Reflection Journal Assignment Essay

 

Reflection Journal Assignment Essay

Reflection Journal

What are the main ideas of this week’s readings?

This week’s readings emphasize the essence of searching for the meaning in trauma and disaster and refocusing the energy to restore the sense of belief, hope, and faith to aid recovery following traumatic and disastrous events, including anthropogenic and natural disasters. In this sense, the role of today’s practitioners extends beyond helping the victims of trauma and disasters recover from injuries and disabilities to restoring their faith and hope. In the reading “the search for meaning in trauma and disaster,” it is vivid that the role of spirituality is paramount in enabling practitioners to enhance hope and restore faith for the affected individuals or communities following naturally occurring or human-made events.

One of the most profound takeaways from this reading is the importance of mental health professionals to first explore their spirituality before delving into their clients’ existential and spiritual experiences of loss, life-threatening illness, and trauma. Since these events distort or hamper personal understanding of the importance of existence, they can inflict empathy fatigue reaction on practitioners, compromising their ability to restore faith and hope. Therefore, spiritual reflection allows mental health professionals to overcome empathetic fatigue syndrome.

Also, the reading emphasizes the importance of extending the definition of a disaster to include its impact on the medical, physical, psychological, vocational, sociocultural, spiritual, and psychosocial well-being of humankind. By extending the definition of a disaster, it is possible to eclectic counseling approaches that touch on various domains to aid recovery, enhance positive perceptions of human existence, and eliminate ambiguity and spiritual confusion.

How do these ideas impact my professionalism when working with trauma clients?

Undoubtedly, takeaways from this week’s readings are insightful and profound in my future interactions with trauma clients. Firstly, the idea to search the meaning of trauma and disasters extends beyond providing first aid, psychological and emotional support to victims of disasters and trauma. In this sense, the reading proposes the importance of extending beyond conventional approaches for providing care to trauma clients by incorporating spiritual principles. Meuhlhausen (2021) defines spirituality as “that which allows a person to experience the transcendent meaning of life, often experienced as a relationship with God, but can also be about nature, art, music, family, or community-whatever beliefs and values give a person a sense of meaning and purpose in life” (p. 368). This explanation of spirituality underscores its entry into post-disaster trauma management.

Secondly, the readings consistently support the essence of exploring and understanding our spiritual values before delving into our clients’ existential and spiritual experiences of loss, grief, and trauma. In this sense, it is possible to function optimally and address professional fatigue syndrome by understanding spiritual principles and obligations to assist others amidst trauma and disaster. As a Christian, I perceive such a statement as insightful due to the underlying confusion regarding God’s role in disasters and humans’ responsibility to perpetrate horrific experiences resulting in trauma. As a result, assessing our spiritual values and principles can eliminate inconsistencies and conflicting thoughts that compromise our clients’ perceptions of human existence, restoring hope and enhancing faith to endure pain, grief, and any life-threatening condition.

What Christian worldview integration thoughts come to mind from this material?

Undoubtedly, Christians rely massively upon Biblical teachings of God’s will to explain the concepts of suffering, pain, and disasters. One of the most consistent doctrines that explain why humans encounter disaster in the fall of humankind doctrine presents the “original” sin at the Garden of Eden as the primary reason people fall short of God’s love. According to Rumahuru & Kakiay (2020), disasters occur to remind humans of the need to remain spiritual and retain faith in God since people have long viewed disaster as a divine punishment for human transgressions, referencing Biblical depiction of disaster and human suffering.

Although Christians often attribute suffering to their sinful nature, the Bible indicates exceptional incidences where “bad things happen to good people.” For example, the story of Job, faithful and obedient servant of God who endured suffering, reminds Christians that everyone is susceptible to disasters regardless of their spiritual status. However, this does not suspend humans’ obligation to embrace Godly principles and obey his commands. O’Mathuna (2018) argues that God can use disasters to express his marvel and render Christians victorious during daunting and life-threatening moments. As a result, such occurrences should strengthen humans’ commitment to upholding moral and spiritual obligation alongside enhancing their purpose of existing by eliminating the fear of disasters or traumatic events.

