The College of Pastoral Supervision & Psychotherapy is a theologically based covenant community, dedicated to "recovery of the soul" and promoting competency in the clinical pastoral field.
William Albert's, a CPSP Diplomate, prophetic voice was once again heard in his recently published article in Counter Punch on January 16, 2012 entitled From Worship to Wall Street.
Alberts writes: "When a controversial protest movement arises, Christians often ask themselves, “What would Jesus do?” Thus today the repeated question, “Would Jesus join the Occupy Wall Street Movement?
Certain Christians say Jesus would not be involved in Occupy Wall Street protests against capitalistic America’s widening economic and political gulf between rich and poor persons."
Dr. Alberts precedes to challenge Tony Perkins, president of the influential conservative Christian Family Research Council opposition to the Occupy Wall Street movement.
On the strength of the article, Dr. Alberts was interviewed by Press TV.
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 6:01 PM
DOWNLOAD 2012 CPSP PLENARY BROCHURE
Editor's Note:We regret that the links in the above CPSP Plenary Brochure are not active. We are working to rectify this ASAP. For now, download the document below, A Gathering Together, that contains the active links.
"DOWNLOAD "A GATHERING TOGETHER"
Continue reading "2012 CSPP PLENARY BROCHURE: REGISTRATION, HOTEL AND CONFERENCE INFORMATION"
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 8:26 PM
January 2, 2012
TO MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF CPSP
AND TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE CLINICAL PASTORAL COMMUNITY
The leadership of CPSP regrets to inform you that the mediation process between CPSP and ACPE has broken down. The Mediation Agreement which was signed with high hopes in Philadelphia, November 30, 2010, by the leadership of both organizations, and which created a good spirit and considerable optimism in the larger clinical pastoral field, has been critically breached.
The rupture has come about as a result of a threat from ACPE against the Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center's chaplaincy program as it goes for re-accreditation in January. The medical center’s clinical training program is directed by John deVelder has been accredited by ACPE for several decades. DeVelder is a certified CPE Supervisor with both ACPE and CPSP credentials. He is a prominent clinical pastoral supervisor, well-respected, past President of CPSP and former Chair of the COMISS Network.
The hospital was informed by ACPE that its accreditation would be in jeopardy if it failed to disassociate itself officially from CPSP. Since the hospital's administration did not want a fight on its hands between two accrediting organizations, it forced deVelder to resign from CPSP on December 16.
The 2010 Mediation Agreement was posited on the mutual agreement that ACPE would no longer enforce the hostile and derogatory language that had earlier been made official in the so-called ACPE "Article 43." That article publicly describes CPSP programs as lacking in "consistent application of program standards…" and marked by "a lack of transparency" as well as unfair market practices. Such charges are without substance, and are clearly incongruent with the Mediation Agreement. Furthermore, such accusations are unbecoming of any clinical pastoral community's description of another, unless substantiated by persuasive evidence.
The 2010 Mediation Agreement states explicitly that ACPE and CPSP will refrain from mutual disparagement, or of judging the respective value of the other organization's programs.
ACPE has damaged the reputation of CPSP at Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center, and done so without a basis in fact. No self-respecting community can sit idle while its reputation is being tarnished in this way.
Therefore CPSP is requesting that the two organizations return to the negotiating table without delay in order to resolve in the best way possible the damage inflicted on CPSP at Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center.
The clinical training movement is a relatively small part of the wider culture. The work we are called to do is currently imperiled by many forces beyond our control. All the organizations in our field need to support one another as much as we are able. Ruthless competition amongst us is damaging to the entire movement.
As leaders in the field of religion and counseling we will bring shame on ourselves and the entire clinical pastoral movement if we are not able quickly to repair this breach and restore amicable relations between ACPE and CPSP.
We in CPSP are committed to the redemptive process in all human relationships and remain committed to the Mediation Agreement signed November, 30, 2010. We urge the ACPE to abide by that agreement as the only basis for a continuing collegial relationship between the two communities.
We are hopeful about the possibilities of repairing the damage done the clinical pastoral movement at Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center, and we urge the leadership of ACPE to join us at the negotiating table in an attempt to undo this damage.
Raymond J. Lawrence
General Secretary, CPSP
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 8:14 PM
Barbara McGuire, CPSP Registrar shared this video during the holiday season.
