Get Trained
TCCC chaplains go through basic chaplaincy training under the IFOC required training course which is an intense but basic certificate course. Once you take the course, you are not a chaplain. But, you become eligible to go through the application process, which is somewhat involved, including an FBI background clearance, etc. All the details of this process can be found on the main ifoc.org web site.
TCC Chaplains are specially trained to share God’s hope and love with people facing disaster or everyday crisis. Our Chaplains training includes the subjects of critical incident stress, stress management, PTSD, trauma, grief and loss, human trafficking, substance abuse, divorce, depression, domestic violence, suicide prevention, disaster relief, death notification, law enforcement chaplaincy, ethics and law, and much more.
Crisis intervention training is sometimes referred to as “emotional first aid”. Crisis intervention is not psychotherapy; rather it is a specialized acute emergency mental health first aid or intervention which requires specialized training.
CISM courses from the ICISF are part of our advanced training. Classes from International Critical Incident Stress Foundation will be offered around Tucson and Phoenix from time to time. One class that is strongly recomended is Grief Following Trauma. Participants will learn how trauma impacts the grief process and will gain skills for evaluating and supporting persons who have experienced traumatic death and loss. Class highlights of the Grief following Trauma course include characteristics of trauma, clinical implications of grief, primary needs of victims, what helps and what hurts, death notification, applications of the SAFER model, supporting grieving people, and a personal self-care plan. There are over 50 different ICISF/CISM courses from which we have our chaplain’s choose, and would encourage anyone who wants to be better prepared to help others to take these courses when they become available.
These classes are typically a 1.5 to 2 day course.
Some other recommended advanced training are the CERT, NOVA, NIMS and OSFA. More information on these courses can be found online.