a different way.”

Learning took place in ways the organizers didn’t anticipate, which added to the richness of the experience. “In a classroom setting, there are things that can’t be replicated in an event like this. Even the challenges we experienced were good for learning,” said Abinoja.

The event went so well that the organizers are looking to make it a regular part of the curriculum. Several participants will also be offering a presentation about the simulation at the International Christian Community of Teacher Educators (ICCTE) Conference at George Fox University in Newberg, Ore., in May. For Boerman-Cornell, the outgoing president of ICCTE, the conference will not only allow Trinity professors to share their experience. They will also have the opportunity to learn how other colleges around the country have conducted similar types of simulations and hear some of those best practices.

OPUS, Trinity’s annual festival of student scholarship, is taking place on Wednesday, April 20. The word “opus” is Latin for work. Whether it’s the arts & humanities, natural & applied sciences, or social sciences, students from all disciplines can present their work or attend this annual celebratory conference.

We invite you to attend OPUS 2022 and imagine the possibilities of your own OPUS!

OPUS SCHEDULE

12:30-12:45 OPUS Parade

12:45-1:15 Opening Ceremony

1:30-4:15 Student Presentations

4:30-5:15 Presentation Showdown

All students are given the opportunity to enter into a competition for all solo and group presentations. Top scorers advance to the Presentation Showdown where they give a 5-minute summary of their presentation in front of their peers and additional judges.

4:30-6:30 Trinity Trolldown Dinner in the Dining Hall

5:00-6:00 Dunk Tank Fundraiser for Ukraine

6:00-7:30 Raffle & Closing Ceremony

7:30-8:30 Senior Student/OPUS Art Reception

6:30-8:30 GRUMPUS Graduate OPUS

9:00-10:00 Outcry

Special Thank you!

The Trinity Christian College community is grateful to alumni Yvette Madany (’85) and Peter Madany (’82), who generously provided financial support to underwrite expenses for OPUS 2022.

The OPUS 2022 committee is also grateful for the support of Trinity administration, faculty, and staff, including the departments of admissions, student life, physical plant, audio-visual services, information technology services, marketing and communications, and Creative Dining.

OPUS Committee Members

Brian Cerney

Inglebert Christiansen (Student Graphic Designer)

Sarah Hoeksema (co-chair)

Jeff Nyhoff

Mary LoGalbo

Deb Majewski (co-chair)

Katie Oomkes

Julianna Padilla (Student Government Representative)

Aron Reppmann

Omar Sweiss

Kevin Schenke

Maura Sukamto (Student Graphic Designer)

Join us for the tenure lecture of Dr. Kara Wolff, Professor of Counseling, on Tuesday, April 5 at 3:55 pm in the Grand Lobby of Ozinga Chapel. Tenure lectures are a celebration of the mature Christian scholarship of our faculty colleagues. When we celebrate these moments, we mark and extend our commitment to our core identity and mission as a College – and we rejoice at the gifted teacher-scholars in our midst!

Wolff’s lecture is entitled “Christian Social Justice Pedagogy: A Shared Dwelling Place.” At the core of the human experience is a desire to belong and to be deeply known. Despite this longing we often find ourselves challenged to connect in deep and meaningful ways across our constructed barriers. This lecture explores how cultivating a learning environment that fosters love for each other and prioritizes pursuing justice and equity opens us up to transformational ways of being in the world.

Trinity’s Counseling and Psychology and Social Work Departments are pleased to present the Ninth Annual Psychology Renewed Conference on Saturday, April 30 from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm.

Attendees to the conference will explore Conceptual Dialectical Behavior Therapy and how it can be used to treat emotional dysregulation.

Dr. Paul Holmes, a Senior Lecturer at Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Practice at the University of Chicago, will introduce the “Chronic Distress Model” as an explanation of emotional escalation. He will give an overview of the structure and processes that comprise C-DBT, an approach that emphasizes experiential encounters where participants decouple behaviors from emotions, thoughts, and memories and select responses based on context and valued ends. Participants can experience freedom from their past and create opportunities to organize their behavior in relation to a future they desire.

For more information and to register for the conference, click here.

Cost:
CEUs – $30 | Trinity Alums – $10 (CEUs are included in the alumni cost) | Current Students – Free with Registration

Join us for the tenure lecture of Dr. Jessica Clevering, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Adult Program in Psychology, on Tuesday, March 29 at 3:55 pm in the Grand Lobby of Ozinga Chapel. Tenure lectures are a celebration of the mature Christian scholarship of our faculty colleagues. When we celebrate these moments, we mark and extend our commitment to our core identity and mission as a College – and we rejoice at the gifted teacher-scholars in our midst!

Clevering’s lecture, “Three Heads in the Well: A Pedagogical Fairy Tale, ” will explore how should professors approach the self, specifically their own selves, while teaching? Four approaches will be proposed, and the preferred approach will be illustrated by means of a fairy tale. That’s right: story time! Christian themes will be highlighted throughout. Teddy bears are welcome.

At Trinity, our master’s degree program in clinical mental health counseling and our bachelor’s degree program in psychology prepare students to serve in a variety of careers and professions, with understanding and healing in mind.

So, the College is pleased to have its undergraduate and graduate programs recognize by College Factual as among the “Best Colleges.” College Factual ranked the master’s program as #11 in the Great Lakes Region, and the bachelor’s program among the top 20 in the Great Lakes Region. Along with the overall quality of the program, the rankings agency also named both programs a “best value.”

College Factual also provided accolades to Trinity’s education and special education programs.

To determine its rankings, College Factual analyzed almost 5,000 colleges & universities in the United States.

Schools were assessed across 1,784 different majors & concentrations, 60+ different and four degree levels to come up with what amounts to over 800,000 distinct lists to help students find the best-fit college for them.

The Illinois Counseling Association‘s Trinity Chapter is hosting the Third Annual Wellness Retreat on Saturday, Oct. 23 from 9:30 am to 3 pm.

At the retreat, participants will have the opportunity to choose from a variety of workshops featuring physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and other areas of personal wellness.

Each workshop is designed to aid in improving life balance and understanding in each area of life. Workshops are led by faculty, students, and other area professionals.

Tickets are $20. Trinity students are invited to attend the event for free.

Lunch is included in the price of admission. Vegetarian options will be available.

Registration begins at 9:30 am upstairs in the Classroom Building. Workshops begin at 10:00 am and end at 2:30 pm.

Participants are invited to gather for Meditation and a Raffle Prize drawing to wrap up the day.

This year’s Wellness Retreat will also include vendors offering a variety of services and products to aid participants on their wellness journeys.

Proceeds help support the philanthropic efforts of the Trinity Christian College Chapter of the Illinois Counseling Association.

Trinity Christian College is graciously supporting the efforts of our local ICA Chapter by sponsoring this event.

Have questions about the event or are interested in becoming a presenter or vendor?

Contact Dr. Deb Majewski (Faculty Advisor) or Tabitha Jirsa (Chapter President). They can be reached, by email, at:

Dr. Deb Majewski – debra.majewski@trnty.edu

Tabitha Jirsa – tabitha.jirsa@trnty.edu

Click here to learn more and register.

*CDC guidelines will be followed.