It is a simple yet profound message: "Change Your Words...Change Your World."
What if we changed our words we use with our mates, lovers, friends, children, family, enemies, employees, employers, trainees and the little people we see on the street and those who wait our tables and clean our floors?
What if the various clinical pastoral organizations such as the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy, the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education and the Association for Professional Chaplains, etc changed the words we use in relationship with one another?
I think we know. We would change our world.
I hope in this new year of 2012 we might find the wisdom and the courage to change our words. Our world depends upon it.
Perry Miller, Editor
Continue reading "Change Your Words. Change Your World---by Perry Miller"
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 10:26 PM
I am always touched by the power of human bonding, even with a pet. Such bonding can be transformative. As the training supervisor for an Urban Ministry CPE training program, I have seen this more than once in the pastoral ministry provided by CPE Interns and Residents.
The link below is a sad story that again makes the point that life and its meaning for those who have fallen on hard times can come down to the love and affection between a pet and its owner.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/30/humane-society-sparks-out_n_1175760.html?ref=email_share
I have the hope that in in this new year 0f 2012, we in the clinical pastoral movement will ponder how we might work together to serve the "least of these" who are broken in spirit, life and relationships. Such would be a far more noble calling than the current atmosphre that is focused on competition, market shares and self-serving interest.
Happy New Year!
Perry Miller, Editor
Continue reading "When a Heart is Broken--- Perry Miller, Editor"
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 12:01 AM
JHull@uams.edu
Being There: The Art of Clinical Pastoral Care is an article written by
By Jon Parham for the Fall 2011 edition of the UAMS Magazine. It features Susan McDougal, George Hankins-Hull and George Buck, clinical chaplains at the University of Arkansas Medical Center (UAMS).
UMAS is an accredited CPSP CPE training center with a large number of CPE Residents and Interns. There is a lot of pastoral care and counseling taking place in this medical institution. The article speaks of how clinical chaplains at UAMS are integrated into the total care of patients and families. George Buck, CPE Supervisor notes that chaplains ...play a supportive role to help the patient call upon their own faith or philosophy of life as a source of comfort...
The auhtor provides a graphic and touching snapshot of Susan McDougal, a CPSP Board Certified Clinical Chaplain at UAMS:
McDougal, a Quaker, is the newest full-time chaplain at the Medical Center, joining the team in June 2011 after completing the UAMS Clinical Pastoral Education program. Her interest in becoming a chaplain was kindled by 18 months spent in prison for refusing to answer grand jury questions related to the Whitewater investigation of then-President Bill Clinton. “I was frightened in jail,” said McDougal. “These were women at the worst time in their lives, yet they embraced me and cared about me. “It changed me and made me want to live up to that by offering a personal connection, comfort and caring to those who are in a time of trauma.”
From Left to Right: George Hankins Hull, Susan McDougal and George Buck
George Hankins Hull, director of the department and the CPE clinical training program, speaks of the unique role of chaplain as the "interpreter of "metaphors and connections":
Continue reading "CPSP PEOPLE in the NEWS: Susan McDougal, George Buck and George Hankins Hull"
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 1:35 PM
(Presented at Boston Medical Center’s Spiritual Care Department’s annual Spiritual Care Week Award Celebration, November 30, 2011.)
I’m honored and delighted to be the speaker at your annual Spiritual Care Award Celebration here at Boston Medical Center, with Lorien Manns selected to receive this year’s Award.
On July 15, as you know, I retired as hospital chaplain on the Newton Pavilion, after 18 and ½ years. And I’m very pleased that Sam Lowe was hired to replace me.
I’m most fortunate to have been a hospital chaplain at Boston Medical Center. In a ministry spanning over 62 years, that has included certain challenging involvements, Boston Medical Center has been an ideal place for me to work and thrive. You made it so. Thank you.
The annual Spiritual Care Award offers the opportunity to recognize the invaluable contribution the Spiritual Care Department makes to Boston Medical Center, and also to recognize a staff person who has especially enabled the hospital’s chaplains in their work. This year the Spiritual Care Department has selected Lorien Manns as the recipient of the Award.
