Specific Information for JTS Students About Clinical Pastoral Education

Introduction

The Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) is a nationally accredited pastoral formation program for clergy, seminarians, and religious lay people of all faiths. There are ACPE centers throughout the United States and Canada. Most ACPE programs are conducted in hospital settings, though there are exceptions, such as a community-based program in Chicago that offers training placements in prisons.

Each unit of CPE includes 400 hours of training: 300 hours of clinical experience caring for people who are suffering and 100 hours of supervision in group settings and one-on-one sessions. Typically, the group component of CPE includes student presentations of "verbatims," which are written reports of visits with patients, with extensive attention to pastoral skills, pastoral identity, and pastoral theology.

Students also participate in regular Interpersonal Relations Seminars (IPR). An IPR is an open-agenda seminar in which students focus on developing interpersonal skills by engaging in an in-the-moment learning process, with an emphasis on recognizing feelings and learning how to journey deeply with others.

In addition, students are offered didactics (learning seminars) on a variety of topics related to pastoral care. ACPE is grounded in the reflective practitioner model of learning, which helps students integrate their identities and prior knowledge with the new insights that emerge in the process of practicing pastoral care. For a full listing of ACPE centers and supervisors, please click on the link above. Please feel free to consult with the director of Field Education about the various programs that are available.

Options for CPE programs: Each unit of CPE entails the same 400 hours of training.

Single Units of CPE:

A single unit of CPE is appropriate for any rabbinical or cantorial student as well as students in the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education who are interested in developing skills for helping people in crisis. The program emphasizes pastoral skill–building, the formation of a pastoral identity, and the articulation of theology that emerges from encounters with suffering. This learning is helpful to clergy and educators who plan to serve in a wide array of settings.

  • Summer Program: Among JTS students, the full-time summer program is often seen as an attractive option. It is conducted 40 hours a week for 10 to 11 weeks, often starting the day after Memorial Day and finishing in the beginning of August. No stipends are available from the CPE centers, although some centers may have very limited tuition scholarships or fellowships available.
  • Extended Program: These are part-time programs during the academic year. Some CPE centers offer 25- to 30-week programs that require 13 to 16 hours a week. Other centers offer 20-week programs that require 20 hours a week, enabling a student to complete two units in the course of an academic year. The part-time model tends to have a less intense group experience, but it offers greater opportunity for integration since the hours are spread out over a greater period of time. Generally, no stipends are available for part-time programs, although some centers may have very limited tuition scholarships or fellowships available.
Residency:

Residencies are usually 12-month, full-time programs (although sometimes they are nine-month programs) in which residents complete three units of CPE. Most residencies have a prerequisite of a single unit of CPE. Residencies pay a stipend and are usually designed for ordained clergy. A residency can work well as a postgraduate year of study. The completion of a CPE residency, along with the prerequisite unit of CPE, fulfills the clinical education requirement for certification as a Jewish chaplain by the National Association of Jewish Chaplains.

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Summer CPE at JTS

This 400-hour, 12-week intensive training program through the Center for Pastoral Education at JTS teaches seminarians of all faiths how to best provide pastoral care.

The Center for Pastoral Education offers two unique summer CPE programs: the Social Service Agency CPE and Hospice CPE.

Chaplain interns spend three days per week providing pastoral care at clinical sites affiliated with UJA-Federation of New York and at New York-Presbyterian Hospital; Zicklin Jewish Hospice Residence in Riverdale, New York; Jacob Perlow Hospice; and Metropolitan Jewish Hospice. The remaining two days are spent at JTS in educational seminars and supervision.

For more information, dates of the program, and application procedures, please visit the website of the Center for Pastoral Education.

Stipends are available for students through the Caring Commission of the UJA-Federation of New York and the Rita J. and Stanley H. Kaplan Foundation and the Jewish Foundation for Education of Women. Students who have been awarded stipends need to submit a copy of their learning contract before the funds can be disbursed (see also below under "stipends" for detailed description of the procedure.)

Extended CPE at JTS—Part-Time Hospice Program

JTS is offering a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) in hospice care during the academic year to seminarians of all faiths. The program is fully accredited by the ACPE as a satellite of New York-Presbyterian Hospital. There are five positions available for chaplain interns, who will complete their clinical hours at Zicklin Jewish Hospice Residence in Riverdale, New York; Jacob Perlow Hospice; and Metropolitan Jewish Hospice. This program is made possible by the generous funding from UJA-Federation of New York.

For more information, dates of the program, and application procedures, please visit the website of the Center for Pastoral Education.

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The Paul A. Kaplan Pastoral Internship Program

Introduction

The Paul A. Kaplan Pastoral Internship Program is an in-depth opportunity for rabbinical students to develop skills for journeying with people in crisis and focus on approaches to death, loss, and mourning. It revolves around a clinical placement in a health care or social service setting. In order to register for this course, students must be enrolled in a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at a CPE Center accredited by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE). Alternatively, students may be enrolled in a specialized pastoral care internship that has been approved by the director of field education.

