Ouachita Stories

Ouachita Baptist University will host the seventh annual Conference on Issues in Christian Counseling Friday, Feb. 24, in Walker Conference Center. Addressing “Adolescent Issues,” the conference is sponsored by Ouachita’s Pruet School of Christian Studies, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and the Arkansas Baptist State Convention.

Dr. William Viser, the event creator and a speaker for the conference, is professor of Christian ministries at Ouachita and founded the Safe Harbour Christian Counseling Center in Arkadelphia, where he has served for 21 years. Viser said his goals when creating this conference were to offer a high quality Christian professional conference to this area of the state and to bring pastors and health professionals together.

“What I really hope people take away from this conference is just a deeper love for people and a deeper passion to help them. I hope that they gain knowledge that they can apply and that they will help people who are hurting,” Viser said. “Most of all, I hope that people will go away with some new contacts with health professionals or pastors and that they will network together and work together to solve the great problems that adolescents face.”

Conference attenders are eligible to earn eight clock hours through the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC). Credit is approved for licensed alcohol and abuse, professional and marriage and family counselors. National career counselors and nursing and social work professionals also are approved to earn credit.

Additionally, a pastoral track is offered at the conference. Sessions include “Basic Helps for Pastoral Counseling” led by Viser, “How to Help Teens in Crisis” led by Dr. Aaron A. New and “Helping Teens from Broken Homes” led by Dr. Derek Brown. “Topics & Issues Related to Pastoral Counseling” will be a Q&A session with a panel of counselors from the Arkansas Baptist Children’s Homes. New serves as chair of the Behavioral Sciences Department and professor of psychology and counseling at Central Baptist College in Conway, Ark. Brown is a family counselor for Arkansas Baptist Children’s Homes.

“The conference is really for health care professionals who need continuing education credit in counseling areas throughout our wide range of professions,” said Dr. Danny Hays, dean of the Pruet School of Christian Studies. “Then, it’s also for pastors and other church staff that are involved in counseling. There are some sessions directed to help them to improve on what’s most recent and current in the areas of counseling.”

Along with professionals and pastors, the conference is open to spouses of participants and full-time college students.

The conference begins at 8 a.m. and features two group sessions. Counseling track participants have the opportunity to attend breakout sessions of their choice in the afternoon.

Dr. Gerald Nissley will lead the first session, “It’s a Different Ball of Wax: Ethical Considerations for Treating Adolescents in Faith-integrated Contexts.” The second group session, “Wounded Adolescents: Confronting Cutting,” will be led by Viser during lunch. He will discuss self-injury among adolescents, the different forms self-injury takes and the contributing factors to the behavior. Nissley serves as associate professor of psychology at East Texas Baptist University and maintains a private practice as a clinical psychologist.

Breakout sessions will be held in the afternoon. One session is titled “Restoring Trust Between Adolescents and Parents: Moving Past the Lies” led by Dr. Jeff Nave and will provide a practical template for working with families after a violation of trust has occurred. Nave serves as professor of counseling and director of student counseling at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and as associate pastor of Northshore Church in Slidell, La.

Other breakout sessions include “The Adolescent Brain: Why They Do What They Do!” led by Dr. Kathryn Steele, “Moral Development in Adolescence” led by Dr. Larry Henderson, “Teens and Trauma: Helping Adolescents Find Their Way through Crisis” led by Dr. Aaron New and “Adolescent Sociology” led by Dr. Elizabeth Kelly. Steele serves as professor of counseling and director of clinical training at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and holds the James H. and Susan E. Brown Christian Counseling Chair. Henderson serves as therapist/chaplain for Central Baptist College in Conway, Ark. Kelly serves as professor of sociology and chair of the Department of Sociology at Ouachita Baptist University.

Registration for the conference is available at www.obu.edu/iccconf17. The cost for the conference is $100 for mental health professionals, nurses and social workers; $70 for ministers; and $20 for spouses and students. The registration fee includes up to eight NBCC clock hours, a certificate of attendance, handouts for sessions attended, morning and afternoon snacks and lunch. Late fees will apply after Feb. 19.

For more information, contact Tracey Knight in Ouachita’s Pruet School of Christian Studies at (870) 245-5599 or [email protected].

 

By Sarah Davis
February 3, 2017