Programs at the JTS Center for Pastoral Education

The Center provides experiential education in spiritual care through its supervised internship program in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE).

JTS offers an incredible CPE program. I learned a tremendous amount about the links between self-care and transformation, and the creation of a more caring and compassionate world.

—Rabbi Annie Lewis, JTS alumna

Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Programs

Our Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) programs enable students to connect in caring relationships with vulnerable people as they search for meaningful responses to the challenges of illness, hospitalization, death and dying, mental illness, and other life challenges. Students engage in small group seminars and receive individual supervision, deepening their spiritual and professional development, awareness of self and others, and spiritual caregiving skills. 

Seminary students, religious leaders, and professionals from diverse religion communities are welcome to enroll in the Center’s CPE programs.

NEW YORK CITY SUMMER CPE PROGRAM

Full-time Summer Program: May 15–August 9, 2024
Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM–5:30 PM

In the full-time New York City Summer CPE Program, students spend three days a week providing spiritual care at hospice, hospital, elder care, or mental health settings, and the other two days at JTS for educational seminars.

This program earns one (1.0) unit of credit through ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care and Education.

Tuition: $800. All students in the New York City Summer Program are eligible to receive a full tuition scholarship of $800. See below.

Scholarship Support

Students in the New York City Summer CPE Program are eligible for scholarships granted to the center through agencies and foundations, including the Caring Commission of the UJA-Federation of New York. These scholarships provide full coverage of the $800 tuition and a stipend toward living expenses.

JTS rabbinical and cantorial students are also eligible to receive the Paul A. Kaplan Memorial Fellowship in Pastoral Care.

The CPE Method

CPE is grounded in the “reflective practitioner” model of learning, which helps students integrate their identities, beliefs, and prior knowledge with new insights that emerge through the process of practicing spiritual caregiving.

The educational components of CPE include student presentations of verbatims—written reports of spiritual care visits—as well as group seminars emphasizing attuned engagement with others, seminars on spiritual care topics, and individual supervision. 

Application Materials and Instructions

All materials must be submitted electronically (as a PDF or Word document) to infocpe@jtsa.edu. Admissions begin on November 15, 2023, and are on a rolling basis.

Accreditation

All JTS CPE programs are accredited through ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care and Education. For comprehensive information about Clinical Pastoral Education, please go to ACPE.

Military Chaplaincy

The Center for Pastoral Education facilitates the process for students to pursue military chaplaincy training. The US Military Chaplain Candidate Program gives rabbinical and cantorial students the opportunity to experience firsthand what military chaplaincy entails, preparing them to move into the position of military chaplain or reserve chaplain after ordination and to enrich their rabbinate or cantorial path. The Jewish Welfare Board (JWB) offers an array of resources to prospective, current, and former Jewish military chaplains.

Director

Naomi Kalish

Naomi Kalish

Harold and Carole Wolfe Director of the Center for Pastoral Education; Assistant Professor of Pastoral Education

Rabbi Naomi Kalish is the Harold and Carole Wolfe Director of the Center for Pastoral Education and assistant professor of Pastoral Education. Prior to coming to JTS, Rabbi Kalish taught clinical pastoral education (CPE) at New York–Presbyterian Hospital to students from diverse religious, denominational, national, and cultural backgrounds. Rabbi Kalish has served on the Interprofessional Education Faculty at Columbia University Medical Center. She has taught chaplaincy and pastoral care courses and programs for the Academy for Jewish Religion, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, Yeshivat Maharat, and JTS. Rabbi Kalish has extensive experience in interreligious dialogue and its application for peace-building and community relations. She earned her BA from Tufts University and an MA in Jewish Philosophy and rabbinic ordination from JTS. She is a doctoral candidate in Education and Jewish Studies at New York University.