Lorien is a guest services staff person at the information desk at the Menino Pavilion’s Emergency Room entrance. She embodies Boston Medical Center’s mission of ‘EXCEPTIONAL CARE. WITHOUT EXCEPTION.’ That is the way I saw her interact with people at the critical Emergency Room intersection on Albany Street. And that is the way she had interacted with me as well.
I asked Menino Pavilion hospital chaplain Jennie Gould to tell me a little about why the Pastoral Care Department selected Lorien for this year’s Award. Jennie responded, “She is a very warm and caring person.”
I thought, my goodness. That’s right out of the Bible. I Corinthians 13 states, “If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but” am not “warm and caring,” “I am nothing.” I know I omitted the words “but have not love.” But what is “love?” Lorien puts flesh and blood on “love” by being “warm and caring.”
Continue reading "It’s About Kindness---By Rev. William E. Alberts, Ph.D."
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 9:32 PM
The Wall Street Journal on December 6, ran an article “Bigger Roles for Chaplains on Patient Medical Teams, by Laura Landro. On the face of it the article strongly touted chaplaincy services in hospitals, and the reaction from a number of chaplains was quite positive. But they neglected to read the fine print, so to speak. No competent chaplain or pastoral clinician should be deceived by the hype in the Wall Street Journal piece. While it purports to promote pastoral services in hospitals, it actually discounts the genius of properly trained chaplaincies and pastoral services, however subtly the discounting was done. The article is in fact a damaging assault on clinically basis of pastoral care and counseling.
The blessing of cells and ‘positive spiritual guidance’, whatever that means, no doubt brings comfort to some people, but most competent well-trained chaplains will cringe at hearing their roles thus epitomised. Friendly companionship and familiar religious rituals, such as the blessing of this or that, undoubtedly bring comfort to some people. But such services hardly require years of rigorous clinical training that many health care chaplains have these days.
An unbiased and uninvolved reader of this Wall Street Journal article would certainly conclude that all those clinically trained chaplains who invested two, three, and more years developing their clinically skills in internships and residencies wasted a lot of time and money. They could have better spent a few weeks learning to say prayers and the art of friendly conversation.
Most competent clinically trained chaplains do not consider prayer a major therapeutic tool. Many, perhaps most pastoral visits by chaplains do not and arguably should not include prayer at all. The point here is that clinically trained chaplains offer a therapeutic ear for persons in trouble, an ear that is somewhat removed from the scientifically-oriented medical team, an ear that is trained both theologically and psychologically.
Anton T. Boisen, the man who in the early twentieth century inaugurated clinical pastoral training for clergy was not the proverbial prayer warrior. He did not promote prayer with patients as the central tool. What he did promote and emphasize passionately was that chaplains should be trained to listen to patients with a sensitive and psychologically informed ear. “It’s not what the chaplain says to the patient, but what the patient says to the chaplain.” And the corollary is of course, that competent listening requires a considerable amount of intensive psychologically based training. Boisen also taught that ministers must have a basic knowledge of psychoanalytically psychology, without which no competent listening can take place.
Continue reading "CHAPLAINCY AND THE WALL STREET JOURNAL---by Raymond J. Lawrence"
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 7:18 AM
Though years have gone by, and the old-time circus has faded away, who can forget the hall of mirrors we kids of yesteryear enjoyed. Eerie images, spooky and weird, with little bodies and big heads or big bodies with little heads stared back at us … and we loved every minute of it.
Like a hall of mirrors, ours is a world of illusions, where truth is often discounted or ignored, replaced by images, reflections of the real. All of us are affected by this Alice in Wonderland syndrome whether we realize it or not. Through entertainment and advertising, multimedia experts allure millions into accepting the superficial as norm and appearances as real.
Across the centuries, great minds from almost every tradition have affirmed the truth of the oneness of the human family, yet we still imagine ourselves to be separate from one another and have demonstrated this illusion by creating a world more fragmented than ever. We are no closer to healthy relationships now than when warriors from the past showed their military might by throwing stones at each other. All that’s changed is the size of our stones. We still can’t get along. Separatism has become our mantra and unity a mirage.
What is it about our lifestyles that cause us to ignore the obvious and accept the imaginary? Who cast the spell that has imprisoned us in a land of make-believe? What in the world’s going on?
Perhaps it’s time we took a closer look at the truth behind our illusions, re-examined the distorted images we’ve put in place, the processes and thinking that deepen the rifts between us, that give mixed messages and continue to move us and our children in directions that are unacceptable and jeopardize our future.
