Clinical Pastoral Education

Bethesda North offers a program of Clinical Pastoral Education accredited by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, Inc. 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 encounters with persons in crisis. Out of an intense involvement with persons in need and feedback from peers and teachers, students develop new awareness of themselves as persons and of the needs of those to whom they provide care. From theological reflection on specific human situations, they gain a new understanding of spiritual care. Within the interdisciplinary team process of helping persons, they develop skills in interpersonal and interprofessional relationships.

CPE is taken by students preparing for careers in spiritual care, ordained clergy and other religious leaders who desire continuing education in spiritual care, and qualified lay persons who may desire the learning in self-reflection and spiritual care for ministry within their faith communities. Lay persons and clergy may also take CPE to discern a vocation in chaplaincy, and CPE is the primary clinical training for those preparing for professional chaplaincy. Education requirements may be made by department’s faculty on a case-by-case basis. Minimal requirement is high school or GED diploma.

Course information:

• 400 hours for one unit of clinical pastoral education (CPE).
• Offered three times a year, during the spring, summer and fall 

• Spring Unit: January through May (15 weeks, 27 hours per week)
• Summer Unit: June through August (11 weeks, 40 hours per week)
• Fall Unit: September through December (15 weeks, 27 hours per week)

• Offers Levels 1A, 1B, 2A, and 2B units of CPE
• Not a residency; individual CPE units only
• $750 tuition per unit

For a CPE application or more information contact:

Bethesda North Hospital Pastoral Care
CPE Manager, Kristin Langstraat
10500 Montgomery Road
Cincinnati, OH 45242
513 865 4198

The TriHealth CPE Program at Bethesda North is accredited by:

The Association for Clinical Pastoral Education
1 Concourse Parkway, Suite 800
Atlanta, GA 30028
P: 404.320.1472
acpe@acpe.edu 

*More detailed information regarding Clinical Pastoral Education can be found at www.acpe.edu.

Testimonials

“I’ll always be glad for the training of CPE. I don't think anything else has prepared me for the church as well, in terms of just relating to people.”

Parish pastor

“I think requiring CPE would be a gift to 90% of our pastors…the students that came back from it always were so much more aware of their ingrained assumptions and behaviors that they weren’t aware of before….what a gift.”

Seminary faculty member