2018 Directors Orientation Pack

CORAM DEO
OASIS OF HOPE

Introduction
Coram Deo is formally Coram Deo Pastoral Centre (NPC)
(Reg. No. 2003/007191/08). Our aim is to offer hope, a centre
which promotes the healing of relationships, families, and
different kinds communities both near and far.
At Coram Deo our clients are treated in a respectful manner in a
narrative pastoral environment. Coram Deo serves all people
irrespective of race, language preference, sexual orientation or
faith. In this way we take part in the larger aim of mending the
broken towards a healthy society wherein those marginalised by
power finds a voice and develops agency as human beings and
not human doings.
Intro1
Quality learning, passionate counselors

Vision
At Coram Deo we take each other's hands on the way to
horizons of hope.
Mission
We achieve our vision by means of
respectful pastoral narrative conversations
excellent training in pastoral narrative therapy and
being a professional organization
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Services
Being a helping practices and training academy our services
include:
Individual therapy
Coram Deo provides therapeutic services for
a) Everybody bullied by Depression
b) Adults and children suffering from emotional, sexual
and other forms of power abuse
c) People who have been the victims of trauma, e.g. after
hijackings, assault and rape.
d) Relationship problems, including marriage problems,
parent/teenager relationships
e) Young people and adults caught in the webs of
addiction problems (e.g. drugs, alcohol and
pornography)
f) Unemployment and its impact on individuals, families
and relationships generally.
g) Grief therapy where people have lost beloved ones to
death
Whatever the cause of your pain and distress may be, at Coram
Serv3
Deo we will walk alongside towards the restoration of hope!
Quality learning, passionate counselors

Child and teenage therapy
We have a special interest in a number of fields: Our child and
teenage therapy section serves to support children in all
situations of need. It not only focuses on trauma like abuse and
divorce, but also offers courses assisting the development of the
Chil
child's positive self image. This will equip the child emotionally
to confront all challenges of life.
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Support groups
We take hands with different support groups. Past and present
these include:
a) The stroke support group
b) Alcoholics Anonymous
c) Al-Anon are the support group for family members of AA
members
d) Cancer support
e) SAA
f) Simcha, and Outpatient Recovery Programme for people
who struggle with abuse and addiction
g) Huntingtons Support
h) Sex and love addicts anonymous
The centre is also home to Christian Social Services [CMR-Coram
Deo] and Hart Aksie as a ministry of the Dutch Reformed Church
Oosterlig, that focuses on material need.
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Outreach Programmes
Itsoteng
One of our standard programmes is at the Itsoteng Crisis Centre
on UP's Mamelodi Campus. The University of Pretoria's
Department of Psychology started a community outreach
Itsot
project at the UP's Mamelodi campus called Itsoseng. Itsoseng
is among other things a crisis centre for rape victims. In
partnership with the theology department at UP, Coram Deo
works towards addressing the overwhelming need in the area.
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Training
Coram Deo is fast becoming a landmark institution of excellence
in academic training of narrative pastoral counselors. We are
continually developing new courses to provide in the needs of
society. The following courses are offered:
Narrative Pastoral Therapy
Our two year training in pastoral narrative therapy is our flagship
training. It offers an advanced certificate accredited by the
University of Pretoria that also opens up further possibilities to
students. The course has been designed to offer students
practical exposure to the practice of pastoral counseling.
Students are equipped to provide hope and the possibility of
becoming whole again midst a variety of problem situations -
situations which may be characteristic of the Southern African
environment.
We currently have over a hundred students in training,
distributed across 2 year groups and at various place in the
country. More or less 8 magister and/or doctorate qualified
academics lecture at Coram Deo. Many students who proceed
to supervision level are for a time diligent volunteers from
society.
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Supervision
Our practitioner supervision programme is accredited by the
University of Pretoria. After completion of the two year
programme in Pastoral Narrative Therapy, students can proceed
to do a year of personal and practitioner development to further
refine their skills. Here they also act within an acceptable
volunteer framework which in turn helps Coram Deo to extend
our services to those who have very little means to contribute
financially.
Continued training
Our continued training consists of several short course ranging
from medical and psychological discourses, to the
organizational context, and focus areas not covered during the
initial two years of training. This is also one of the ways in which
we connect with our Alumni members.
