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Articles tagged: Richmont Graduate University

Three Emotionally Healthy Ways to Navigate Relationships

Relationships are tricky. Feelings can be complicated.

Arguments and emotional turmoil can be the result of miscommunication and a lack of self-awareness. A lack of connectedness with oneself and others is often to blame.

Dr. Tyler Rogers is an assistant professor of counseling at Richmont Graduate University. He has a Ph.D. in Counselor Education from the University of Mississippi where he explored, “The relationships between advocacy competency, adult attachment styles, climate and comfort in training, and social empathy.”

In short, he is a relational expert.

But it does not take an expert to know that relationships can be tough. Friendships, romances, and family ties, all can be sources of both exceptional joy and great discomfort.

Many times, outside factors can cause waves in relationships. Other times, it’s our internal responses that cause the turmoil. We cannot control the external factors, but we can choose how we respond. “Volatility is common in relationships, and often it’s because we don’t know how to accurately and honestly express ourselves,” Dr. Rogers said.

Dr. Rogers has three, “very simple, yet very difficult to execute” tips for navigating and fostering emotionally healthy relationships.

Define

Feelings are universal. Regardless of religion, race, and culture, every person on earth has felt happy, sad, shame, anger, joy, fear, and confusion. “The universal language of feelings allows people to connect and empathize with each other,” Dr. Rogers said.

To connect well with others, you first have to know how you feel. We often give an array of reasons why we’re angry without just stating that we are angry. This is more accusatory than honest. Conversations are volatile from the get-go.

The first step to resolving conflict is to dig into the core of the issue. This process begins with self-examination. One cannot explain how the something or someone made them feel until they take time to explore their feelings and then define them.

“For healthy relationships, you first need to learn your feelings,” Dr. Rogers said. “Define how you are feeling in a given moment. Be aware of what you are feeling first before you explain the inducing factors to someone else.”

It sounds easy, but this takes practice. Our feelings can become lost over the static of our busy lives. It’s not until we sit, dig through and examine how we feel are we able to accurately communicate. “Otherwise, it’s like shooting from the hip,” Dr. Rogers said.

Communicate

“Be able and willing to tell the truth,” Dr. Rogers said. “It’s OK to say, ‘I’m not going to sugar coat this: I am really angry.’ Expressing how you feel is the second way to own it. By doing so, you take responsibility for your feelings.”

People might tell you to “not sweat the small stuff.” So we often try to hide what we feel. God is an emotional being, we are made in his image. We neglect our humanity when we brush our pain under the rug.

“Feelings are not a choice,” Dr. Rogers said. “They are more visceral. What you do with content and knowledge are choices. Who you vote for and how you arrange your Fantasy Football lineup are choices. Feelings are the basic things that happen in all of us. You respect your value when you take ownership of the way you feel. This allows you to be seen by others as who you are without hiding behind morals, religion or extraneous circumstances.”

Have the courage to tell others how you are feeling. Be honest. Be truthful. Don’t minimize your feelings.

Communicating exactly what you feel allows you to connect with one another. It becomes a shared experience. Transparency cultivates intimacy and empathy. Even if someone does not agree, the door is opened for them to know you better. Respect is the desired outcome.

Listen

“Do to others, as you would have them do to you,” is called the Golden Rule. We desire to be heard when we share our inner thoughts. This sentiment goes both ways. Others, too, want to feel heard.

“Be available and listen,” Dr. Rogers said. “It takes practice to learn how to listen while not being defensive or minimizing. Someone might be angry at you, but you can still listen while knowing that it is not because you necessarily did anything wrong. Expectations might have been miscommunicated. By listening without becoming defensive or minimizing, you open the door to connect better and find a solution.”

Listening gives you the opportunity to win the heart of people, not necessarily the argument. Which is more important to you?

Feelings are complex. Understanding what we feel can be murky. We create bridges for authentic conversations and emotionally healthy relationships when we define how we feel and communicate honestly.

Dr. Rogers teaches The Personal Spiritual Life of the Counselor and Healthy Family Functioning. Sit in on one of Dr. Rogers’ classes. Contact us or RSVP for Preview Day.

Richmont Trauma Response Team to Aid in Hurricane Harvey Relief Efforts

Richmont’s Trauma Response Team will travel to Corpus Christi today to provide to services to those impacted by Hurricane Harvey.  Hurricane Havey made landfall on Corpus Christi on August 25th as a category 4 hurricane with winds over 130 mph.  Corpus Christi and the neighboring communities of Port Aransas and Rockport saw significant damage as Harvey made landfall and then continued on to Houston.  Richmont is partnering with The Field Innovation Team (FIT) to provide support and recovery to the Corpus Christi community.  The Trauma Response Team will be doing field work in trailer parks, providing compassion fatigue support for first responders, and will be connecting victims with FEMA services.

