The College of Pastoral Supervision & Psychotherapy

The College of Pastoral Supervision & Psychotherapy

Committed to Continuing Accountability, Standards of Excellence, and Diversity of Opportunity

The College of Pastoral Supervision & Psychotherapy promotes competency and accountability 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 in that it is a covenant community. Within Chapter life, CPSP members covenant together to being held mutually responsible to one another for their ongoing professional development and direction. Credential’s held by CPSP members are renewed annually and contingent upon satisfactory participation in Chapter life and the Chapter's recommendation for renewal. CPSP understands its task to be first and foremost theological and that ongoing peer review is centered in the CPSP covenant. Believing that life is best lived by grace, the CPSP community places a premium on the significance of relationships between its members.

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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