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Boundless possibilities
There is a special entwined relationship between narrative
counselling and narrative training. Over many years we have
found that in a narrative approach every story is also an
opportunity for learning. Consequently as far as specifically
narrative counselling is concerned it is not desirable to separate
counselling from training.
While we cannot do counselling everywhere we are not bound
by geographic region and can help train pastoral narrative
counsellors in any region of the world with the aid of
technology. Informally and formally partnering with
stakeholders across the country we have students who form
learning communities or learning campuses.
Past and, or, present communities and campuses can be found in
the following regions:
· Constantia kruin, Dutch Reformed Church, West Rand
· Northfield Methodist Church/ Institution for Creative
Conversations, East Rand
· Durbanville Bergsig, Western Cape, Dutch Reformed
Church
· George, South Cape, NG Eden congregation
· Mosselbaai, South Cape, NG Eden congregation
· Lydenburg, Mphumalanga, Dutch Reformed Church
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Our academic discipline
Pastoral narrative therapy sees the joining of two areas, pastoral
counseling and narrative therapy. Narrative therapy is formally
now in its fourth decade of international development and is
particularly known for a psycho-social approach that frees
people from dominant rampant problem saturated stories in
their lives and thin conclusions about who they are in this world.
As a helping modality a narrative approach goes much further
than being therapy and is applicable to a range of contexts from
organisational work, to coaching, to facilitation, to education, to
psychology and more. For us a narrative approach is enriched by
certain traditions in theology and in particular the sub discipline
of pastoral care and counseling.
This leaves room for people to bring into conversation those
areas of their lives that many professions do not, would not, or
cannot deal with. Here we find we are having conversations
about what people regard as the ultimate meaning and
relationship in their lives. It could include spirituality, faith,
making sense of suffering and more although themes like these
might not always be explicit and neither is it forced. Whatever
the individual counselors perspective, as a discipline pastoral
narrative therapy does not have an overt dogmatic affiliation.
While we incorporate a multidisciplinary approach that include
psychology, social work, mediation practitioners and others it is
wonderful that the centre as specifically a pastoral centre is a
leading organisation among peers.
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Academic partnership
Two of our programmes are formally accredited by the
University of Pretoria. This link is established through the Faculty
of Theology, the discipline of Practical Theology (Pastoral Care
and Counseling), and particularly through their resident centre,
the Centre for Contextual Ministry. The division Enterprises at
Part
the University of Pretoria is the division that deals with all
commercial and continuing education possibilities of the
University of Pretoria. The division Enterprises is registered with
the Higher Council for Education. All faculties work through said
division for any programme presented to the public outside of
formal university departments. Our accreditation is therefore
specifically a partnership between us the Centre for Contextual
Ministry and University of Pretoria Enterprises.
The intellectual property rights lies with Coram Deo. But
through the pastoral narrative therapy programme students
receive an advanced certificate from the University of Pretoria
for doing the Coram Deo training. This opens up possibilities for
them to do a postgraduate diploma in theology that could then
lead to postgraduate studies in counseling up to PhD level.
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History
Coram Deo was the brainchild and passion of Dr. André Botha in
the late 1990's.
As a minister of the Dutch Reformed Church Pretoria Oosterlig,
Dr. André had a keen interested in Pastoral Narrative Care.
During 2000, Dr Botha was approached by ladies from his
congregation, asking to learn more about palliative care. The
combination of Pastoral Counseling and Narrative Therapy had
such an impact on the participants' lives that it laid the
foundation for the current Pastoral Narrative Therapy course.
In May 2003, Coram Deo's counseling and training centre
opened its doors to the general public.
In 2009, Coram Deo's Pastoral Narrative Therapy course was
accredited by the University of Pretoria's department of
practical theology, specifically at the centre for contextual
ministry and in conjunction with the Enterprises division of the
University of Pretoria as it deals with continued education. This
is the way in which our programme receives formal
acknowledgement by the Higher Council for Education in South
Africa.
Throughout the years various centre managers or leaders were
appointed:
· Up to 2003: André Botha
· 2003 – 2009: Ryna Grobbelaar
· 2009 – 2014: Francois Wessels
· 2014 – 2017: André Botha
· 2017 to present: Elmo Pienaar
This is a centre with heart and strives to be a true oasis of hope.
Since the start of the centre, Coram Deo has trained well over a
thousand counselors and made a difference in the lives of many
thousands more.
Histo
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Directors
The executive authority of Coram Deo as a non-profit company
vests with a board of directors.
