Div Dictionary: CPE

CPE (n): Clinical Pastoral Education, a hospital chaplaincy work/study program which many YDS students do during one of their summers or during the school year.

CPE is offered at many schools, and is nothing unique to Yale. However, the potential value it has makes it very worthy of discussion on the blog. CPE is usually one of the first ways that students can practice the pastoral education they’ve been learning formally and informally at YDS. Usually this takes place in a hospital setting: I imagine it’s a bit like being a 3rd year Med Student in some ways. You are respected for being there, for being who you are, you wear various forms of clothing that signal you out as a chaplain, you get all the stress and few of the perks.

Students spend about half of CPE time in classes, group sessions, and other educational settings trying to prepare for situations that will occur and working very intimately through situations that have occurred. Again, most take place at hospitals, so dealing with trauma, ER units, shootings, death of children, passing of those who have led full lives, and everything in between. The other half of their time is spent serving as actual chaplains.

From the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education's website: "Clinical Pastoral Education is interfaith professional education for ministry. It brings theological students and ministers of all faiths (pastors, priests, rabbis, imams and others) into supervised encounter with persons in crisis. Out of an intense involvement with persons in need, and the feedback from peers and teachers, students develop new awareness of themselves as persons and of the needs of those to whom they minister. From theological reflection on specific human situations, they gain a new understanding of ministry. Within the interdisciplinary team process of helping persons, they develop skills in interpersonal and interprofessional relationships." Lots of jargon, not a lot of substance, I know. I will say that a lot of my friends say that they learned more about themselves and their education during CPE than in the classroom. I’ve not done it yet, so I’m running with that.

Now the nitty-gritty: many denominations require a unit of CPE to be done before being ordained, so check that out. If it is not required, it is still most likely highly recommended, and perhaps part of an either/or requirement with a general internship. Many students take CPE because it simply is that beneficial to others and them, and it builds a great skill-set. YDS does pay CPE students, so taking it during time at YDS can be helpful, although they only pay $3,100 and the credits for the course (which is great in my opinion but I’ve heard some people lament the low numbers). Another option is to take CPE during the school year, where you would do 10 hours a week instead of 40+. In practice, that’s an exception here at YDS, but those who have done it that way indicate to me that they find it incredibly valuable as well.

Final thoughts: CPE, LPM (later post) and most internships/summer programs begin to be discussed at the end of the first semester. Do not worry about where you will do your CPE when you get here, there is time to think, to search, to reflect, and to ask many many questions of people before you even apply.

Note: those two images at the beginning are a bit odd next to one another, I realize. The first I found on my search for "chaplain" and the second when I searched for "CPE chaplain". Apparently, the first is part of the "Black Templar Space Marine Army" as part of some gaming thing. See here to get a full explanation.