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How does Pastoral Counseling differ from regular Counseling?

In addition to Counseling, a Pastoral Counselor also has specialized education and training in matters of spirituality, religious faith, and different religions. Thus, if a client wishes to include any of these during their sessions, a Pastoral Counselor is qualified and competent to do so.

 

Rev. Carlene holds a Master of Divinity degree (M.Div.), from Northern Seminary, and is an Ordained American Baptist minister. Additionally, having been raised Roman Catholic, she has been able to help countless numbers of Catholics every year. Over the past year, she has become a vessel of healing to survivors of predator priests. 

 

Is New Day a faith-based Counseling Practice?

Yes. This means Rev. Carlene or any Counselor working for New Day, won't discourage clients from exploring their spirituality or faith-related questions. Some clients have had questions of faith for years, but fear rejection from their clergy or people they have been worshipping with. Some have walked away from their faith or religion entirely. 

 

Wait a minute, aren't faith and religion the same thing?

Not at all. Religion is a human-constructed system providing a set of specific organized beliefs. While many find religion helpful to explain life, provide a moral compass, and connect them to the Divine, others do not. Some have suffered abuse or been otherwise deeply hurt by clergy or religious people.

 

OK, so how is faith different from religion then?

Faith, is something we are endowed with by our Creator. We first utilize faith shortly after birth. Though not aware of it or what it is, a helpless newborn, if not abused or neglected, soon develops a sense of faith and trust that s/he will have their needs met. While most people have faith in the God of their understanding, others claim faith in Science, nature, or even their own abilities. On a more basic level, humans practice blind faith every day that their car is going to run, that they will get to work, school, & back home safely, and that they will live to see another day.

 

I've heard that New Day is Christ-centered. What does that mean?

Glad you asked. It's a way of being. New Day strives to imitate Christ in the way business is conducted and how we treat all people, not just our clients. Check out what the Gospels say. Jesus did what no Rabbi of his day would ever do. He chose on purpose to hang out with those who were outcasts from the religious culture and their society. He didn't finger point. He met people where they were-and loved them. Read it yourself. What you have to understand is that Jesus came to inaugurate His Father's economy, which turned culture on its head.

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That's interesting. Say more about that please.

It's actually pretty simple. God is 100% about relationship. Has been from the start. Go all the way back to Genesis. The first thing He did after Adam & Eve got cast out from the Garden of Eden was to clothe them. What any good Parent would do. No matter how bratty your toddlers get, you still provide for their needs because you love them unconditionally. Outcasts were drawn to Jesus and moved to make needed changes in their lives because He met them where they were, and loved them unconditionally.

People who don't fit in, who hunger for something better, need someone to meet them where they are at. Someone who can see through the baggage they come with and love them unconditionally. That's key. People come to us because there's brokenness in their life. they don't need me or any member of my team pointing that out to them.

 

So a New Day Counselor won't push religion on me?

Absolutely not! That would be very un-Christlike. He was always invitational and respected a person's choice. New Day strives to always imitate Jesus Christ. That means we wait for a client invite. That honors our clients' God given free will and right to self-determination. Coming to a Pastoral Counselor means we are qualified to help you explore faith, religion and spirituality.  So whether you're religious or not, it doesn't matter. We stand ready to help: if you are dealing with depression, grief, trauma, abuse, relationship conflicts. If you need mentoring, life coaching, premarital counseling. If you have become disabled. If you have a loved one with Alzheimer's or Dementia. 

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Summarize New Day Pastoral Counseling Services

 We stand beside someone, not over them and building relationships with ALL people-PERIOD! Being honest, ethical, accountable; practicing good listening skills. Extending compassion, dignity, grace, forgiveness, mercy, respect, and unconditional love. Unconditional love also holds people accountable for owning their choices, taking responsibility for  making amends where needed, and demonstrating by action commitment to do the hard work of change as we come alongside as their navigator. In this way New Day lives out its Mission and Values.

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                            SOLUTIONS FOR HEALTHCARE

                      Healthcare providers, agencies and facilities here's the solution  to the time and expense it takes to create temporary and PRN spiritual care positions. New Day is the FIRST Contract PRN Service Provider of Chaplains/Spiritual Care Coordinators to Hospices, home health agencies & other health care providers, as well as assisted living, memory care, and nursing & rehabilitation facilities, retirement communities, and supportive living centers. If you need a Spiritual Care person as a fill-in, while in transition, or while searching for a permanent Chaplain, think SOLUTIONS by New Day for all your temporary spiritual care needs.

 

 

 

 

 

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Owner & Principle Counselor Rev. Carlene Appel is:

• Fully insured for liability.

• BLS-AED Certified.

• Certified in Trauma, Grief, Compassion Fatigue, and Dementia Care

• Fluent in multiple Medical software programs including McKesson, Healthwyse, Allscripts, Homecare Homebase (HCHB), Kinnser, HospiceMD, Optima.

• Always professionally attired, so your company always looks good. 

• Always greeting your customers with a Million-dollar smile.

• Always ready to go with minimal orientation time. 

• Knowledgeable in the business side of healthcare.

• An active member of the Bloomingdale Chamber of Commerce.

• A visionary. In 2021 she welcomed the Rev. Janeane Forrest Banaza as her first team member. New Day's 5 & 10 year business plans began to move forward. More pastoral care professionals as New Day grows. Rev. Carlene, who has a history as a trail blazer, believes that in the future, agencies like hers will become as commonplace as PRN Nurse agencies.

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Rev. Carlene also offers a variety of interactive presentations for staff in-services, patients, family members, and your community. Topics include Compassion Fatigue, Trauma/Grief & Loss, Suicide Intervention & Recovery, Hospice 101, and Alzheimer's Disease & other forms of Dementia: Improving Visits and Care Delivery.