The Wayne E. Oates Institute is a Connected Learning Community exploring spirituality and health as a way to advance integrative care for the whole person. The Oates Institute is a non-profit educational organization made up of caregivers from the medical, spiritual and counseling communities providing a forum for joining together as an interdisciplinary dialogue toward understanding the relationship between spirituality and the healing process.

Since those actively engaged in ministry are not immune to the experience of depression or anxiety, the Wayne E. Oates Insitute is offering an online seminar April 12-30 specifically designed to assist with addressing these issues. This seminar will provide pastors, chaplains, and pastoral counselors the opportunity to acquire information through several featured presentations and will provide a safe environment for shared reflection with the presenter and other participants through asynchronous email discussion.

This seminar, one of the Care of Self seminars, is designed to help ministers recognize symptoms of clinical depression and anxiety in order to more wisely give care to others and make appropriate referrals as needed.

Following the completion of this seminar, participants will be able to:

• Identify symptoms of clinical depression
• Distinguish between clinical depression and sadness
• Make a pastoral assessment of someone dealing with anxiety
• Identify ways to facilitate communication between the person experiencing depression or anxiety and their support community
• Offer pastoral care to a person dealing with anxiety or depression
• Make appropriate referrals for those experiencing depression or anxiety
• Recognize the interrelationship of medical, spiritual, emotional, and social needs of those who suffer from mental illness
• Recognize the impact that a mental illness has on the family system and give care to family members

This seminar will be facilitated by Dr. Anne Windus, a retired Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling formerly with the Philippines Baptist Theological Seminary extension program and Southern Baptist School of Theology in Manila, Philippines. She continues to use her background in nursing and her graduate background in pastoral counseling to train laity and ministers in how to offer pastoral care and counseling. One of her units of Clinical Pastoral Education was as an emergency room chaplain. She has also taught crisis counseling. She has worked as a missionary with the International Mission Board of the SBC in Mexico and South Korea and currently is on furlough from her ministry in the Philippines. She continues to serve as an adjunct professor of pastoral care.

This seminar features the Oates Institute's Connected Learning approach and is limited to 12 participants. It offers 12 contact hours of continuing education for ministers, counselors, chaplains, and social workers. To qualify for the CEUs participants are expected to read the presentations and participate in the email discussion by contributing at least 2 email messages per week. One message is to reflect on the presentations or case studies in light of one's personal experience and context and the second is to respond to someone else’s reflection or inquiry.

Members of the Oates Institute may register for free, others may register for only $60.