Clinical Pastoral Education

Many meetings and conferences fail because they follow an agenda which places the conference speaker at the heart of the event and the attendee as observer. The structure of the CPSP plenary stands in sharp contrast to the linear model of many conferences which place an exclusive emphasis on an individual speaker. We avoid this in CPSP by placing the emphasis on the small group process in which the plenary presenters take part in the consultative process of the small group experience. CPSP is unique in our field in how we structure our gathering in a way that wisdom is shared, consultation is sought and community is fostered in terms of accountability.

College of Pastoral Supervision & Psychotherapy TASK FORCE FOR THE FUTURE REPORT: Delivered at the 2009 CPSP Plenary By Luise Weinrich The late writer David Foster Wallace, a man of great soul who I believe would have loved a community like CPSP , told this story at Kenyon College's commencement: in 2005: There are these two young fish swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says "Morning, boys. How's the water?" And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and says "What is water?" (David Foster Wallace, Kenyon College commencement address, 2005). For over a year now, the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy's Task Force for the Future has been at work, talking with our members about your vision for CPSP . We've been seeking your views about where we are, and where we're headed in the future, finding out what the water...

The Association of Professional Chaplains recently informed its membership that the organization is experiencing “significant financial challenges.” The APC president, Sue Wintz, related in a letter to the APC membership that the association has made some $80,000 cuts to its budget. The president’s letter requested that APC members consider making a donation of at least $25, 00 to help off set any additional cuts which might have to be made to the organization’s budget. APC Board Certified Chaplains pay annual dues of $265.00 representing some of the highest fees in the profession.

CPSP Plenary 2009 “Tavistock” is the label commonly given to a particular type of group seminar that follows the tradition of Wilfred Bion and his colleagues who were geographically based in a section of London called Tavistock. The basic premise of the Tavistock approach to group work is that ownership of the group belongs to the membership, and that the consultant(s) will take a posture “outside the group” and will make consultative contributions to the group as a whole, not to particular individuals. A consultant in the Tavistock model does not take a leadership role in the specific work of a Tavistock group, but does provide consultation as well as protecting the boundaries of the group with regard to time and space. A Tavistock group relations seminar has the character of a laboratory in that a specific time and place is set apart to do a specific kind of disciplined task. The traditional Tavistock group (so-called) is the closest thing to a sacrament that the Plenary has---an act...

CPSP CPE/PPS CENTERS LISTING UPDATED 11/08 ARKANSAS AR – Little Rock (CPE)  George Hankins-Hull,  M.Div     University Arkansas fo Medical Sciences Medical Center  Little Rock,  AR (501) 686-6888  AR – Springdale (CPE)  C. J. Malone,  M.Div     Northwest Health System  Springdale,  AR72764  (479) 957-8782  CALIFORNIA CA - Long Beach (CPE)  Karyn Reddick,  M.Div     Long Beach Memorial Medical Center / Miller Children's Hospital  Long Beach,  CA90806  (562) 933-1452  COLORADO CO – Lakewood (CPE)  Foy Richey,  M.Div     Rocky Mountain Center for Education and Training  Lakewood,  CO 80235  (303) 797-8255  DELWARE DE – Wilmington (CPE) Bryan Bass-Riley Nemours-Alfred I duPont Hospital for Children 1600 Rockland Road Wilmington, DE 19803 (302) 651-5063 MASSACHUSETTES MA – Boston (CPE/PPS)  William E. Alberts,  Ph.D.,   Boston Medical Center  Boston,  MA 02118  (617) 638-6850  MARYLAND MD – Easton (CPE/PPS)  Benjamin P. Bogia,  Ph.D.     Shore Health System of Maryla...

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 at UAMS Medical Center Little Rock, Arkansas.