When considering God’s role in disasters, Christians can appreciate his purpose and will by overlooking suffering or losses to uphold moral principles and strengthen their relationship with him. In this sense, the concept of Imago Dei (Image of God) is essential in providing hope and clarifying Christians’ responsibilities of upholding inherent dignity and ethical principles. Regardless of the situation, God promises victory for relentless Christians who portray true solidarity by learning and spiritually growing from the event (O’Mathuna, 2018, p. 39). Eventually, it is possible to utilize these spiritual principles when caring for trauma clients. They consistently emphasize the importance of overlooking physical and mental suffering by pursuing spiritual responsibilities and strengthening personal faith in God’s ability to bring good out of disastrous events.

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References

Muehlhausen, B. (2021). Spirituality and vicarious trauma among trauma clinicians: A qualitative study. Journal Of Trauma Nursing, 28(6), 367-377. https://doi.org/10.1097/jtn.0000000000000616

O’Mathúna, D. (2018). Christian theology and disasters: Where is God in all this? Advancing Global Bioethics, 27-42. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92722-0_3

Rumahuru, Y., & Kakiay, A. (2020). Rethinking disaster theology: Combining protestant theology with local knowledge and modern science in disaster response. Open Theology, 6(1), 623-635. https://doi.org/10.1515/opth-2020-0136

Describe what you believe are the key ideas from this week’s readings (1 page).

How do these ideas impact you as you consider working with trauma clients
(1 page)

What Christian worldview integration thoughts come to mind from this material
(1 page)?

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Reflection Journal Grading Rubric

Criteria	Levels of Achievement
Content	Advanced	Proficient	Developing	Below Expectations	Not present
Evidence of Critical Thinking	17 to 18 points Critical thinking is clearly identifiable and strongly presented. All four elements of critical thinking are present (e.g. application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation). Arguments are clear and show depth of insight into theoretical issues, originality of treatment, and relevance. May include unusual insights. Arguments are well supported.	16 points Critical thinking is identifiable and presented. Three of the four elements of critical thinking are present (e.g. application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation). Arguments are clear and show depth of insight into theoretical issues, originality of treatment, and relevance. Arguments are supported.	14 to 15 points Critical thinking is identifiable but needs improvement. Two of the four elements of critical thinking are present (e.g. application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation). Arguments are supported.	1 to 13 points Critical thinking is not identifiable. Missing the four elements of critical thinking are present (e.g. application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation). Arguments are not supported.	0 points Not Present
Development of Ideas	16 to 17 points Multifaceted thoughts, ideas, and details, which shows evidence of reflection, new ideas, and grasp of concepts. Assertions are relevant and properly supported by evidence. The conclusion offers an excellent summary of reflection & practical application.	15 points Well-developed thoughts, ideas, and details, which shows evidence of reflection, new ideas, and grasp of concepts. Assertions are relevant and properly supported by evidence. The conclusion offers a very good summary of reflection & practical application.	14 points Thoughts, ideas, and details, which shows evidence of reflection, new ideas, and grasp of concepts but need improvement. Some assertions are relevant and supported by evidence. The conclusion may need improvement.	1 to 13 points Few components as described in the assignment have been addressed, or all components are missing. The conclusion is weak or is not present in the paper.	0 points Not Present
Structure	Advanced	Proficient	Developing	Below Expectations	Not present
Organization	10 points All required elements are included and presented with strong headings and organizational clarity. There are clear transitions between paragraphs and sections. The treatment of the topic is logically oriented. The paper meets the page length requirement.	9 points Most elements are included and presented with strong headings and organizational clarity. There are transitions between paragraphs and sections. The treatment of the topic is logically oriented. The paper meets the page length requirement.	8 points There are transitions between paragraphs and sections. The treatment of the topic is logically oriented. The paper meets the page length requirement.	1 to 7 points The treatment of the topic is logically oriented. The paper meets the page length requirement.	0 points Not Present
Style	5 points The paper properly uses current APA standards. Proper headings, in-text citations, and references are formatted correctly. The paper reflects a graduate level voice and vocabulary. There are very few spelling and grammar errors.	4 points The paper consistently uses current APA standards. Proper headings, in-text citations, and references are formatted with few or no errors. The paper reflects a graduate level voice and vocabulary. There are few spelling and grammar errors.	3 points The paper inconsistently uses APA standards. Headings, in-text citations, and references are inconsistently formatted. The paper does not consistently reflect a graduate level voice and vocabulary. There are spelling and grammar errors.	1 to 2 points The paper erroneously uses or does not use APA standards. Headings, in-text citations, and references are erroneously formatted or not present. The paper does not reflect a graduate level voice and vocabulary. There are spelling and grammar errors.	0 points Not Present