Intercultural Communication Concepts in Clinical Pastoral Education: The Intercultural Experience of Muslim Students

This essay argues that inclusivity and multicultural-theological representation in CPE is its most valuable component. We will explore Muslim students’ interaction, communication, and other processes, including conceptual analysis during their CPE training. Furthermore, gaps in the CPE curriculum will be addressed.

Blessings and Cursings: The Liberating Gift of Profanity in Clinical Pastoral Education

Profanity, derived from the Latin for “not sacred,” has long been seen as antithetical to spirituality. Social norms around organized religion, respectability, race, gender, etc. compound this perception. In this article, I examine how the use of profanity in Clinical Pastoral Education can help students experience personal, social, and physical freedom. Association of Clinical Pastoral Education outcomes, demographic data, and a student experience provide support for this assertion.

What’s the Point of Clinical Pastoral Education and Pastoral Counselling Education? Political, Developmental, and Professional Considerations

Further clarity is needed regarding the uniqueness of spiritual care and psycho-spiritual therapy. In this article, this uniqueness is described as the relative spiritual health of spiritual health professionals. Drawing upon political philosophy, spiritual development theories, and studies in spiritual health, three traits of spiritual health are revealed that spiritual health professionals need to function effectively in their work environments. The article ends with four recommendations for both clinical pastoral education and pastoral counselling education.

Training Healthcare Chaplains: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

This article invites theological school educators, clinical pastoral education educators, representatives of the professional healthcare chaplaincy organizations, and social scientists to begin a shared conversation about chaplaincy education. To date, we find that theological educators, clinical educators, professional chaplains, and the healthcare organizations where they work are not operating from or educating toward a common understanding of what makes healthcare chaplains effective. Before we identify five key questions that might help us be in shared conversation and move towards educating the most effective chaplains, we briefly describe the history of education for healthcare chaplaincy. We then describe what we learned in interviews in 2018 with 21 theological and 19 clinical educators who are educating healthcare chaplains in theological schools and clinical pastoral education residency programs, year-long educational programs in hospitals and other settings that focus on preparing people for staff chaplain jobs. Their different approaches and frames inform the five questions with which we conclude.

Significant Change in the North American Spiritual Care Education and Psychotherapy Movement

ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care and Education (previously Association for Clinical Pastoral Education) has received the membership of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors (AAPC) into an integrated organization. This integration may mark the beginning of an organizational trend.