Continue reading "What in the World’s Going On? By Daryl L. Meyers, D.Min."
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 10:20 PM
At this Thanksgiving season we in CPSP have much to be thankful for. We are prospering as a community both in this country and overseas. We have come into our own as a significant community among the many communities that promote clinical pastoral work.
We are also approaching November 30, the first anniversary of the Mediation Agreement signed by the ACPE and CPSP, signed appropriately enough in Philadelphia. This agreement put an end to two decades of animosity that was subverting the high goals of both communities.
We are grateful especially to leaders of the Religious Endorsing Bodies without whom this agreement might ever have come to fruition. We are grateful, and we look forward to a deepening sense of collegiality between the two communities.
The members of the CPSP Mediation Team who, with our ACPE colleagues brought this agreement to pass, are Jim Gebhart, Perry Miller, George Hankins-Hull, and me.
In February a subcommittee was appointed to undertake the detailed discussions with our ACPE colleagues as they implemented the Agreement. This sub-committee has had one face to face meeting and numerous phone meetings. Jim Gebhart chairs this committee, which includes Annari Griesel and John deVelder. They have addressed and are continuing to address several complaints that have been presented from our side to ACPE of possible violations of the Mediation Agreement.
We have every hope that this dialogue group will continue its work in the positive and cooperative spirit in which it began.
We believe we are entering a new era in which the ACPE and CPSP will be more fully colleagues in our common work. And for that anticipation we can all be very thankful.
Given our progress together we are thankful that we seem to have entered a new era of mutual collegiality as becomes our common calling.
I wish you all a blessed Thanksgiving.
-Raymond J. Lawrence, CPSP General Secretary
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 1:43 PM
Taking a Break and Enjoying the Sun and Sea at NCTS-East
Left to Right: Barbara McGuire, David Baker, Francine Angel Hernandez and John DeVelder
The Fall NCTS EAST was awesome! This was the largest yet! We had 68 attendees. The Stella Maris Retreat only holds 45, but many of the attendees stayed at hotels and some were commuters. The power of the small group still is the crux of NCTS. We had ten small groups, four of which were Supervisors in training. The other six were made up of staff chaplains, chaplain interns, chaplain residents and certified chaplains. During the presenters’ report session, there was evidenced of critical reflections and critical feedback taking place in small groups. The energy of the attendees was refreshing! Stella Maris Retreat, located on the ocean gave a fresh breeze and new life to this seminar. Just hearing the attendees share in this experience was a true reflection of recovery of souls.
Continue reading "FALL NATIONAL CLINICAL TRAINING SEMINAR EAST...AWESOME!!"
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 8:25 AM
Lawrence with Young Gweon You, Director of Yonsei University Counseling Center in Seoul, and Chair of the "Asian CPE Network in the Global Age" conference held in Seoul, in September. Lawrence was keynote speaker.Young You did his clinical training at Episcopal Health Services in Long Island under Richard Liew a decade ago.
CPSP is increasingly involved in Asia. We were well represented at the International Council for Pastoral Care and Counseling (ICPCC) that met in Rotorua, New Zealand in August. CPSP was represented by persons from the U.S., Malaysia, and Hong Kong. Raymond Lawrence conducted a seminar on group theory and practice in clinical training. Richard Liew was nominated by Lawrence and elected by the assembly as treasurer for ICPCC for the next four years. The ICPCC convenes every four years, rotating its meeting venue.
CPSP speakers at the Seoul Conference with hosts on each side: (From left to right) Do Bong Kim, Joel Aguirre, Raymond Lawrence, Mei-po Young Tam, Cesar Espineda, and Taesuk Kang. Missing from the photo was Diplomate Mu-gun Chong.
Continue reading "CPSP AND ASIA"
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 8:21 AM
CPSP Diplomate David Plummer has become Chair of COMISS.
COMISS is the one and only organization where certifying bodies, religious judicatories, and seminaries meet to share their mutual interests and concerns. It is an interfaith and interdisciplinary community. Its initials stand originally for Congress on Ministry in Specialized Settings, but now refers to itself as COMISS Network.
We congratulate David on his promotion to this significant position of leadership and wish him well in his tenure.
