Konrad Noronha SJ, PHD, MS, MTH, BHMS

Integrating counseling delivery mechanisms in diverse populations across the life-span

Multicultural characteristics and pluralistic trends must be understood by counselors when working among diverse clients. Components like age, disability religion, gender, sexuality, lifestyle, ethnicity, historical contexts and culture comprise elements of diversity that should be considered by counselors at the intake.  

At the very first contact the counselor should be mindful of beliefs and attitudes,...

Ten lessons I've learned from living in Baltimore

Communication and dialogue: I find that communication is an important part of maintaining relationships with friends, family, community members, university officials and superiors. A healthy dialogue is necessary to keep channels open, especially in a different culture. It makes me more confident as I know that I can represent myself.

 It is important to have friends in the Society and community for me, as Jesuit culture is different fro...

Electronically yours,

We are connected. Just walking down the street we see people with one, two, maybe three cellphones/smartphones, talking away. The first may be for work, the second for personal use and the third just for style. Then there are the tablets, the laptops, the tabs, and desktops. We hear language like, “is that place wired?” “are you on Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, Tumblr, a listserve,” and “do you tweet, talk, text, blog, post, chat, skype?” We hear combinatio...

E (everlasting) - life? I (my) - life?

Walking the streets of Baltimore, Maryland, I noticed in July products for Halloween on display; Halloween is usually celebrated in October. In early September I began to hear some jingles in advertisements that had a hint of Christmas music, and it was not even thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is usually celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in America. We live in a world that allows for the creation and fast exchange of user generated content. Media...

I have finished the penultimate class of the masters program in Ignatian Spirituality. It has been really great so far, with the depth of sharing, and insights of the participants and of course, the great guides. I look foward to the last one next month, and then putting into practise all that I have learnt. I also wish the others in the group and the Jesuit Collaborative, the best of luck for their future programs.

Working over the weekend on my writing, I noticed from my interviewees, the importance of family life , in the context of developing  God images. Acquisition of language, through studies and reading, enable a better articulation of who God is to the person, what God means to the person and how God acts in the person's life. There is certainly a development and a maturity seen in God images as one grows older.

The last  two days I was at the Mid-Atlantic regional conference of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors. It was very informative, as the topics were very relevant. The keynote speaker Dr. Miller, from the University of Kentucky, spoke on telehealth, which is relevant today for all caring professionals. The legal implications of telehealth was taken up by the second speaker was enlightening, as it made clear to us all that we need to check with the state  where our patients are, if...