Whenever I talk with fellow members of CPSP, recurring themes emerge. Among the most common are struggles with pastoral identity, how the chaplain should use and work with authority, our roles on interdisciplinary teams, how to manage boundaries in our work, and the forms pastoral leadership might take when we work with groups.
It is not only trainees in CPE who struggle with these and related issues but seasoned chaplains, SITs and CPE supervisors as well.
So what can we do to address these issues?
Getting a handle not only on what is most obvious but grasping our and others’ unconscious processes – “what’s really going on” – is key.
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Raymond Lawrence and I have just returned from Chicago where for the first half of last week four CPSP supervisors-in-training participated in an experiential group relations conference sponsored by the AK Rice Institute for the Study of Social Systems (AKRI). This event was followed by four days of seminars and workshops about group relations theory and practice, known as the AKRI Dialogues, that the two of us attended.
Over that past few years CPSP has been working with AKRI and its regional affiliates on the West Coast and in New York. NCTS-West and NCTS-East have both been venues for introducing our members to the methods of group relations. Charla Hayden and Jack Lampl, AKRI fellows and internationally recognized leaders in the group relations field, joined the CPSP community at the 2013 CPSP Plenary in Las Vegas.
For the last two years CPSP members have participated in AKRI’s annual international 6-day residential conference that is held each June in Dover, MA.
Presently, group relations conference participation is a training requirement only for SITs seeking diplomate certification. More of our CPE supervisors should attend, along with clinical chaplains, pastoral counselors and psychotherapists. We cannot stress strongly enough the benefits widespread conference participation will bring to chapter life and our various ministries.
The reduced-rate, early registration deadline for the June 16-21 AKRI conference “Learning for Leadership” is fast approaching – less than two weeks away. Apply now. If the price tag is prohibitive, inquire about a reduction in fees. According to conference director, Edward Shapiro, MD, scholarships are available for those with an financial need.
Last year, Bill Sewall, a trainee in CPE wrote this in Pastoral Report. http://www.pastoralreport.com/the_archives/2014/09/first_impressio_1.html
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David Roth
drdavidroth@gmail.com