Pastoral Education Research Articles

Learning Compassion and Meditation: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of the Experience of Novice Meditators.

Over the last decade, numerous interventions and techniques that aim to engender, strengthen, and expand compassion have been created, proliferating an evidence base for the benefits of compassion meditation training. However, to date, little research has been conducted to examine individual variation in the learning, beliefs, practices, and subjective experiences of compassion meditation. This mixed-method study examines changes in novice meditators’ knowledge and contemplative experiences before, during, and after taking an intensive course in CBCT® (Cognitively-Based Compassion Training), a contemplative intervention that is increasingly used for both inter- and intrapersonal flourishing. The participants in this study (n = 40) were Christian healthcare chaplains completing a 1-year residency in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) who learned CBCT as part of their professional chaplaincy training curriculum. Prior to and upon completion of training, we surveyed participants to assess their beliefs about the malleability of compassion, types of engagement in compassion meditation, and perceptions of the impact of taking CBCT. We also conducted in-depth interviews with a subset of participants to gain a qualitative understanding of their subjective experiences of learning and practicing compassion meditation, a key component of CBCT. We found that participants reported increases in the extent to which they believed compassion to be malleable after studying CBCT. We also found high levels of variability of individual ways of practicing and considered the implications of this for the study of contemplative learning processes. This multi-methodological approach yielded novel insights into how compassion practice and compassion-related outcomes interrelate, insights that can inform the basic scientific understanding of the experience of learning and enacting compassion meditation as a means of strengthening compassion itself.

Is Supervised Pastoral Education (SPE) "Substantially Equivalent" to a Recognized Psychotherapy Program in Ontario?

After completing their Supervised Pastoral Education units provided by the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care, two soon-to-be-certified Spiritual Care Practitioners applied to the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario. Both were rejected because their Supervised Pastoral Education program was not deemed to be "substantially equivalent" to a recognized psychotherapy program. This came as a surprise since similarly qualified Canadian Association for Spiritual Care Practitioners in Ontario are also members of the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario through a process called "grandparenting." Using the 10 characteristics of a College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario recognized program, this paper examines Canadian Association for Spiritual Care's SPE program in detail, showing how closely it aligns with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario's description of an equivalent psychotherapy program. I conclude by suggesting the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario should embrace Supervised Pastoral Education as an equivalent program and grant memberships, not just to those grand parented in, but to future Canadian Association for Spiritual Care Practitioners.

Guardians of Childhood, Sentinels of Soul.

This article builds on an address delivered in New York City in March of 2020 to the National Conference of the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy, a professional society of clinical pastoral educators. Interweaving narrative reflections of noted authors, poets, filmmakers, and other artists with pastoral theological literature and recent genetic and social scientific research, the essay explores parameters of the soul or psyche as comprising the unique center of the self. It invites readers to a recovery of soul by means of arduous acts of introspection—revisiting lost childhood wonder, hope, memories, and dreams—and an embrace of pluralism and individual difference.

Transformational education: exploring the lasting impact of students’ clinical pastoral education experiences

“Thank you for that experience and for the ways it continues to shape who I am and how I interact in all of my life.” (S20). There has been limited research validating Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) as a learning approach to date, however, the anecdotal evidence supporting the transformative value of CPE is abundant, as demonstrated by this student response. This quality improvement project engages a thematic cross-sectional analysis of 34 students’ self-evaluative responses reporting the lasting impact of their CPE training. From the survey responses a thematic map was developed highlighting six themes of lasting impact: Spirituality, Psychotherapy, Agency, Self-Inter, Self-Intra, and Story/Narrative. These six themes overlap and intersect to provide a point of what we call “SPE alchemy”–the perfect conditions for lasting impact and transformation.

Understanding Poverty and Survival Strategy among Ethiopian Pastoralists: The Boorana Pastoralists Perspectives

Poverty is often assessed using rigorous economic methods in the extant literature. Nonetheless, understanding poverty through supposedly rigorous economic methods per se is not sufficient. This study argues that Boorana pastoralist’s knowledge of poverty and its survival strategy provides foundations to understand poverty. The article was based on a dominantly qualitative mixed research approach to understand poverty from the perspectives of pastoralists in an African context (Ethiopia). Different participatory poverty assessment methods, like focus group discussions and interviews were used. The interviews were conducted with case study households and key informants. The data were analysed by descriptions of responses and narrations of cases. The results showed that pastoralists perceive poverty as a lack of livestock, low health, lack of money, lack of education and jobs. The findings also showed that climate change and variability, deterioration of pasture and water resources, lack of education and overutilisation of resources were the main causes of poverty. Boorana pastoralists perceive that diversification of income sources, crop cultivation, improvements to pastoral education, destocking and returning to forefathers’ cultural practices can be the main survival strategy of pastoralists against poverty. Therefore, there is a need to understand the dynamics of pastoral poverty for appropriate policy interventions.

