Clinical Pastoral Education
What is CPE? The Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program enables ministers, seminarians, and other religiously oriented individuals to develop counseling skills, familiarity with a specific pastoral setting (typically within a hospital, hospice, retirement home, etc.), and self-awareness as pastoral caregivers. In this context, attention is given to enhancing the dignity of patients, family members, parishioners, staff, and CPE students.
The educational approach can be described as "action-reflection-action," where students provide pastoral care in assigned areas, using their experiences for reflection and learning.
While seminary courses often provide an academic foundation for pastoral care theology, CPE emphasizes learning through practical experience. Seminary field education experience does not offer the same level of intensity of direct supervision, peer interaction, or accountability for one's professional functioning as CPE.
Objectives of CPE: The objectives of CPE are the development of Objectives of CPE: The goals of CPE include developing personal and pastoral identities and enhancing professional skills as a minister or chaplain. Specific objectives include personal and pastoral identity, as well as the growth of professional competencies as a minister or chaplain. Specific objectives are:
To become aware of oneself as a minister and of the ways one's ministry affects people.
To become a competent pastor of people and groups in various life situations and crisis circumstances, and to develop the maturity to provide intensive and extensive pastoral care and counseling.
To utilize the clinical method of learning
To utilize the support, confrontation, and clarification of the peer group for the integration of personal attributes and pastoral functioning.
To become competent in self-evaluation and in utilizing supervision and consultation to evaluate one's pastoral practice.
To develop the ability to make optimum use of one's religious heritage, theological understanding, and knowledge of behavioral science in pastoral ministry to persons and groups.
To acquire self-knowledge to a degree that permits pastoral care to be offered within the strengths and limitations of one's person.
To develop the ability to work as a pastoral member of an interdisciplinary team.
To develop the capacity to utilize one's pastoral perspective and competence in a variety of functions, such as preaching, teaching, and administration, as well as pastoral care and counseling.
To become aware of how one's attitudes, values, and assumptions affect one's ministry.
To understand the theological issues arising from experience, and to utilize theology and behavioral science to understand the human condition.