Directors: AP Smith (Chairman), HE Pienaar (MD), E Bester, C
Dire
Beukman, M Kuscus, N Müller, C Janse Van Rensburg, F Wessels.
The board is constructed in such a way to reflect an appreciative
relationship with the Dutch Reformed Church Oosterlig.
However it also has to have fully independent persons with no
formal relationship to the church. Another aspect of importance
is that the board must comprise of people who understand the
heart of what Pastoral Narrative Therapy is about.
As a company Coram Deo is formally audited and subjects itself
to all the relevant rules and regulations that govern non-profit
companies and its founding articles and memorandum.
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Operations team
Day to day functional tasks are managed by a dedicated
operations team and extended personnel:
· the managing director (Dr Elmo Pienaar),
appointments for reception and general administration
(Linda Loots),
· marketing, advertising and communication
(Anneke Steyn),
· administrative / operations manager (Lizelle Faber)
· premises and maintenance (Charlie Mabitsela)
· general assistant (Rachel Sithole)
(The Dutch Reformed Church offers additional support in
terms of premises up keep and financial administration and
Coram Deo also appreciate being able to occupy the premises
that is owned by Oosterlig congregation).
Personnel
Apart from formally appointed personnel Coram Deo by way of
honorarium uses counsellors to support and develop what is
sees as its focus areas from time to time. These areas include
trauma counselling and teenage young adult coordinator /
developer and a child therapist and coordinator (currently
vacant).
We extend our services by offering a place where any approved
counsellor can take hands with us who share in our vision.
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Managing Director
Dr Elmo Pienaar is our current managing director / centre leader.
This position joins the board of directors with what happens on
an operational level. He studied theology with psychology as an
additional subject. After undergraduate studies he went on to
complete his PhD in Pastoral Family Therapy at the University of
Man
Pretoria. He spent 10 years in ministry as a reverend in the
corporate Dutch Reformed Congregation , Pierre van Ryneveld
where he focused on the arts, music, and human helping
practices. His PhD took and exploratory approach in finding the
intersections between a narrative approach and the arts in
different contexts in both faith communities and organisations.
From there he joined the Faculty of Theology under a prestigious
research fellowship in the department of Practical Theology
looking at leadership, spirituality, coaching and related helping
practices. Throughout he was involved in business development
ventures and private practice (coaching, counselling and
consulting). He sees Coram Deo as an ideal organisation where
many of his interests intersect.
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Share the vision
Any director on the board is passionate about the vision of
Coram Deo as it predominantly falls out in two categories
Pastoral Narrative Therapy and Training.
While directors could have specific roles on the board they are all
asked to help Coram Deo by connecting us with the right people
and organisations to advance our collective cause of mending
Shar
the broken and healing of society.
Coram Deo has a diverse skill set with the right credentials (NPC /
PBO) to make a valuable contribution to any organisation,
whether this lies with corporate social responsibility, awarding
article 18A certificates, or doing consultation in organisation
which may include an array of services from employee wellbeing
to coaching to working with organisational stories.
We also rely strongly on sponsorships to make counselling
services cost effective to those who are financially not in a
position to pay for professional services. Sponsorship therefore
relies on partnership and stewardship wherein a contribution is
made from the client, the financial sponsor, the counsellor, and
Coram Deo itself.
Apart from more significant sponsorship needed our basic
sponsorship mechanism is called '100 seeds of hope' whereby an
individual donates R100 per month towards helping Coram Deo
reach our vision. Other possibilities are available to corporates.
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Location and contact detail
Address: C/o Lea & Hugo Street, Waterkloof Glen,
Pretoria.
Telephone: 012 998 9083 / 012 998 323
Email:
Webiste:
Facebook:
Twitter:
info@coramdeo.co.za
coramdeo.co.za
https://www.facebook.com/CoramDeoConnect
https://twitter.com/coramdeosentrum
Loca
Instagram:
LinkedIn:
Bank Details
Account holder: Coram Deo
Bank: ABSA
https://instagram.com/coramdeocentre
Search Coram Deo under companies
Branch Code: 632005 (electronic) / 335-545 (Hatfield)
Account type: Cheque Account
Account number: : 406 725 8321
Company Registration Details
Coram Deo Pastoral Centre (NPC) (Reg. No. 2003/007191/08)
NPO number: 033-372-NPO
PBO number: 930003773
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