Clinical Pastoral Education

You'll want to spend a lot of time at:

The Professional Chaplain's Website

and look specifically at the requirements for board certification by the Association of Professional Chaplains as well as the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education.

At the minimum, you'll want one initial unit (usually done in the Summer - unpaid) and at least one residency (a year - 4 units - paid).

If you want to move up the CPE ranks (not necessary for straight chaplaining, but still a good thing to do if you want supervisory work) you'll want to become an SIT (Supervisor in Training) which is a paid position and I believe requires about two years of work before you are eligible for Associate Supervisor. Beyond that it's mostly paperwork to make full Supervisor.

I have a ton of additional information if you're interested.

Joshua

 

If you are looking for the chaplaincy, if you follow the M.Div program at the seminary you're looking to attend, you should be fine since most seminaries will have a program designed for future chaplains in mind. Personally, I'd recommend doing a broader M.Div, perhaps the one suitable for pastors, and using your electives for CPE. I made CPE part of my education and wish I'd had more. If I ever take any more, I'll take church-based CPE.

 

P.S. I am an endorsed chaplain and have worked in several different environments if you have specific questions about it as a career choice. It's important to note that, unlike almost everything else baptists do, endorsement is a national, denominational process; so you should also check with your denomination's endorsing committee about requirements, etc.

[ July 05, 2002, 12:28 PM: Message edited by: Rev. Joshua Villines ]