Raymond J. Lawrence
General Secretary, CPSP
Continue reading "Congratulations to David Plummer"
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 10:47 AM
In the CPSP we value persons and competence above institutions and complacency. In that spirit we speak of making spiritual room for each other and "midwifing" one another's journeys.
The CPSP should be proud that our membership is second to none in training and qualifications. Our Standards are directly analogous to, and share a common history with, all those of the cognate organizations that certify individuals for specialized pastoral care and accredit clinical programs of training and education.
We in the CPSP have chosen to be different by centering professional development and certification within the small groups we call Chapters. We are proud to proclaim the conviction that our organization by Chapters is a superior way to assure accountability and pastoral integrity, while eschewing bureaucracy and unwarranted complication and expense.
Responding to a Challenge to Professional Integrity
We now have the opportunity to evidence further that our decision to organize by Chapters – although requiring greater intensity and trust – bears within itself remarkable power for healing and renewal. In the course of our rapid growth, some Chapters have not applied the Standards in full accord with their content or intent, and there are now persons who have been certified and have professional skills but whose qualifications do not represent the CPSP Standards. This situation is not new or surprising in a growing professional body.
Our history of excellence motivates us to take whatever steps are necessary to address shortcomings in a way that is at once compassionate and rigorous, so that we can remain at the forefront of the field of specialized pastoral care. The good news is that the CPSP has solutions readily available that emphasize our values and demonstrate what makes our organization unique and enviable.
Consistent with our Covenant, we are an organization that includes members through "matriculation," not graduation. Our Chapters are by design intended to provide further personal encouragement, continuing education, and clinical supervision for those individuals requiring it. Our ethic does not stress ultimate and final achievement, or certification as a form of graduation, but an organic experience of ongoing training and maturity.
To assure our progress as professionals, we embrace a small group process that is intended to be lively and always ongoing, with specific certifications that are renewed every single year. This is equally true for everyone who is certified, including every Diplomate who is in leadership. Levels are differentiated not by a sense of calling but by our demonstrated and confirmed clinical abilities and our dedication to one another and our ministries.
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 3:06 AM
The 2012 CPSP Plenary gathering will take place at Doubletree Hotel & Suites Pittsburgh City Center. The hotel is situated in a prime location, which is right in the middle of Pittsburgh’s vibrant downtown.
A block of rooms have been reserved March 24, 2012-March 28, 2012. The special room rate, $119.00, will be available until March 4th or until the room block is sold out. You can reserve your room by clicking here.
We look forward to seeing you in Pittsburg March 25th-March 28th 2012.
Download a copy of the 2012 CPSP Plenary Registration Form posted below:
Download 2012 CPSP Plenary Registration Form
George Hankins Hull
CPSP Plenary Secretary
Continue reading "2012 CPSP PLENARY REGISTRATION FORM"
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 4:47 PM
Agnes Ho, CPSP Diplomate from Hong Kong, attended the International Council on Pastoral Care and Counseling in Rotorua New Zealand as a CPSP representative.
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 6:09 PM
Kimberly Garner, M.D., J.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.F.P. will be the Plenary speaker at the 2012 Gathering of the CPSP community.
Dr. Kimberly Garner is a staff physician at the Department of Veterans Affairs at the Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. She is also an assistant professor of Geriatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Dr. Garner is the medical director of the Geriatric Evaluation and Management Unit at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System which is a specialized intermediate unit which provides an interdisciplinary team approach in an inpatient setting.
The GEM specifically addresses relatively recent and potentially reversible loss of physical or cognitive function using a rehabilitation model. This involves a multidisciplinary, including occupational and kinesiotherapists, assessment. The primary goal is to promote functional well-being that allows re-entry into the community at the most independent and least restrictive level of care for chronic and seriously ill Veterans. She is currently conducting research to develop methods to engage Veterans and care providers in effective communication about advance care planning.
Dr. Garner received a juris doctorate degree from the University of Arkansas School of Law and a master’s of public health from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. She received a B.S. in dietetics from Louisiana Tech University and her M.D. degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
During the 2012 CPSP Plenary Dr. Garner will address the Current State of the Art of Assessing an Individual's Readiness to Discuss Advance Care Planning from a Palliative Care Perspective.
