CPSP, NAJC & ACPE Working Together in Israel

More than five years ago, the Executive Director of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains, Cecille Asekoff had a dream of starting CPE in Israel. Rabbi Zahara Davidowitz has fulfilled that dream by supervising CPE for the past four summers through the Schechter Seminary in Jerusalem. Zahara is a Diplomate of CPSP in the New York/New Jersey Chapter.
Photo- John deVelder with Devorah Corn of Tishkofet (Life's Door) one of 20 organizations at the Conference, Cecille Asekof, Executive Director of NAJC and Teresa Snorton, Executive Director of ACPE

Since Zahara began the first CPE programs in 2006 interest in CPE and professional chaplaincy is growing in Israel. This May, the NAJC invited a delegation of about fifteen ACPE and CPSP leaders to attend the Fourth National Conference on spiritual care in Jerusalem.

Read the rest of this article on the Pastoral Report the online Journal of the College of Pastoral Supervision & Psychotherapy.

Edwin Friedman Thinking Systems

What I want to do this morning is talk about how congregations function like families. I am going to do it from a variety of points of view. I’m going to begin with a fable. This one is called "Burnout" and it’s about a fish tank with a scavenger fish in it, you know a scavenger fish is supposed to keep the fish tank clean. I’m trying to be as realistic about it in my use of language as possible so I hope that you will appreciate that. Once upon a time there was a scavenger fish that lost its taste for shit. (I don’t think I have to read the rest of the fable. You all got the message already!) It was your normal, garden-variety scavenger and had never previously shown any signs of being different from the other members of its species. It lived in a normal-sized tank with the members of several schools and, from the very beginning of its association with this ecosystem, seemed always to be in perfect harmony with the environment. It never got in the way of the others and th...

The Wounded Healer Too Wounded To Heal

“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...

Asbury Theological Seminary: How to Receive Credit for CPE Training

CLINICAL PASTORAL EDUCATION Asbury Theological Seminary Find a certified ACPE (Association for Clinical Pastoral Education) or CPSP (College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy) training site. ACPE website has a list of certified training sites by states . CPSP website has a list of certified training sites . (NOTE: Your denominational body usually defines which of the above training programs they prefer.) See ACPE or CPSP webpage for more information on each respective program. Apply directly to the ACPE or CPSP sites you are interested in training. Both ACPE and CPSP website have application forms you can access. Your training site may also provide you with the application as well. ACPE and CPSP training sites may require you to pay a tuition fee to train with them. You are responsible for paying for your CPE training. The seminary will reimburse you up to ...

Clinical Pastoral Education

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