The Paul A. Kaplan Pastoral Internship Program is administered by the director of the Center for Pastoral Education, Rabbi Mychal Springer, on behalf of The Rabbinical School and the Department of Professional and Pastoral Skills. The program fulfills The Rabbinical School's internship requirement.

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Requirements

All rabbinical students are required to complete a two-semester internship prior to ordination. Each internship consists of 400 hours of supervised work, which is equivalent to a full unit of Clinical Pastoral Education. Most students who complete a Paul A. Kaplan Pastoral Internship choose to do so during the summer following their third or fourth year of The Rabbinical School, though students may also complete an extended unit during the fourth year.

Summer CPE programs begin the day after Memorial Day, which conflicts with the academic calendar of those who are completing their year of study in Israel. When necessary, students may undertake their internships at other times in their studies, with the approval of their advisor. Generally, if students receive approval to complete the Kaplan Internship prior to the summer before their third year, then they will be required to complete an additional semester of Supervised Rabbinic Field Work; this additional semester will not carry a stipend.

In order to receive academic credit for the internship, students must submit to the director a CPE learning contract, mid-unit evaluation, and letter from their supervisors indicating that they are in good standing and, at the end of the unit, they are required to submit their final evaluation and their supervisor's final evaluation.

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Selection of Site and Supervisor

Accredited CPE programs are offered throughout the United States and Canada. For a full listing of available programs, go to the ACPE or the Canadian Association for Pastoral Practice and Education.

For information about the application process, see Applying for CPE Programs. Please consult with the director of Field Education for guidance in selecting a site and supervisor. Once you have been accepted into a CPE program, please notify the director of Field Education.

Registering for Internships

Students should register for PAS 7403 and PAS 7404 during the semesters in which they are completing their internships. If you complete a summer internship, then you should register for the semesters that follow that summer. By registering for these courses, you will receive credit for the internship, but there is no formal class time associated with these courses.

Stipends

The director determines whether or not a student is eligible to receive a stipend. Stipends are disbursed at the beginning of the internship. The payment will be disbursed when the director receives the intern's CPE learning contract. The student needs to submit a mid-unit self evaluation and a letter from the CPE supervisor indicating that the student has successfully completed the first half of the CPE Unit and is in good standing. The method of disbursement is as follows: the director will communicate with the bursar to credit the stipend amount to the student's bursar account. If there is no outstanding balance, then the student can request the bursar to issue a check. If there is an outstanding balance, then the stipend will be applied to that balance.

All students who complete their internships during the summer will need to sign a promissory note and hand it to Rita Gordon, before they leave school. This note declares that the stipend is an advance, which is linked to the student's account. Should the student choose not to return to JTS for any reason or has not fullfilled the requirements of the internship, the funds will be taken back.

Reimbursements

JTS will reimburse students for travel expenses to and from their internship sites, up to a total of $400, upon submission of original receipts and the approval of the director. Receipts should be submitted to Rita Gordon in the Rabbinical School Office. Students are requested to allow several weeks for receipt of checks. Should a student drive to an internship site, receipts for tolls paid should be submitted; other driving-related expenses are calculated at 40 cents per mile.

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Jewish Geriatric CPE in Boston at Hebrew SeniorLife

For more information please contact Reverend Mary Martha Thiel at marymarthathiel@hrca.harvard.edu or (617) 363-8804.

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Applying for CPE Programs

Application

The standard CPE application includes the following five essays:

  • A biographical essay about your life
  • An essay about the development of your religious life
  • An essay about the development of your employment history
  • An account of an incident where you were called upon to help someone
  • An essay about your impressions of CPE and your educational goals

The length of the essays can vary as needed. One suggestion is to aim for five to seven pages for the first two essays. Instead of attempting to write your entire life history, look for paradigmatic stories that help capture your key themes.

You can obtain a particular site's application through its website or by calling to request an application. HealthCare Chaplaincy applications are handled through the central office, but we recommend that you make direct contact with the supervisor of your choice. You may then arrange for your preferred supervisor to receive a copy of your application; this will avoid any unnecessary confusion. Please visit the website of the ACPE.

For applications to the JTS programs, please visit the Center for Pastoral Education online for deadlines and application forms.

When to Apply

Most sites have a rolling admissions policy. For sites in the New York City area, it is wise to apply in October for the following summer. For the most accurate timetables, consult the supervisors directly. For fall extended programs, applications can generally be submitted in the spring.

Tuition for CPE

Most CPE centers charge approximately $750 for a unit of CPE.

Stipends for CPE

Depending on the CPE program students may be eligible for stipends. Students who complete a unit of CPE in fulfillment of their rabbinical school internship requirement can receive the Paul A. Kaplan Pastoral Internship stipend. Please see the sections of the Kaplan Pastoral Internship Program that discuss requirements and stipends. Students participating in the JTS Summer CPE may receive a stipend through the UJA-Federation of New York and the Jewish Foundation for the Education of Women.

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