Continue reading "The 2012 CPSP Plenary March 25th-March 28th 2012 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania "
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 5:46 PM
Tolerance and Encouragement:
Within a Covenant of Mutual Accountability---
Robert Charles Powell, MD, PhD
The College of Pastoral Supervision & Psychotherapy aspires to be “a supportive and challenging community,” “willing to speak the truth” with “a compassionate heart.”“A clinical pastoral chaplain must be someone who is
committed to continuing personal transformation.”“Our continuing vitality will be determined by our ability
to nurture a receptiveness to criticism … .”
“We will have to be resolute and diligent if we want
to nurture a capacity for the self-critical in our midst … .”
In 1975 I was invited to present a keynote address. I spoke on eight “Questions from the Past (on the Future of Clinical Pastoral Education)” – outlining how Anton Boisen might have critiqued what had become of clinical pastoral chaplaincy – asking “whatever happened to the development of a critical tradition?” I was not invited back.
In 2005 I was invited to present a main opening address. I spoke on “religion in crisis” – on being keepers of our brother’s or sister’s religion – outlining how Boisen felt chaplains must promote “the finest potentialities of the human race” – across any and all supposed boundaries – while maintaining “a self-critical stance”. I was not invited back.
This time I am invited to present views on what is wrong with CPSP. What did happen to the development of a critical tradition – a self-critical stance? Can the College admit that some members need patient, persistent collegial support toward further growth – and admit that some Chapters need clear rededication to providing that guidance? Are critics invited back?
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 4:51 PM
Halloween. In the front window a pumpkin peers into the night. From beyond, children’s voices rise and fall in the darkness. My children, adults now, sit with my wife and me around our oak dining table.
“Remember the costumes we had…that time I was Bat Man and you were a cat?” my son says.
“Yeah, and pillow cases half full of candy. Some people gave really great things but those little boxes of raisins…I threw them in the alley,” my daughter laughs.
“Did you know that this is All Hallows Eve and to-morrow is All Saints?” I am unsure of myself but I want them to know our history and tradition, something I have paid little heed to over the years. “It is a time to remember the dead. If there is anyone who comes to mind of family or friends, we could name them. We never did this when I was a kid but the older I get it seems…” I feel awkward. For a moment we sit, silent, four faces caught in the candle’s uneven light.
“I wish grandma were here to-night.” There is a note of sadness in my daughter’s voice, then a quiet laugh. “Perhaps she is, sitting there in her place at the end of the table.”
I lean back in my chair, relieved that they have heard me. They know what I am talking about. My son remembers his grandfather; my wife names her mother.
“I had a brother,” I tell them, “who was born before me but died at birth. I have known about him for years but have never told anyone.” This lost brother like other pieces of my family history has remained hidden for years beneath a shroud of silence. But tonight with candles, an oak table, and spirits abroad, the shroud lifts a bit and there is permission to speak.
Continue reading "BLESS ME/CURSE ME---by Ron Evans"
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 4:36 PM
Today we are going to explore some of the more esoteric and unfamiliar spiritual practices which may present themselves in patient visitation. Prayers and gestures vary within different faith groups as loved ones intercede with God for the healing of their friends and family members. Most of these are quiet and reverential. Some of these practices, however, may present themselves to you as not only odd, but as disturbing and a bit alarming. I hope to shed some light on some of these and how to better prepare you as you care for your patients. As always, different does not mean wrong and enthusiasm in the course of prayer does not mean cause for alarm or intervention. However, as in any emotionally charged moment, some things may require you to intervene, beginning, as in the case study presented here, with a call to the Chaplain’s Office as a first recourse. Understanding is not the same as agreement with any belief system be it medical, spiritual or political. It merely means that you, as an aware health care provider, know what is playing out in front of you in order that you can make informed and responsible decisions regarding the well being of your patient.
First of all, what this discussion is NOT about. It is not about magic. It is not about the occult. It is not about demonic possession nor is it about voodoo. It is about cultural and religious diversity and the healing arts found in those traditions. It is about how various religious practices may present themselves in a patient visitation that may be different from what you are used to and may, as in the case presented here, actually be a bit alarming or disturbing.
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 9:26 AM
Left to right: Raymond Lawrence, Agnes Ho from Hong Kong, Steve Voitovich, Annie Wong and Stepen Abborow from Malaysia, and Richard Liew. Cesar Espineda was present but missing from the photo.
