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.
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From Iloilo I traveled to Manila where I was the guest of St. Andrews Theological Seminary. The Rev Tomas Maddela, who is dean of the seminary, was very welcoming, providing me with great hospitality. He commented that he his students who go off for clinical training usually return as noticeably changed persons. I addressed the student body in an hour-and-a-half session and found them very responsive.
The seminary is on the grounds of a large network of institutions in Manila: Trinity University, St. Luke’s Hospital, and the national headquarters of the Philippine Episcopal Church. The hospital is said to be the best in Manila. Its clinical pastoral training program was begun by the Rev. Al Dalton in the 1960s, and subsequently directed by the Rev. Narciso Dumalagen, who was trained by my mentor, the Rev. Armen Jorjorian. Narciso’s son is named Armen. Narciso himself seems to have trained practically every chaplain I happened to meet who is now working in the Philippines. I also met with the current chaplain of St. Lukes, who expressed an interest in getting trained to direct CPE programs. St Luke’s currently offers clinical training, but the program was not in progress and the supervisor was away.
I also met with Narciso for a day, and went to his home for dinner with his family. One comment by Narciso reminded me of some of the dark side of CPE in the U.S. He said that he was saddened by the shift in emphasis of much current CPE toward ideological agendas in training, a dark trend that I have witnessed as well.
Leaving the Philippines, I went on to Hong Kong where I met with the CPSP community there and authorized the inauguration of the Hong Kong Chapter. Up to now they have all been linked to Chapters in the U.S., which is clearly burdensome. I also attended the graduation program for a just-completed unit directed by CPSP Diplomate Patty To. Patty runs programs supported by the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches of Hong Kong.
Next I met with the clinical supervisors at Bethel Bible Seminary, and the President, the Rev. Gaspard Lam. In the U.S. a Bible seminary would be perceived as a narrow institution focusing strictly on the ancient texts. Not so at this seminary. Lam, who is a CPSP Diplomate, has the most sought-after clinical training program in Hong Kong. He has two supervisors working, the Rev. Mei Po Tam and her husband the Rev. Kenneth Tam. He has other staff now in the process of seeking clinical pastoral credentials. Bethel offers academic courses in pastoral counseling as well as clinical programs. The school has an astonishing enrollment of some 700 persons, most of whom are enrolled in academic courses in pastoral counseling. The faculty can hardly keep up with the demand. There is clearly a lot of interest among Hong Kong Chinese in pastoral counseling as a discipline. Bethel Seminary seems bursting at the seams.
A footnote: Hong Kong seems to be a city that works. Except for the blight of air pollution coming from the mainland, the city seems to be a quality place to live. In spite of the huge population, most of the city is wooded as if it were a national park. I was driven for extended periods of time through wooded mountains that seemed more pristine than the Smokey Mountains, still in the city limits of Hong Kong. Public transportation is clean, efficient, and I was told there are no slums, and no areas where I might be in physical danger. Perhaps it is time for the city leaders of New York to make a visit to Hong Kong.
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at September 21, 2007 12:33 PM
