Clinical Pastoral Education

Raymond Lawrence, CPSP General Secretary In July the CPSP leadership received a communication from Robin C. Brown-Haithco, President of ACPE and Deryck Durston, Interim Executive Director. They wrote to inform us of an action by the ACPE Board of Representatives taken on July 11, 2012, suggesting that the two organizations return to the negotiating table. The letter further indicated that ACPE is willing to engage in new dialogue with the goal of resolving our current differences. We welcome this overture and consider it a promising development. It has been the CPSP intention at all times to remain in dialogue with ACPE and to deal directly with our most pressing issues. Brian Childs Chair, CPSP Mediation Team  The CPSP Executive Committee has reviewed the ACPE acknowledgement of our impasse and invitation to return to negotiations, and we welcome the opportunity to return to the negotiating table and seek more effective ways to facilitate both organizations’ commitm...

College of Pastoral Supervision & Psychotherapy Annual Meeting 2012 Part 1 from Leonard Chamblee on Vimeo . CPSP committed to providing free educational resources to the pastoral care and clinical pastoral training movement. This is a free CPSP Podcast: Communication Near The End OF Life Kimberly Garner, M.D., J.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.F.P. Dr. Kimberly Garner is a staff physician at the Department of Veterans Affairs at the Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. She is also an assistant professor of Geriatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Dr. Garner is the medical director of the Geriatric Evaluation and Management Unit at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System which is a specialized intermediate unit which provides an interdisciplinary team approach in an inpatient setting. Dr. Garner received a juris doctorate degree from the University of Arkansas School of Law and a master’s of public health fro...

CPSP continues to be in conversation with the ACPE as both sides continue to work together to implement the Joint Mediation agreement reached on November 30th, 2010. The mediation agreement stipulates that each organization will refrain from misrepresentations or disparagements of the other. The CPSP Mediation Committee consists of Perry Miller, George Hull, Jim Gebhart, and Raymond Lawrence. Jim Gebhart was appointed chair of a mediation team to meet on a continuing basis with its ACPE counterparts in an effort to implement the Mediation Agreement. Annari Griesel and John deVelder are members of that team. The implementation team has been in dialogue with its ACPE correspondents during the past several months. They have processed six complaints about violations of the agreement by ACPE persons. The complaints have been processed or are in process currently. There have been no identified complaints about CPSP behavior. We urge all members of the CPSP community to continue to abid...

Dr. Raymond Lawrence with Rev. Aguirre and the CPE supervisory team at Bukal Life Care & Counseling Center In April and May of 2011 Dr. Raymond Lawrence, General Secretary of the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy, and CPSP Diplomate and chair of the Accreditation Committee Dr. Cesar G. Espineda visited the Philippines to provide training and assessment for the clinical pastoral training being done. On April 20, 2011, in a ceremony in Asin, Benguet, Philippines, Dr. Raymond Lawrence formally inaugurated the first CPSP Philippine Chapter, Baguio City. At the same event, Bukal Life Care & Counseling Center and the Philippine Baptist Theological Seminary were designated as training centers of the CPSP in the Philippines. Dr. Ryan Clark, professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling at the Seminary, and Ms. Celia Munson, the training coordinator for Bukal, represented these institutions at the event. This new Chapter, the second Chapter in Asia after Hong Kong, is the cu...

Representatives from the ACPE and CPSP met in Philadelphia on November 30, in an attempt to mediate their twenty-one year conflict. They used the services of JAMS, and in particular, retired federal court judge Diane Welsh who served as mediator. The results of this mediation exceeded our expectations, as you can see in the joint statement below. I want to thank the members of our delegation and to praise them for their wisdom and conciliatory posture. Our team consisted of Jim Gebhart and George Hankins-Hull who with me were mediators, as well as Perry Miller and Charles R. Hicks, our attorney, were also present and participated in the decision. (Our original six-person team of mediators and consultants was reduced to five with the death of John Edgerton.) On the ACPE side were Teresa Snorton, Sally Schwab, and Tim Thorstenson. If we succeed in living up to this agreement we will have marked a sea change in the clinical pastoral community. This will mean that ACPE and CPSP will conti...

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.

It was to be my first conference with my new found colleagues and mentors. I was shifting into a new role and looked forward to being with same minded people who truly believed in the integrity and grace of the human spirit. Though anticipation was undeniable, I consciously shifted into my Buddhist self so as to be comfortable in the place of “not knowing”. To read more visit the Pastoral Report the online journal of the College Of Pastoral Supervision & Psychotherapy: Pastoral Report CPSP Diversity and Opportunity as a Living Experience

The CPE program focuses on the development of self-awareness, formation of pastoral identity, professional functioning, and the ability to address issues from a competent clinical and pastoral perspective. The residency program is designed for the ordained person with a seminary degree and at least one unit of Clinical Pastoral Education. On occasion, a lay person may qualify for admission. CPE residents and interns serve as ecumenical chaplains, under supervision, to assigned areas throughout the UAMS Medical Center and clinics. The setting provides a rich base for clinical experience and opportunities for continued personal, professional and pastoral development. The UAMS Clinical Pastoral Training programs follow the standards set by the College of Pastoral Supervision & Psychotherapy (CPSP), the accrediting organization. A typical unit of CPE requires a minimum of 400 hours of supervised ministry in a clinical setting. Stipend: 25,000 plus medical benefits: This training opport...

The Rev. Francine Angel was installed as the Eighth President of the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy at the 2008 CPSP Plenary held in Little Rock, AR this April. She is an honor graduate of Morehouse School of Religion at the Interdenominational Theological Center, 1996. She received her M.Div in Psychology of Religion and Pastoral Care. In 1995 she was listed on the National Dean List and in Who’s Who among Students in American Colleges and Universities. In addition to her academic accomplishment, she spent years being clinically trained that culminated in significant accomplishments in the clinical pastoral field: Board Certified Chaplain, Board Certified Pastoral Counselor and Clinical Pastoral Education Supervisor. For many years she has been the creative force as the Coordinator of the National Clinical Seminar (NCTS) for the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy. This seminar is scheduled twice a year (Spring and Fall). NCTS is geared toward offering...