CPSP members attending the International Council on Pastoral Care and Counseling (ICPCC) in Rotorua New Zealand in August.The meeting was attended by about one hundred and fifty persons from every continent. The ICPCC meets every four years, and is a opportunity to share globally current trends and developments in the field of pastoral care and counseling.
Continue reading "CPSP WELL REPRESENTED AT ICPCC MEETING IN NEW ZEALAND"
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 8:01 AM
Left to Right: Jason Torpy, Greg Epstein and David Plummer
Jason Torpy, President of the Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers , along with Coalition of Spirit-filled Churches Endorser David Plummer, Chair-Elect of the COMISS Network, joined Chaplain Greg Epstein, Harvard Humanist Chaplain, on Monday, October 3rd, 2011, for a panel discussion at Harvard Divinity School. The event was a joint venture of the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard, the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, Harvard Divinity School, and the American Humanist Association.
The conversation began with definitions of Humanists, Freethinkers, Atheists – “non-theists.” Torpy stated that officially the military reports 1% of all personnel self-identifying as “Atheist.” But he quickly added that up to 20% reported themselves as “no religious preference.” He went on to say that it was very possible that many of these folks were non-theists who are afraid of persecution or discrimination for their worldviews or were non-theists and felt that humanists were more likely to be represented in the “No Religious Preference” (NRP) than any other demographic. Torpy emphasized that he was not trying to "take credit" for the NRP demographic and instead cited several Department of Defense studies that there are more Humanists than Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, or Muslims to show that non-theists are a significant minority.
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 1:27 PM
Today is the third day of the 2011 Pastoral Care Week, October 23-29. Our theme is "Shared Voice" (voices shared). Tuesdays are special for me because they evoke special voices from my mentors. Celebrate with us as you read this reflection.
I can still recall my first day as a Supervisor-in-Training with a CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) group. It was Tuesday, September 11, 2001, when the Twin Towers exploded after they were attacked.
It was on Tuesdays when we met and it was on one of those days that we discussed Mitch Albom’s book titled “Tuesdays with Morrie.” The book is a series of flashbacks as Mitch recalls the voice of his favorite professor at Brandeis University. It was not until sixteen years after Mitch graduated that he reconnected with and dedicated his Tuesdays to his dying professor, Morrie Schwartz, whom he called “coach.” After his mentor’s death, Mitch continues to hear Morrie’s instructions on the meaning of life and how to accept death and aging. His mentor’s voice from their Tuesdays continues to resonate in his life.
Continue reading "My Mentors’ Voices Continue to Resonate by Daniel Dávila "
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 1:02 PM
Brian Childs, PhD, Director of Ethics and Spiritual Care at Shore Health System, University of Maryland Medical System was recently awarded the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH) Presidential Citation award.
The Shore's Health System Weekly Newsletter Currents published October 5, 2011 states:
“Dr. Childs plays a key role in assuring that Shore Health System maintains the highest standards for medical ethics in patient care,” said Michael Tooke, MD, FACP, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Shore Health System. “We are very proud of Brian for his ongoing professionalism and dedication to these important issues.”
The full article can be read by clicking here.
Continue reading "CPSP PEOPLE IN THE NEWS: Brian Childs, PhD"
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 1:38 PM
Bonne Olson, CPSP Diplomate, appeared in a New York Times article written by Samuel Freedman and published August 26, 2011. The article documents the work of chaplains at the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center located in Queens Village, NY.
Mr. Freedman writes:
Among the clergy, Ms. Olson, 57, is the newest addition, hired last year as a part-timer. A former teacher, called to ministry in midlife and ordained by the United Church of Christ, she brought experience with narrative medicine, a process of actively eliciting and listening to the stories of patients. Her two weekly writing groups, one apiece for inpatients and outpatients, use narrative medicine’s techniques to explore each participant’s faith life and ethical conscience.
“The thing that strikes me about psychiatric patients,” Ms. Olson said in an interview this month, “is that so many people tell their story for them. When do they get to tell it for themselves? The act of writing is that your story is not only worth being told, but being heard. And this is all based on their story being sacred. Their experience, heartbreaking as it is, is held by God.”
