Clinical Pastoral Education & Training
Clinical Pastoral Education & Training (CPE/T) was conceived over 80 years ago as a method of learning pastoral practice in a clinical setting under the supervision of a seasoned clinical chaplain. Anton Boison, the father of CPE/T, integrated the case-study method of theological inquiry into this professional training process. Boison termed this unique learning opportunity the study of “living human documents.”
Since the 1920s CPE/T has developed and enhanced its methodology by close interaction with experts in the fields of medicine, nursing, psychology, the behavioral sciences, as well as theology. Persons now join CPE/T programs as part of their theological education, for continuing education in ministry, for training in pastoral counseling, or for training leading to board certification in clinical chaplaincy. Theological schools may give academic credit for work successfully completed in a CPE/T program, and students from regional theological seminaries, including Princeton Theological Seminary, New Brunswick Theological Seminary, Lutheran Theological Seminary of Philadelphia, and Palmer Theological Seminary have accomplished their pastoral training work at RWJ Hamilton.
Accreditation by the College of Pastoral Supervision & Psychotherapy
Since 1990 the College of Pastoral Supervision & Psychotherapy (CPSP) has accredited CPE/T programs offered by diplomates in pastoral supervision certified by CPSP. CPSP is unique among professional pastoral accrediting and certifying organizations in basing its work in a covenant of collegial support that is based in small local chapters of pastoral professionals. Respect for the intern chaplain’s personal growth, professional development, and integration of the head and the heart is central to the CPSP mission. For more information about CPSP please visit www.cpsp.org.
The RWJ Hamilton CPE/T program is run under the supervision of the Princeton Chapter of CPSP. It received its full accreditation by CPSP in September, 2012.
The CPE/T Experience at RWJ Hamilton
Along with attention to the development and refinement of pastoral skills and identity through an action-reflection adult learning model, intern chaplains will be immersed in exploring issues related to end-of-life care, palliative care, bio-ethics, medical crises, and other health-care related topics within the context of an academically affiliated community hospital.
A unit of CPE/T involves a minimum of 300 hours of clinical chaplaincy experience and 100 hours of seminar learning. The RWJ Hamilton CPE/T center offers two training programs annually: a summer intensive unit runs from early June through mid-August; the academic-year part-time program begins in late September and is completed in mid-May. Seminar sessions for both programs are held at RWJ Hamilton’s main campus in Hamilton, NJ. Scheduling of clinical patient care and periodic on-call responsibilities (evenings & weekends) will be negotiated individually with each intern chaplain.
Chaplain intern applicants must be spiritually and emotionally mature, and show an ability and desire to work within an interfaith / interdisciplinary team. Each chaplain intern must enter the program with reliable transportation and should reside within a 30 minute commute of the hospital so that on-call responsibilities may be handled adequately. Chaplain interns are processed as RWJ Hamilton volunteers, thus completion of volunteer orientation and medical screenings are required.
The CPE/T Supervisor
The CPE/T program at RWJ Hamilton is directed by Chaplain Ted Taylor, a diplomate in pastoral supervision through CPSP since 2010. His religious background as a Quaker, as well as his experience in bioethics and palliative care, offer chaplain interns in the RWJ Hamilton program a unique learning opportunity.
To receive more information about the CPE/T program at RWJ Hamilton please contact Chaplain Taylor at 609.631.6980 or ttaylor@rwjuhh.edu.