COVID-19 and Clinical Pastoral Education: How ACPE Educators Pivoted Amid the Pandemic.

Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) programs faced extraordinary challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. We examined how ACPE-certified educators responded to maintain program delivery. Survey results (n = 210) suggested a substantial and abrupt increase in remote delivery for CPE instruction and supervised clinical practice, primarily driven by those previously fully in-person. Respondents reported abrupt changes impacted 1152 students. Participants rated their utilization and helpfulness of professional, organizational, and technology resources during the pivot and beyond.

Diversity & Spiritual Care in the Pandemic

ABSTRACT Disenfranchised grief is the experience of grief where the loss, the style of grieving, or the griever is not or cannot be sufficiently recognized. It describes well what a great many underrepresented spiritual care providers experience at times during their clinical pastoral education – feeling as if one is a stranger – racially, socially, and culturally – in the exchange of care. This paper discusses this experience in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, ultimately endeavoring to stress the importance of being both seen and recognized.

Collaborating with Clinical Pastoral Educators to Teach a Research Literacy Curriculum

ABSTRACT The Department of Chaplaincy and Clinical Pastoral Education at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center offers a year-long Level II chaplain residency program to chaplains of all faiths. In 2017, the program was awarded a grant to develop a research literacy curriculum and invited a health sciences librarian and a social sciences librarian to teach residents about evidence-based practice and literature research methods. This interprofessional collaboration successfully engaged chaplains and librarians to learn and teach one another about their respective disciplines and how they can support one another in the pursuit of evidence-based spiritual care and research.

Morele vorming en filosofie opnieuw met elkaar verbinden

Studenten van de Universiteit van Tilburg onderscheiden zich van die van andere universiteiten doordat er in hun opleiding veel aandacht wordt besteed aan karaktervorming. Op welke manier kunnen docenten Studenten helpen om hun karakter te vormen? Kern van mijn betoog is dat morele vorming hierbij een belangrijke rol speelt en dat filosofiedocenten bij uitstek ertoe doen om de morele vorming plaats te laten vinden. Morele vorming en filosofie worden door mij opnieuw met elkaar verbonden, in de zin dat een verbinding via de empirie wordt gemaakt. Ik zal voortbouwend op Martha Nussbaum morele vorming plaatsen in een context van verschillende manieren van ethiek leren; de pedagogische taak van de docent schetsen; voortbouwend op John Dewey en Hannah Arendt empirisch onderzochte kenmerken geven van effectieve filosofielessen; en voortbouwend op Pierre Hadot het goede als oefening die het karakter vormt voorstellen. Zo kunnen we, ondersteund door onderzoek uit faculteiten waar karaktervorming tot de kern behoort, filosofie en theologie, werken aan de morele vorming van studenten. Niet alleen studenten en hun docenten zullen hiervan profiteren, maar ook de gemeenschap rond de studenten (bijvoorbeeld leeftijdgenoten en familie) en hun beroepspraktijken (pastoraat, justitie, defensie, geestelijke verzorging en onderwijs).

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.

CPE for leaders: Adapting Clinical Pastoral Education’s learning methodology for healthcare managers and directors

Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), a training program for spiritual care providers, was adapted to meet the leadership development needs of a group of six healthcare managers. A focus group was conducted with the six participants to learn more about the program and its effects. Using thematic analysis, transcripts of the focus group were analyzed and seven themes were identified. Participants reported that the program facilitated trust and honesty, helped them connect to their emotions, and helped them respond to system-wide changes at work; that learning was facilitated by their connections with their peers in the group and with the facilitator; and that senior leaders’ support for the program was key. They also reported that the name and course description were initially unclear and they wanted a follow-up program. This paper describes the program, presents these themes, and places CPE for Leaders in the context of other leadership models.

Ethics education in clinical pastoral education: prevalence and types

Chaplains frequently serve on ethics committees, as ethics consultants, and as Institutional Review Board (IRB) members in hospitals. However, little is known about how Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) residents are trained in ethics and whether this training is appropriate or adequate for chaplains' subsequent work in health care settings. We created a survey to canvas 222 CPE residency programs in the United States accredited by the ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care (ACPE) to inquire about the prevalence of ethics curricula within residency programs, the educational structure of ethics curricula, and challenges associated with teaching ethics within CPE. We received a total of 84 responses for a 38% response rate. Of these, three-quarters of the programs had a required ethics curriculum, another 10% were in the process of developing one, and 18% had none. There was a great deal of variability in the ethics curricula among the different programs. Developing guidelines for a standardized ethics curriculum could help healthcare chaplains provide more effective service on ethics committees, as ethics consultants, and as IRB members.

