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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(Left to Right): Revs. Richard Liew, John DeVelda, Francine Angel, Steven Abbarow, C. Alejandro, and Chor-Kiat Sim who represent Malaysia, China, USA, India, Porto Rico, and Singapore respectively.
Rev. Steven Abbarow, an Anglican priest who is the archdeacon in Ipoh, Malaysia, was certified as the first Clinical Pastoral Education Supervisor/Diplomate of the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy (CPSP) in Malaysia. The certification committee of the New York/New Jersey Chapter consisted of an international group of CPSP Diplomates who applauded Rev. Abbarow’s vision and desire to become a clinical educator and to join the U.S. CPSP Indigenous CPE Team in mentoring the remaining Supervisors-In-Training in Malaysia.
Rev. Steven Abbarow who was supervised by the Rev. Dr. Richard Liew, brings a rich Indian cultural background and Anglican heritage to the work of pastoral education in his developing nation. His native culture and his learning experiences derived from his diligence in his father’s tea house when his family struggled to survive in hard times, his theological foundation based on his understanding of the parables in the Gospel (such as the widening influence of yeast and caring experiences of shepherds), including his decades of ministering to his parishioners in Malaysia, places him in a distinctive supervisory vantage.
Steven's CPE supervisory training consisted of intensive training with his supervisor, following the path set by Annie Wong, acting coordinator for Malaysia Indigenous CPE (MICPE). Further, he used both clinical education and experiences of his chapter and CPE groups in Malaysia to formulate his theories and practice.
Looking ahead, he wrote: "One of the most important challenges is to address the Indigenous component." He is determined to ensure "the clinical process of engagement" be done sensitively in order to earn the respect of his elders. Moreover, he is aware of communicating and teaching his trainees with clear understanding of the nuances among the Malaysians (Chinese, Tamil and others) in their varied languages. For clinical areas his students visit community hospitals, churches, rehabilitation centers and other welfare services in peninsula Malaysia. These varieties of culture and faith present challenges and growth to MICPE, but he is undeterred. A vital step in Malaysia’s indigenous CPE has been taken.
This marks another milestone in the CPSP global CPE program. Thus, it continues the globalization of CPSP in fulfilling the indigenous features of CPE. Moreover, this “empowerment of the indigenous community” (p. 27, Our Proclamation) in Malaysia aligns with our covenant of “offering a living experience that reflects human life and faith within a supportive and challenging milieu of fellow pilgrims.”
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Rev. Dr. Chor-Kiat Sim, D.Min, BCC, CPE Supervisor/Diplomate (CPSP) of Baltimore Chapter. Click here to contact the author.
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at December 22, 2009 5:48 AM
