critical components in the formation of clinical pastoral education supervisors by amy elise greene...

Critical Components in the Formation of

Clinical Pastoral Education Supervisors

by Amy Elise Greene

December 2011

Summary of a dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the Doctor of Ministry degree from Ecumenical Theological Seminary

Detroit, Michigan

Critical Components © 2011 Amy Elise Greene

Outline

What is CPE? My vocational journey and CPE Review of Literature and Hypothesis Methodology Major findings Further questions


What Is Clinical Pastoral Education?

Graduate education for Clergy Widely required for ordination Credential for professional chaplains and

pastoral counselors for Board Certification Hands-on experiential learning under

supervision Theological education in institutional

settings


My vocational journey and CPE

1986 – M.Div. Union Theological Seminary (NYC) 1987 – drop out of CPE program (NYC) 1989 – ordained to pastor in Atlanta 1997 – re-enter CPE in Atlanta 1998 – enter supervisory training 2002 – become Full Supervisor, ACPE, Inc. 2007 – become Director of CPE, Cleveland Clinic,

a supervisory training center 2011 – Doctoral candidate, ETS, Detroit


What is ACPE, Inc.?

Association for Clinical Pastoral Education Formed in 1967 when four groups merged Recognized by U.S. Department of

Education as certifying body ~600 Active Members (mostly within U.S.) ~455 Training Centers (most in hospitals) Fewer than 100 Centers engaged in

Supervisory Training (~100 supervisors accredited to do so)


Groups that joined to form ACPE

Council for Clinical Training

Southern Baptist Association of Clinical Pastoral Education

Lutheran Advisory Council on

Pastoral Care

Institute of Pastoral Care


Literature from within CPE:

Histories Thornton (1970) Hall (1992) King (2007)

Dissertations on supervisory training Harper (1991) Ragsdale (2008)

Group Process Hemenway (1996)

Biography of Boisen Leas (2009)

Theory Papers 1980 to present


Literature Relevant to Study

The Power to Bless (Madden) 1970 The Supervisory Relationship (Frawley-

O’Dea and Sarnat) 2001 Shared Wisdom (Cooper-White) 2004 ACPE Theory Papers (Greene) 2003 At Personal Risk: Boundary Violations in

Professional-Client Relationships (Peterson) 1992


Reason for this study:

Average age of active practitioners is 59 Supervisor certification rate is not keeping

up with retirement rate Some centers still don’t have faculty Membership had never been surveyed

about training process How can we make the training process

better?


The CPE Training Process:

Levels Level One (400 hours – one unit) Level Two (year-long residency or additional

units) Supervisory Training (4 - 6 more years of

training, plus supervised practice) Candidacy Theory Papers Associate Full


Research Methodology

SurveyMonkey.com online electronic survey Three requests sent, one week apart

Survey questions did not change; request memo did Participants could opt out and not receive further

requests or emails Sent to all members on membership list (809) 50 “bounced back”; study proceeds with 759 Forced-choice ranking system yields solid data Response overwhelming (55.5% of members)

449 out of 759 completed the survey (59.2 percent) Incomplete surveys could not be counted


Components of supervisory training Consultation groups

(with peers and other supervisors)

Involvement in regional and/or national CPE meetings

Individual psychotherapy

Freedom to practice on your own

Clinical placement Curriculum (required by Standards since 1990s)

Theory paper writing process

Being denied a request (“flunking” a committee)

Relationship to supervisor

Having multiple training supervisors (one center)


Critical Finding #1: Relationships are core in top three “Critical Components”

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Consultation groups

Relationship to supervisor

Individual psychotherapy

Multiple training supervisors

Freedom to practice on your own

Theory paper writing process

Clinical placement

Being denied a request

Involvement in ACPE meetings

Curriculum


Critical Finding #2: at current trend, average age of newly certified supervisors will be 59 in two decades.

3437

4044

4750

5459

26

20.025.030.035.040.045.050.055.060.065.0

1950

s

1960

s

1970

s

1980

s

1990

s

2000

s

2010

s

2020

s

2030

s

Decade of Certification

Average Agein

Years

(Projected)


Length of Time to Work as Supervisor vs. Number of Years to Train

ONE @ age 35 4-6 years to train;

30 years’ work

THREE @ age 5512-18 years to train;

3 retirees 10 years later =


Critical Finding #3: Women complete process faster than men

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

5.5

6

6.5

7

7.5

8

20 - 29 30 - 34 35 - 39 40 - 44 45 - 49 50+

Age Range at Training Start (Years)

Years in Certification

Process

Female

Male

2.1 years


Critical Finding #4: Frequent presentation to peers reduces training time by more than one year

6.5 years 6.3 years

5.4 years

5.3 years

5.0

5.5

6.0

6.5

Quarterly Monthly Bi-weekly Weekly

Frequency of Presenting Work to Supervisors and/or Peers

Years Required to Achieve Full

Supervisor status

1.2 years


Theological and Scriptural Images for Primary Supervisory Relationship

Incarnation Brother in ministry One who walked

alongside me, Road to Emmaus companion

Paraclete, Advocate Seed planter One who blessed Forgiving Healer Priest Pastor Disturber of the peace Spiritual friend Spiritual encourager Mentor, teacher

Father of the prodigal, good father

Prophet Shepherd Guide Like Paul and

Timothy Anointer Law and grace Discerner of gifts,

caller forth of gifts Fellow

pilgrim/traveler Moses, led me

through the wilderness

Like Jacob and the angel (blessing and struggle)

Truth teller, spoke the “truth in love”

Covenant maker Midwife Liberator Inspirer Healer Sage Witness One who offered

radical acceptance Rabbi Listener


Questions for further research:

Why do women get through faster? How should we recruit/market? Should therapy be required? Would better curricula have an impact? Why does presenting more often help? Where are our own theorists? How can we make training more effective? Should process be tied to doctoral degree?

critical components in the formation of clinical pastoral education supervisors by amy elise greene...

Documents