Training seminar for Ladya program

A training seminar on 'Methodological and Substantial Aspects of the Ladya Program for Prevention of Risky Behaviours' for specialists in the city of Oryol and the Oryol region took place from November 27 to December 1, 2017. The seminar was conducted by Ms. V. Afonina, psychological and clinical counsellor, chair of the Blago, a regional NGO in Bryansk, and Ms. Ye. Severina, psychologist teacher, director of the Ladya center, a municipal budgetary organization in Bryansk. The seminar was held at the Oryol City Center for Psychological, Pedagogical, Medical and Social Aid, a municipal budgetary organization in Oryol. It was attended by 22 specialists in psychological service, such as psychological and social teachers from psychological centers in six districts of the city. The Ladya program was presented in Oryol for the first time, and positive responses to it have been received. The attendees were very active, showing great interest in further joint work.

A seminar on care for sedentary patients

On December 11-12, 2017, a seminar on 'Palliative care. Nursing of sedentary patients' took place in Arkhangelsk. It was organized by St. Dimitry Sisterhood, Moscow, Sisterhood of St. Royal Martyress Alexandra Fyodorovna (Arkhangelsk), Arkhangelsk medical college. The seminar was attended by health workers to-be, sisters of mercy, medical doctors and clergy.

The Rev. Roman Batsman of the church of the Holy Prince Dimitry, Moscow, spoke about the Christian understanding of diseases and the right attitude to patients. He said, 'The body is our friend; it serves man and helps to perform spiritual feats. For this reason, it is necessary to take care of the body; for it can become the cause of a disease indeed. You should not think that only sins cause your physical suffering. No, it is a test of the faith, a means of correction'.

Father Roman also focused on the program in which the Russian Orthodox Church takes part. It is palliative aid to the seriously ill and support for those who suffer. 'You should not admonish a sick person and explain the causes of his illness when he is in a state of shock. Do not be afraid of keeping silent; it is not necessary to talk all the time. Listen attentively if a patient wants to share something and carefully ask him about details', the priest said, 'each patient goes through five stages in accepting his disease: denial, fury, bargain, depressions and acceptance. Often at the last stages, people would turn to God and a sick one's spiritual growth becomes possible promptly'.

Ms. Olga Yegorova, leader of the St. Dimitry Sisterhood home-care service, shared her experience of organizing social service in Moscow.

Ms. Natalia Shaitanova, a specialist of the Arkhangelsk healthcare ministry, reported how palliative care is organized in the region. 'Our task is to relieve pain and ensure the highest possible quality of life for a person, even if it will be his last days or weeks. We also help a patient's relatives, as his family are suffering together with him indeed. Thus, 40% of the relatives of cancer patients die because they assume this gravest pain. In taking care of relatives, we are helped by medical doctors and medical staff, psychologists, priests and volunteers', Ms Shaitanova said.

In conclusion of the seminar, the head of the Arkhangelsk diocesan department for medical and social service, Archpriest Aleksey Denisov suggested that the students reflect on the meaning of life, saying, 'Its goal is the endless movement in aspiration for God, perfection and development. The Lord has willed that we rejoice because we are created for it. What do we experience when we overcome ourselves by stepping up closer to God? It is precisely joy. It is a property of life. What we need for it is to renew our energy, which in the church usage called grace. We can find it only in relations with God. Unfortunately, these relations have been broken from Adam's time; hence our diseases, both spiritual and physical'.

From materials on www.arh-eparhia.ru and alex-sisterhood.1gb.ru

Seminars on Codependency: Overcoming

The Chelyabinsk diocesan social department conducted regular advance courses for parish social workers from December 6 to 8, 2017. The three-day seminar's topic was 'Codependency: Overcoming'. Well-known specialists Ms. Ye. Rydalevskaya, director of the Diakonia charitable foundation, St. Petersburg, and the Taganka Children's Foundation program director S. Borzov, Moscow, came to Chelyabinsk for three days.

Already on the first day of the seminar, 45 attendees registered for it. Along with parish social workers, training at the seminar was undertaken by staff members of the centers for aid to people with dependences and teachers working under the Ladya program of preventing risky behaviours and HIV/AIDS among teenagers. The Seminar was organized with the assistance of the Russia Round Table under the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations (DECR).

From materials on mitropolia74.ru

A seminar on 'Codependency: Overcoming' was held from December 12 to 14 in Ufa. It was conducted by Ms. Ye. Rydalevskaya, executive director of the Diakonia Charitable Foundation, St. Petersburg. It was organized with the assistance of the DECR Russia Round Table.

The Seminar was attended by psychologists of the psychological and pedagogical centers in Ufa, clergy and social workers of the Metropolia of Bashkortostan. It enabled participants to look into the problem of chemical dependency and codependency not only from the religious point of view but also from the perspective of classical narcology and psychology.

From materials on www.eparhia-salavat.ru

Seminar on professional communication

A training seminar on 'Professional communication: How to ask right questions to achieve right changes' took place at the Satoris center of psychological-pedagogical, medical and social aid in Ufa.

The leader of the seminar S. Borzov, a trainer, program director of the Taganka Children's Foundation, Moscow, spoke about professional communication, various professional and personal attitudes and the values of social work. He introduced the attendees to the nature of customers' resistance and peculiarities of work with resistance.

Specialists were engaged in practical exercises for interviewing the family, analyzed difficult cases and polished professional communication skills. They were taught to ask right questions at the right time and to give right answers to wrong questions. The seminar was conducted in cooperation with the DECR Russia Round Table.

From A. Chuprakov's materials on satoris.ru and materials on opekaufa.ru

Methodological conference

The 2nd Methodological Conference took place at the Holy Royal Passion-bearers Orthodox Schools in the city of Zarechnyi, Sverdlovsk region, with the participation of pedagogues of the School of the Strong Family project. The teachers shared the interim results of classes conducted under the Living Water, Ladya and Moral Basis of Family Life programs implemented in the schools. As a whole, although the classes were met with a positive response from the pupils and provoked great interests, there are still some difficulties in the work with children. In an interactive form, the teachers defined basic problems and questions to which they would like to have answers. To solve these problems, a training will be organized for teachers in January concerning effective forms of the work with groups.

From materials on http://царьшкола.рф