A Qualitative Study on the Experience of Military Life and Ministry of Korean Christian Female Military Pastors

The purpose of this study was to understand who female military pastors are in the Korean military and examine their military lives and ministry experiences through in-depth interviews and qualitative analysis. Six of the eight female military pastors currently working participated in this study. Seven major themes were identified: motivation to apply, role confusion and ambiguity, token women in the Korean military, perceived barriers or bias, equality experience, lack of network or mentor, and work and family balance. This study was helpful for obtaining a deeper understanding of female military pastors who exist as a minority in the Korean military. This study also provides basic information for the seminary education of future female military pastors and policies for female leaders working in the Korean military.

Het klinische domein van geestelijke zorgprofessionals

This article aims to offer a contribution to the definition of the professional domain of spiritual care professionals working in clinical settings. Starting with a conceptual disentanglement of theology and religious studies in face of the issue of interreligious communication, a starting point for this definition is found in the humanities domain. Existential, developmental, and contextual dimensions of the human condition, each with topics of their own, are distinguished in defining the object of spiritual care. These topics require professional attention in a set of tasks that are subsequently presented. Next, it is argued that clinical pastoral education offers the proper post-master program to develop these tasks in an established clinical skills training program. Integration of clinical pastoral education in postmaster spiritual care apprenticeships offers the best condition to contribute and innovate spiritual care in clinical settings, so it is concluded.

Out Of The Ashes: The Alberta Consortium For Supervised Pastoral Education Program.

In Alberta, Canada, supervised pastoral education has grown and thrived for over 50 years. In 2008, due to healthcare funding changes, it was nearly eliminated. This article describes regenerative processes by which former structures have transformed into a new configuration for supervised pastoral education program delivery, including innovative roles for spiritual care preceptors and theological colleges. Out of the ashes, a phoenix is rising. It is called the Alberta Consortium for Supervised Pastoral Education program.

임상목회교육(CPE) 집단수퍼비전 프로그램 및 평가서 연구

임상목회교육(CPE) 집단수퍼비전 프로그램 및 평가서 연구

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.

Training Chaplains to Provide Communication-Board-Guided Spiritual Care for Intensive Care Unit Patients.

Background: Chaplain-led communication-board-guided spiritual care may reduce anxiety and stress during an intensive care unit (ICU) admission for nonvocal mechanically ventilated patients, but clinical pastoral education does not teach the assistive communication skills needed to provide communication-board-guided spiritual care. Objective: To evaluate a four-hour chaplain-led seminar to educate chaplains about ICU patients' psychoemotional distress, and train them in assistive communication skills for providing chaplain-led communication-board-guided spiritual care. Design: A survey immediately before and after the seminar, and one-year follow-up about use of communication-board-guided spiritual care. Subjects/Setting: Sixty-two chaplains from four U.S. medical centers. Measurements: Multiple-choice and 10-point integer scale questions about ICU patients' mental health and communication-board-guided spiritual care best practices. Results: Chaplain awareness of ICU sedation practices, signs of delirium, and depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder in ICU survivors increased significantly (all p < 0.001). Knowledge about using tagged yes/no questions to communicate with nonvocal patients increased from 38% to 87%, p < 0.001. Self-reported skill and comfort in providing communication-board-guided spiritual care increased from a median (interquartile range) score of 4 (2-6) to 7 (5-8) and 6 (4-8) to 8 (6-9), respectively (both p < 0.001). One year later, 31% of chaplains reported providing communication-board-guided spiritual care in the ICU. Conclusions: A single chaplain-led seminar taught chaplains about ICU patients' psychoemotional distress, trained chaplains in assistive communication skills with nonvocal patients, and led to the use of communication-board-guided spiritual care in the ICU for up to one year later.

Adding critical reflection to spiritual care: Complementing current pastoral care training

ABSTRACT This article argues for the inclusion of critical reflection in spiritual care training and practice, including Clinical Pastoral Education. Most spiritual care training emphasizes the importance of listening well and deeply, combined with awareness of the listener’s personal reactions. Critical reflection makes explicit the importance of understanding the influence of the social context on the listening experience, and articulating the underlying assumptions and values that may be influencing the spiritual carer and those to whom they are listening. This approach fosters seeing the connections to what is happening in an individual’s external world, in their family and community and in the broader social and historical context. Individuals may thereby become conscious that external change is needed as well as, or instead of, internal: the attitudes and values expressed in an organisation or culture may be the issue rather than only the internal state of the client. Using critical reflection to complement existing training in listening will foster greater capacity to seek change where it is needed, and to encourage more socially just organisations and communities.

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.