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Perry Miller, Editor
Continue reading "CPSP PEOPLE IN THE NEWS: Bonnie Olson"
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 12:58 PM
At the first annual National Clinical Training Seminar – West (NCTS-West), held last month in Malibu, California, the thirty of us in attendance considered some things that we consider basics in pastoral care and particularly in CPSP. Most of the first day was devoted to “Use of Self,” especially the role of transference in our work, and in particular the rarely mentioned erotic transference.
Day Two was devoted to a theme that was woven throughout the first day. It is what I think of as the Three C’s of CPSP – “Chapter: Covenant and Community.” I will write more about this subject in a coming issue of Pastoral Report but meanwhile, I’d like to share something that many NCTS-West participants said was a profound, new experience. It is how we began our second day together.
First a little background. Years ago, after hearing about CPSP, I decided to make time to meditate on the Covenant. I wanted to know what CPSP was really about, what it stood for, and what its real possibilities might be in the world of pastoral care. It was doing this – slowly and thoughtfully meditating on the words of the Covenant, on all of them, and not just some – that led me to the conviction that the vision of the CPSP founders was truly visionary and profound. Making this meditation is what sealed my commitment to the small community we call the Chapter in the context of a larger aggregation of chapters we know as the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy.
Continue reading "ON THE CENTRALITY OF THE COVENANT … at NCTS-West by David Roth"
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 1:18 PM
Spirit-filled Christian endorsing executive David B. Plummer, MDiv, joined Jewish psychiatrist/ historian Robert C. Powell, MD, PhD, in Columbus, Ohio, on September 23-25, 2011, for the Sixth Annual Hindu Mandir [Temple] Executives’ Conference (HMEC). Plummer, who has a background in Army chaplaincy, clinical healthcare chaplaincy, and psychotherapy, presented a PowerPoint lecture on the need for the various Hindu faith communities jointly to establish a clear pathway -– including a consolidated religious endorsing body –- for Hindus to become chaplains and pastoral counselors in the military and civilian spheres. Plummer, the Chair-Elect of the COMISS Network, gave specific recommendations about how this pathway could be established. Currently there is only one Hindu military chaplain serving US armed forces personnel and their families and only four other Hindu chaplains serving North American civilian institutions.
North America is home to approximately 600 Hindu congregations. The recent HMEC
meeting had approximately 280 delegates representing about 100 such temple communities. HMEC aims to be a very inclusive organization, including all worshippers who consider the Vedas as part of their heritage -- “all those who believe, practice, or respect the spiritual and religious principles and practices having roots in Bharat [the ancient Greater India].” Thus HMEC views “Hindu” as including Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs “and people of many different sects within the Hindu ethos" (see http://www.vhp-america.org/whatvhpa/whoisahindu.htm) .
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 3:15 AM
Editor's Note: Steve Jobs admonition that we not "...waste our life trying to live somebody else's life..." reminds me how I've alway been touched through the years by CPSP and its dedication to create a space that calls for us to live our unique life, not somebody else's life. We in CPSP are indeed the "crazies".
-Perry Miller
Continue reading "Steve Jobs 1955-2011"
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 11:11 PM
Francine Hernandez, National Clinical Seminar-East Coordinator, announces the theme for the Fall 2011 National Clinical Seminar: Compassion Fatigue: "Caring for Ourselves, Caring for Others".
NCTS-East will be held November 7 – 8, 2011 at the Stella Maris Retreat Center – Elberon, New Jersey.
Francine Hernandez expands on her thoughts about the theme she selected:
This presentation is reflective of CPSP theme: “Recovery of Soul”. The workshop presentations will focus ways for us as caregivers to understand the nature of our call to help others, and be present with and for them in the context of their individual needs and their individual stories. We, however, need to understand the importance of taking care of ourselves before we can take care of others.
This seminar also explores ways for caregivers to nourish themselves in order to be more effective in their professional roles and in their personal journey. We will also explore the role that attitude has on our health as well as on those we are called to care for.
We are pleased that Dr. Roy Gaton, D. Min. has accepted our invitation to be the Keynote speaker for this event.
As always, the core of the NCTS gathering is small group work focused on review and critique of clinical material. As such, all participants are expected to bring clinical cases to be shared in the small group experience.
-Perry Miller, Editor
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at 8:43 AM