Richmont’s Trauma Response Team will include faculty members Vanessa Snyder Ph.D. (Team Leader), William McGee Ed.D, and Lorrie Slater Ph.D. as well as Richmont graduate JJ Widener.  The team will be posting updates from Corpus Christi throughout the next week to richmonttrauma.com.

Richmont Graduate University provides Master’s level degree programs and continuing education for Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists.  Richmont’s Institute of Traumatology provides advanced training in Trauma Counseling which prepares students to work with clients who have suffered complex trauma or who are victims of traumatic events.

The Richmont Institute of Traumatology works in collaboration with Green Cross Academy of Traumatology to train individuals in the vital work of domestic and international trauma relief. We are proud to partner with Green Cross, the world’s premier certifying body for traumatologists, and all members of the Richmont Team have earned GCAT certification.

For more information about Trauma Training and for updates regarding Trauma Team’s trip, visit:  richmonttrauma.com

Richmont Confers Degrees on 83 Students in the Largest Graduating Class to Date

Atlanta, Georgia – (May 13, 2013)

On Saturday, May 11, the Board of Trustees at Richmont Graduate University conferred Master’s degrees on 83 candidates. As the university’s largest graduating class to date, 46 students received their Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy, 31 received their Master of Arts in Professional Counseling, and 4 received a Master of Science in Christian Psychological Studies. An honorary doctorate celebrating Hugh Huffaker’s generous gifts of time, talent and treasure was also awarded. Additionally, one degree was awarded posthumously for Richmont student, Shelley Byers, who passed away earlier this year.

“The day was a beautiful celebration of God’s faithfulness, the devotion of the graduates, and the love and support of all the family and friends who were there,” said Richmont’s Dean of Students, Dr. DeAnne Terrell. “Our goal is always to bring God glory throughout the ceremony and our hearts are full of gratitude for the great things He has done.

In addition to honoring this year’s graduates, Richmont named Elizabeth Dial as 2013’s Distinguished Alumna. A Nationally Certified Licensed Professional Counselor, Dial now uses her Richmont training in private practice at Serenity Counseling & Consulting, as a staff psychotherapist for the North Georgia Health District and as a contracted trainer through Emory University’s SEATEC program.

Similarly, Moose Lutes, Richmont’s Director of Financial Aid, received this year’s Peterson Award for the commitment and service he has shown to the university that has consistently exceeded his job demands and institutional expectations.

The university was also pleased to host Dr. Timothy Irwin as this year’s graduation speaker. As a licensed clinical psychologist, Dr. Irwin is an acclaimed author on leadership, a managing partner of IrwinInc., and a trusted consultant for some of the nation’s most successful companies including SunTrust Banks, Chick-fil-A, IBM, Gerber Products Company, The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company, The Coca-Cola Company, and Turner Broadcasting Systems. His leadership guidance has also been featured on Fox News, via the Catalyst conference, and in publications such as Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, and Investor’s Business Daily.

Speaking to Richmont’s newest graduates, Dr. Irwin encouraged students from Proverbs 4:23 and offered them several practical steps to take in avoiding the pitfalls that could disqualify them from leading, including: adopting a practice of frequent and rigorous self awareness; handling power with great care; speaking the truth of scripture into their lives; and creating a personal board of advisors. Overall, he graciously reminded students that their hearts are the core of their being and, even with all their excellent training, they should not get caught up in self-importance, but rather serve with humility.

Reflecting on the day, Dr. Keny Felix, Dean of the School of Counseling said, “Graduation is one of our most exciting times of the year. It is the culmination of years of diligent work on the part of students as they prepare to enter the field as counselors and marriage and family therapists or serve through various forms of ministry. We are certainly proud of the Class of 2013 and give God the glory for the privilege of witnessing his transformation in their lives during their tenure at Richmont. We are also grateful for the family members and friends who saw them through this season of their lives.”

WRCB Interviews Richmont Counselor about Boston Marathon Tragedy

CHATTANOOGA, TN (WRCB) – All eyes have been on Boston. Details continue emerging with each passing hour. For many of us, even hundreds of miles away in the Tennessee Valley, the images are emotional to watch.

