ACPE Signs Reciprocity Agreement with Australia/New Zealand

In a world filled with so much conflict and polarization, one of the joys of this past year was the passing of a reciprocal agreement between the Australia and New Zealand Association for Clinical Pastoral Education Ltd (ANZACPE) and ACPE. We first met on May 3, 2021, with six supervisors/educators from Australia and New Zealand and three from ACPE’s International Relations Committee to test the waters of this possibility. Everyone expressed hope to move towards reciprocity and to build greater collegiality.

There were two main reasons for considering a Reciprocity Agreement:

1. CPE students who want their CPE unit to be recognised by ACPE/ANZACPE to engage in further study
2. Supervisors/Educators who may wish to have their certification (called accreditation in ANZACPE} recognised to supervise overseas

Some of the areas for further discussion included:

1. Grievance and complaints process
2. Curriculum – how competencies will be addressed within a CPE unit e.g. didactics.
3. Provision of a Student Handbook
4. Process for continuous improvement – feedback from students and adjustments as advisable.
5. Cultural responsiveness including implementing a value of ‘Welcome’ and creating an openness and trust for participation of people from all faiths and none
6. Level I/Level II CPE Outcomes and ANZACPE Basic/Advanced CPE Standards

Based on our mutual interest, a smaller group consisting of Heather Somerville and Cathy Brown from Australia and Ted Hodge and Lee Ann Rathbun from the ACPE International Committee were appointed to continue the conversation. Because of time differences, we scheduled meetings for US Sunday evening with Australians in their Monday morning. Throughout the process each person named their delight at working collegially with those from overseas. We appreciated our shared passion and vision for CPE and recognition of what each organization could offer the other. Discussing each other’s standards led to mutual desire to learn with and from each other. We in the ACPE found their requirement for educators to be in supervision while conducting a unit to be a higher standard, while they considered more continuous improvement and our grievance process.

After at least five meetings, the group drafted an agreement with ideas taken from ACPE’s agreement with the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care / Association canadienne de soins spirituels. In essence the units of CPE are equivalent and could be recognized by each other. Supervisory training is delineated in their standards and could lead to exchanges or cross training in the future. With the ACPE Board and ANZACPE membership approval of the agreement, the hope is for further conversation and sharing of ideas. Increased use of virtual media makes the possibilities for cooperation and learning so much greater now that we have this formalized agreement.