News
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From the Executive Director's DeskOct 16, 2020
We talked a lot about the incredible agility of our ACPE Certified Educators and students, their willingness to adapt decades of practice to the incredible constraints and safety measures of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have seen programs actually grow because of the addition of new online/hybrid options. We’ve seen new placement opportunities open up as restrictions have limited onsite experiential education in the virus’ hot spots. We’ve seen remarkable perseverance and resilience, all of which is to be commended.
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Certification Manual UpdatesOct 15, 2020
The Certification Commission is pleased to share the following updates/clarifications that have recently been added to the Certification Manual. If you have any questions related to these updates, please don’t hesitate to send us an email at certificationchair@acpe.edu.
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Doomscrolling or Hopequesting?Oct 12, 2020
The news these days is overwhelming. Pandemics, fires, elections – any one of these things could pose a substantial threat to our life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And together? Well, it’s all just so much. And yet, I find myself compelled to attend to the news cycle, as if I might be able to alter its course. Enter doomscrolling. Merriam Webster defines it as “tendency to continue to surf or scroll through bad news, even though that news is saddening, disheartening, or depressing.” Earliest usage of the word dates back to October 2018. Social media, especially Twitter, is the prime vehicle for doomscrolling. It turns out I’m not alone in this behavior.
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Call for ACPE Service Award NominationsOct 5, 2020
The Foundation for ACPE Service Awards Committee invites you to nominate yourself or a colleague for recognition of outstanding contributions or service to ACPE, the field(s) of spiritual care, pastoral counseling and/or psychotherapy. Who do you think deserves special recognition?
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Looking forward to being together again, but until then…Oct 5, 2020
I hope that you, your families, and your programs are being diligent in observing suggested practices for containing the spread of the coronavirus and COVID-19. This is an exceedingly exhausting and disheartening time in our history. Many of us are experiencing a deepening malaise as the pandemic persists, systemic racism continues, our country remains divided with an election in less than 30 days, while our responsibilities at work and home do not relent. This calls for perseverance that some days seems too much to ask, too difficult to muster, or too elusive to find.
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For your professional ethics edification in OctoberOct 2, 2020
Once a month the Professional Ethics Commission (PEC) posts a couple of statements from our Code of Professional Ethics for ACPE Members. Each posting is accompanied by a brief personal reflection from a member of the PEC discussing some ways this person lives these commitments*.
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Mission Advance Program (MAP) Fund for Innovative Pastoral Counseling/Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy ProjectsSep 29, 2020
The Foundation for ACPE announces that the2020 Mission Advance Program (MAP) Fund grants cycle is now open! Funded by disbursements from the MAP Endowment Fund as in accordance with the Foundation for ACPE’s financial policy, MAP funding supports ACPE Psychotherapist and Practitioner members in the fulfillment of ACPE’s mission. Specifically, these projects help to advance and raise awareness of Pastoral Counselling/Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy.
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The Foundation for ACPE Announces Funding Opportunities for ACPE Members!Sep 28, 2020
Read about the two funding opportunities
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I haven't talked about race for yearsSep 17, 2020
I haven't talked about race for years. I'm an African American Studies major, but I haven't talked about race for years. I was raised in an African American Baptist Church singing Negro spirituals and Kirk Franklin. But I haven't talked about race for years. My mother was born in raised in Louisiana in the 50s, and my father was born and raised in St Louis Missouri at the same time, but I haven't talked about race for years. I never ate pumpkin pie until college, I only knew sweet potato, but I haven't talked about race for years.
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Unprecedented
Sep 17, 2020
Last week, I read an article where the author argued that while January 1 may be the beginning of the calendar year, the New Year is really the beginning of September. Of course, our Jewish colleagues have been celebrating that for centuries! This is the time when schools begin, congregational program years begin, many ACPE residencies commence, and American football returns.
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What is Clinical Pastoral Education?Sep 11, 2020
What is clinical pastoral education? This question hangs over prospective CPE students from the moment they attempt to answer it as part of their application for admittance into any ACPE-certified program. It was the first question my educator, Dr. Jacob George, asked me during our introductory class. At first, the thought overwhelmed me. Where was I supposed to start? It seemed vague, as if the asker was holding the answer behind their back, waiting to correct me-- and yet, in Dr. Geroge’s class, no “correct” answers were forthcoming. Nudges were made, of course; there are wrong answers to the question. But in the absence of the One Right Answer™, my peers and I were drawn into the delicate process of reflection -- a process which has shaped my ministry in ways I hadn’t anticipated when writing my answer to the above question during the application process. To illustrate this, I invite you into the room of a patient I found crying in his room, shortly after entering the room. He’d said hello, welcomed me into the room, and then said the following phrase.