From the Colorado movie theater massacre, to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, and now bombs exploding at the Boston Marathon, over the last several months, we’ve seen a lot of terrifying scenes unfold in our country.      
     
Local mental health professionals say just because they haven’t happened here, doesn’t mean we’re not affected.

“I think the worst lies we can tell ourselves is just because we weren’t there, that means we shouldn’t feel hurt or we should just get over it. This pain is real,” Mental Health Counselor Edward Doreau said.

Doreau is a Boston native and marathon runner. In 2009, he crossed that same finish line. 

“It’s an incredible feeling to finish and I think that’s why the terrorists probably targeted the finish line. They’re going after an American icon,” he said.

Shortly after the bombings, Doreau’s brother called from Boston to assure him his family and friends were unharmed.

“It was good to hear with the news that my friends who’d run the Boston Marathon were alright,” Doreau said.

But he says it’s likely even those of us with no ties to Boston are shaken.

“Traumatic incidents of national and global scale, they affect everybody,” he said.

He says the first feeling is typically of disbelief, but in the days following, may experience anxiety, nightmares and muscle tension. 

“An excessive alertness. When something traumatic happens, we feel shaken up by it and want to be constantly on your guard against something else happening,” Doreau said.

He says it’s the same reactions he’s treated people for following other recent national tragedies.

To read more and watch the video, Click Here.

Trent Gilbert to present at SACAC

Atlanta, Georgia – (April 2, 2013)

This April, Trent Gilbert, Vice President for Enrollment at Richmont Graduate University, and Tyler Peterson, Associate Provost of Enrollment Management at Auburn University at Montgomery, will co-present a seminar at the Southern Association for College Admission Counseling’s (SACAC) annual conference.  Their workshop, “Distilling the Campus Visit Experience,” is based on real-world experiences and will help admissions counselors learn how to successfully host visitors on campus.

“Our session at SACAC will be a great opportunity to continue to share the importance of the overall experience that a prospective student has while interacting on their campus visit,” said Peterson. “Trent Gilbert has been one of the frontrunners of this philosophy in higher education, and the schools that are taking his advice are seeing success. It is important that we look outside of higher education for ideas, and a lot of companies are providing great experiences for their customers, and the experience we offer our students should be just as strong.”

As an affiliate of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), SACAC represents approximately 1,500 members throughout the Southeast in order to “…to promote high professional standards in the college admission process by exchanging ideas, sharing common goals and preparing counselors to serve students in the transition from high school to college.” This year, Richmont will be one of 95 universities in attendance at the 2013 conference.

“SACAC always provides great opportunities to share successes and failures as well as to learn how other schools are overcoming the challenges facing admission offices today,” said Gilbert. “Tyler and I believe higher education admission departments could use some fresh ideas, so it will be a fun opportunity for us to present on ways that ideas from the “outside world” can be utilized.”

Christie Simons to Present Thesis in Honolulu

Atlanta, Georgia – (March 5, 2013)

This August, master’s student, Christie Simons, will represent Richmont Graduate University at the American Psychological Association’s annual convention in Honolulu, Hawaii. Simons plans to present her thesis, “CARM and Social Support for Pediatric Oncology Patients,” which discusses correlations between completion of Cognitive Adaptation Remediation and Management (CARM) therapy (among other types of social support) and the health related quality of life for pediatric oncology patients.

Working alongside Dr. Robert Butler, the creator of CARM, Simons conducted studies with cancer patients (ages 8-17) to ‘determine if those patients who have completed CARM report higher health related quality of life as determined by the Pediatric Quality of Life InventoryTM Measurement Model (PedsQL). While Simons is currently in the process of finalizing her research, she anticipates that the data will show that patients who have completed CARM express increased quality of life.

Ever since childhood, when a neighbor was diagnosed with a brain tumor, Simons has been interested in work amongst pediatric oncology patients. As she explored this patient population, she noticed a distinct lack of research and written material regarding therapy and pediatric oncology patients. Joining forces with Hatch’s House of Hope in Chattanooga, TN, Simons was thrilled to find a non-profit organization offering free therapy to pediatric oncology patients.

“I think this topic is timely because there’s a lack of research and available therapy for pediatric oncology patients,” said Simons. “Even though HATCH’s is giving this therapy for free they’re never fully booked. I’d like to bring greater awareness to the need and the growing availability of resources.”

Having previously presented research at the Southeastern Psychological Association’s (SEPA) conference, Simons is now looking forward to presenting and representing Richmont on a national level at this year’s APA conference.