Clinical Pastoral Education

THE EFFECTS OF WAR ON PASTORAL CARE & COUNSELING by John DeVelder Chaplain Lieutenant Colonel Joanne Martindale was the keynote speaker at the COMISS* Network Forum on Sunday, December 2, 2006 in Arlington, Va. Joanne, in civilian life, is the Director of Pastoral Care at Ancora State Psychiatric Hospital in New Jersey. She supervises a staff of thirteen Chaplains. She has been active in the National Guard and has been called up for service in Iraq twice since the war began. She has been home from her last tour of duty for almost a year. While in Iraq Joanne was stationed in an installation near Tekrit, North of Baghdad. LTC Martindale was one of six out of 800 soldiers in her camp to receive the Bronze Star for exceptional service. LTC Martindale was asked to speak on the topic of The Effects of War on Pastoral Care and Counseling. Joanne began her story by talking about the effect of war on herself and family. Joanne and her husband Bob Cholke are raising two boys, ages ele...

The Association for Clinical Pastoral Education seeking Re-Recognition by the Department Of Education counseled to cease & desist a practice which "has frequently created problems and put students at risk" Department of Education evaluator, Ms. Jones, who recently attended meetings with the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education directs ACPE to end a practice which "has frequently created problems and put students at risk." The issue, as outlined in the December 2006 edition of the ACPE North Central Region News, is as follows: There have been many occasions when ACPE supervisors, despite having clear guidelines in the Accreditation Manual and duly designated colleagues with whom to consult about accreditation processes, have initiated units in satellite or component sites that have not been assessed and approved by those charged with that task. Colleagues on accreditation committees have felt themselves held hostage there after by appeal to students' w...

There remains considerable confusion concerning which Clinical Pastoral Education training programs qualify to receive Medicare Payments. The leadership of the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education has not acted in a responsible manner to clear up the misunderstanding; promoted by ACPE leaders; that only ACPE accredited Doe recognized programs qualify for such payments. Clinical Pastoral Education training programs accredited by The College of Pastoral Supervision & Psychotherapy also qualify for such payments. Medicare officials do not support the ACPE only claim. We quote a response provided from the Medicare office: “The regulations cite the ACPE as an example of a national professional organization that would be sufficient as the accrediting body. However, the regulation at section 413.85(e) also specifically state that the accrediting bodies are “not limited to” the cited organizations. While programs that are accredited by the ACPE meet CMS definition of an Approved Nur...

“The painful irony is that the minister, who wants to touch the center of men’s lives, finds himself on the periphery; often pleading in vain for admission….He never seems to be where the action is.” I wonder if this says more about Henri Nouwen than it does about the minister’s involvement in critical and crisis situations.“ George L. Buck Ph.D. The minister, the story tells us, is sitting among the poor, binding his/her wounds one at a time, waiting for the moment when he/she will be needed. The minister is called to be the wounded healer, the one who must look after his/her wounds and at the same time be prepared to heal the wounds of others.” --- Henri Nouwen. In his article titled “Wounded Healers”, Thomas Maeder quotes a child of psychiatrists (both parents): “I Think my parents were crazy, I think that, somehow, being psychiatrists kept them in line. They used it as a protection. They’re both quite crazy, but their jobs give them really good cover.” It is no secret that the so...

THE CPE HISTORY IS REPEATING ITSELF by L. George Buck As one who has been involved in pastoral training and education for over forty years (certified as a “Chaplain Supervisor” by the Council for Clinical in 1964), I have experienced a good deal of change in the pastoral education movement. It now seems that history is repeating itself. The present friction between CPSP and ACPE is not unlike that of the Council for Clinical Training and the Institute of Pastoral Care. The Council folk looked at the Institute folk as a bunch academic heads who overlooked the psycho-dynamic approach to “CPT”. One of my first supervisors, Tom Klink, once stated that the Institute super-visors needed to get acquainted with Sigmund Freud. On the other side of the fence, the Institute super-visors saw the Council supervisors as a bunch of feelers who refused to think. This war of words, so to speak, went on for several years. In the mid-sixties, I supervised CPT students in up-state New York. When the New Y...

CPSP is an organization of Volunteers. We have no paid staff, we own no buildings and covenant to travel light. Because we travel light we have the lowest fees structure of any of the pastoral care training and certifying organizations in the US. At the heart of the CPSP community is a covenant of mutual accountability grounded in the concept that people are more important than institutions. Believing that life is best lived by grace, the CPSP community places a premium on the significance of relationships between its members. What other organizations attempt to legislate for by standards CPSP is by nature, a community of professional accountability. The CPSP advantage is that people come first. From The CPSP Covenant: A Living Experience "We intend to travel light, to own no property, to accumulate no wealth, and to create no bureaucracy. We are invested in offering a living experience that reflects human life and faith within a milieu of supportive and challenging community of f...

For nearly a decade the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) has erroneously promoted itself as the only legitimate provider of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) and, therefore, the only provider of CPE to qualify for Medicare Pass-through payments. Statements to this fact have been made by Lerrill White an ACPE supervisor and former ACPE President Bill Baugh. In addition former ACPE President James Stapleford further complicated the issue with the misleading comments that recognition by the Department of Education was a necessary qualifier to receiving such payments. The comments by these well known ACPE leaders carry authority and are misleading both to the ACPE membership and to the public at large. It is regrettable then that the ACPE Board of Representatives has failed to take any corrective action to publicly correct the erroneous comments made by some of the organizations most prominent members. One might conclude that the ACPE membership is not well served by its ...