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A Crowded Table Theology
Sep 11, 2020
The table is at the center of my home and my theology of spiritual care and education. At the table, we are seen, met, fed, nourished. Our whole selves are welcomed, and though we may prepare ourselves, we are never really prepared. We participate and share, and we are transformed. We move in with others and then back out into the world again, a rhythm of spiritual practice that holds both the inward, sheltering movements, and the outward, engaging movements as sacred practices. The table is both ordinary and miraculous.
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Call for Workshop Applications for the 2021 Annual ConferenceSep 8, 2020
You are invited to submit a workshop proposal for the 2021 ACPE Annual Conference, our first using virtual platforms and online resources, the week of May 3, 2021.
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For your professional ethics edification…
Sep 8, 2020
Once a month the Professional Ethics Commission (PEC) posts a couple of statements from our Code of Professional Ethics for ACPE Members. Each posting is accompanied by a brief personal reflection from a member of the PEC discussing some ways this person lives these commitments*. September’s statements are:
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These are the constants in our lives
Sep 8, 2020
I don’t know for certain, and yet, I imagine you are as “done with” Coronavirus and COVID-19 as I am. So many processes have been altered in order to continue doing business or some businesses are down completely. I still do my own grocery shopping (with mask on and hand sanitizer readily available) but have friends and family members who haven’t been into their local supermarket in weeks. Taking my temperature every morning and answering a litany of questions on an app and having my temperature checked again upon entering the hospital have become routine. Even wearing a mask everywhere has become less cumbersome and annoying, thanks in part to the few days of temperatures less than 100 degrees. And, while my city has had seven weeks of declining average new case rates, I am certain we are not near the end of this experience. Schools are starting soon and learning for us all is moving at the speed of the internet.
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Summer CPE Unit Leads to Self-HealingAug 28, 2020
In the early days of May 2020, my career plans changed when my employer, a parochial school, informed me that they were dismissing me. The reason was that I was no longer a good fit for the school. When the president of the school gave me the notification, I was not angered by it. I was relieved by the information because I had not been happy with the teaching profession since I started two years prior. I had an intuition that there was going to be a change with my career plans but did not know when it was going to happen.
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Psychotherapy Commission InitiativesAug 28, 2020
Greetings to all as we come to the end of this eventful summer. I pray that you and your loved ones are healthy and safe, and that you have been able to find peace during these challenging times. I especially hold in prayer our members on the front lines of fighting COVID-19. Many educators, chaplains, psychotherapists and practitioners who serve in hospitals and health care centers, mental health practices, and other settings deserve our thanks for their generous service. We pray for all who suffer from racial injustice and we work for a more equal and just society. Finally, I offer prayers for all who have felt the wrath of the most recent hurricanes. What an end to the summer, and we still have a few days to go in August!
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Certification Commission Seeking Input on Successful Practices for Helping CECs Thrive
Aug 25, 2020
Our new Certification process began in January 2018. Since its inception, we have welcomed over 100 CECs into the process. We have celebrated the certification of our first aspirants to complete the new process and many more have completed Phase I and are making their way through Phase II.
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Spiritual Care Resident ReflectionAug 20, 2020
As the end of my year-long CPE residency draws near, I reflect upon a multitude of profound experiences. I've affectionately called this CPE residency "Human School" because it is an education on the experience of being human. I've had a course load that includes such classes as Grief and Loss 101, Adapting and Adjusting, Managing Complicated Family Relationships, Emotional Responses to Physical Limitations, and, my favorite, "What Now?": Living Your Best Life from Your Recliner. I did some additional required reading. While truly informative, I would not recommend Humiliation in the Workplace , Witnessing Chronic Pain , or Loving Someone Who Can't Remember You: A Loved One's Guide to Alzheimer's. We don't always get to choose our courseload or our professors, but I have received a remarkable education this past year. In fact, I attended a portion of a time-limited seminar called Emotional Regulation in a World Pandemic. There were also some interesting guest lectures I had the chance to sit in on, like Reckoning with Your Whiteness (Geriatric Edition).
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Resident Chaplain ReflectionAug 14, 2020
My CPE experience has been life-changing, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unbeknownst to me, I never thought my CPE residency was destined to cross paths with this unprecedented pandemic. However, I feel peaceful, content and believe that my ministry has made a difference at Christus Health. With God’s help, I have been able to stay focused on my ministry and calling, not crippled by fear or panic due to this invisible enemy. CPE has surpassed my expectations in all areas of ministry, especially during this critical time.