The College of Pastoral Supervision & Psychotherapy is unique among the national pastoral care training, certifying and accrediting agencies in that CPSP is a covenanting community. At the heart of the CPSP community is a covenant of mutual accountability grounded in the concept that people are more important than institutions. Believing that life is best lived by grace, the CPSP community places a premium on the significance of relationships between its members. What other organizations attempt to legislate for by standards CPSP is by nature, a community of professional accountability. The CPSP advantage is that people come first. The Covenant of the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy Spiritual pilgrims We, the CPSP members see ourselves as spiritual pilgrims seeking a truly collegial professional community. Our calling and commitments are, therefore, first and last theological. We covenant to address one another and to be addressed by one another in a profound the...

David Fleenor has created an online discussion forum for Clinical Pastoral Education Supervisors-in-Training. The forum provides an opportunity to discuss all issues related to the process of becoming a CPE Supervisor. David suggests the forum will a venue to discuss issues of training, theory papers, committee meetings, theology, disappointments, and celebrations. The forum is limited to current supervisors in training and those that have been out of training for up to two years whether or not their training resulted in certification. The forum is open to members of the College of Pastoral Supervision & Psychotherapy as well as those in the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education. For more information about the forum visit the link which follows: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CPESITS/ You may also contact David Fleenor at: The Rev. David W. Fleenor 1 East 29th Street New York, NY 10016 By Telephone: 646.942.0623

August 18, 2006 AN OPEN LETTER TO THE LEADERSHIP OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR CLINICAL PASTORAL EDUCATION (ACPE) The ACPE has lately been taking the low road in its competition with CPSP. Its information and announcements have been marked by faulty claims and aggression. I urge the leadership to consider taking the high road of competitiveness supported by a gracious collegiality. The larger community needs a healthy, decent ACPE that travels the high road. We in CPSP especially need for the ACPE to travel that road. We share a crucially important common task. There is plenty of work for both communities. Besides that, ten, twenty, fifty, or a hundred years from now, when small-minded persons take over the leadership in the CPSP, some of us might ourselves seek another, kinder community, one that fosters justice truth, and a generosity of spirit. Raymond J. Lawrence General Secretary College of Pastoral Supervision & Psychotherapy

In order to qualify for VA Chaplaincy, an individual must have completed 2 units of Clinical Pastoral Education, or demonstrate equivalent training. Units of CPE completed and certified by the College of Pastoral Supervision & Psychotherapy, National Association of Catholic Chaplains and The Association of Clinical Pastoral Education count toward this requirement. Equivalent training is not less than 800 hours of supervised ministry in a health care setting, such as a hospital or nursing home, which incorporated both ministry formation and pastoral care skills development To be considered equivalent to CPE, training must include the following components: 1. It must be a formal educational program, with curriculum, theological reflection, and evaluation components, which includes a component of performing health care ministry. 2. The program must include 400 hours of supervised education, training and ministry for equivalency to one unit of CPE. 3. The educational supervisor(s), pre...

George Hankins -Hull, Dip. Th., Th.M., is the Director of Pastoral Care and Clinical Pastoral Education at UAMS Medical Center. He is a Diplomate in The College of Pastoral Supervision & Psychotherapy and a Board Certified Clinical Chaplain George Buck , Ph.D., is a Diplomate in The College of Pastoral Supervision & Psychotherapy and is dually certified as a Pastoral Psychotherapist and as a CPE Supervisor. Chaplain Buck supervises the Part-Time and Extended Units of CPE. For further information about the Clinical Pastoral Education training programs at UAMS Medical Center Contact George Hankins Hull ghull@uams.edu

CLINICAL PASTORAL EDUCATION TRAINING AT UAMS The CPE program at UAMS Medical Center has a history that extends over twenty years. Chaplain interns and residents serve as hospital chaplains providing pastoral care and counseling to inpatients, families and hospital staff. Each chaplain in training is assigned to a number of floors and units, providing an opportunity for the trainee to experience the full range of care settings in a modern medical facility. The trainees are required to provide 24 hours on call coverage for the Medical Center. In addition, each trainee is required to present case studies, attend didactic seminars, provide written reflections upon reading reviews, meet with their supervisor for individual supervision sessions, conduct a weekly ecumenical worship service and take part in group relations seminars. The UAMS Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program consists of a three components: CPE Residency Program—one year September through August, Full-Time Summer Progra...

I want to call attention to our name, to look at it still another time for perhaps a deeper meaning. This is a question of our identity. One of the earliest challenges you had in your clinical training was in response to that question “Who are you?” It became a maddening question asked by that supervisor, that committee, that fellow student. But we had to return to it again and again. And so I ask you still again. Our name: The College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy. Much is imbedded in those words. Today there is only time to focus on the first two words: College and Pastoral. Perhaps next year we might address the last two words regarding the science and art of pastoral practice. We will see. But first, this word College. Our founders were very wise to have chosen this name. Or perhaps divinely inspired, which is a bit of a stretch knowing them as we do today. Perhaps both. But is the right name at the right time and the right place. The College. You might pause and notice...

The College of Pastoral Supervision & Psychotherapy promotes competency through an ongoing process of peer review which is a central aspect of our covenant relationship and Chapter life. CPSP is unique among the national pastoral training and certifying organizations. Credential’s held by CPSP members are renewed annually and contingent upon satisfactory participation in Chapter life and the Chapter's recomendation for renewal. CPSP understands its task to be first and foremost theological and that ongoing peer review is centered in the CPSP covenant. Within Chapter life, CPSP members covenant together to being held mutually responsible to one another for their ongoing personal/professional development and direction. Peer review for the majority of our professional colleagues is something that occurs every five years in contrast to CPSP members for whom it is an ongoing feature of Chapter life. In this way CPSP has set the industry standard for a peer review process which is th...