CPSP Little Rock Chapter

  THE CHAPLAINS'​ NOTES IN PATIENT CHARTS -- BY RAYMOND J. LAWRENCE   A very useful study was reported in the journal  Palliative and Supportive Care in May, 2016, entitled "Documenting presence: A descriptive study of chaplain notes in the intensive care unit." The research was completed in September, 2015. The authors of the report were Brittany M. Lee, B.S.; Farr A. Curlin, M.D.; and Philip J. Choi, M.D. The setting of the research was Duke University Hospital, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, in Durham, North Carolina. The study was done with input from the Director of Pastoral Services, Jim Rawlings. The researchers proposed that the recent emphasis on evidence-based practice may be leading chaplains to the use of a reduced, mechanical language insufficient for illuminating patients' individual stories. Whatever the cause may be, it is clear that the chaplains in this study are at sea on the matter of what should be appropriat...

There has been an increasing trend in the pastoral care movement to move away from chaplaincy and pastoral care in favor of promoting and providing "spiritual care." Many hospital departments have changed their names to reflect this shift in philosophy and practice. Spirituality circumvents religion and promotes chaplaincy as a generic practice. Religions are messy. They have rules, doctrines, beliefs, ethics---some of which are flawed to be sure. But religions usually stand for something. Spirituality is an amorphous thing, an oblong blur, with implications of cosmic connection, but with no price tag---no demands no dogmas, and no ethics. Not even a dogma demanding justice and mercy. The only perceptible doctrine promoted by the spirituality movement is that people should feel good about themselves. At its best the clinical pastoral movement teaches religious professionals to be available to everyone. It also teaches them to be critical of all religion---but dismissive of no...

The College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy (CPSP) is delighted to announce the appointment of Charles R. Hicks as its new Administrator. 'Administrator' is equivalent of what would be referred to in the corporate world as Chief Operating Officer (COO). Charles will also continue serving as our Legal Counsel. He will oversee and work closely with Krista Argiropolis, our Administrative Coordinator. Charles is an attorney and former Arkansas Department of Human Services Chief Counsel. He earned his LLM in Health Law from the University of Houston Law Center, his Doctor of Law (J.D.) from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, William H. Bowen School of Law. He is currently a partner in Health Law Associates, Little Rock, Arkansas. He will be taking leave from his law firm. Charles has served CPSP for the past six years as attorney and advisor, for the most part on a pro bono basis. He believes strongly in the values and vision to which CPSP is committed. Ch...

In Conversation with Peter Rollins

UAMS Clinical Pastoral Training Program  Summer 2014 CPE Resident and Internsaption The CPE program at UAMS Medical Center has a history that extends over twenty years. Chaplain interns and residents serve as hospital chaplains and provide pastoral care and counseling to inpatients, families and hospital staff. Each chaplain in training is assigned to a number of floors and units, providing an opportunity for the trainee to experience the full range of care settings in a modern medical facility. The trainees are required to provide 24 hours on-call coverage for the Medical Center. In addition, each trainee is required to present case studies, attend didactic seminars, provide written reflections upon reading reviews, meet with their supervisors for individual supervision sessions, conduct a weekly ecumenical worship service and take part in group relations seminars . CPE at UAMS focuses on the development of personal and pastoral identity and the growth of professiona...

About CPSP The College of Pastoral Supervision & Psychotherapy is a theologically based covenant community, dedicated to "Recovery of Soul." CPSP offers the following: Accredited training and credentialing for Pastoral Psychotherapy. Credential is certification as Diplomate in Pastoral Psychotherapy. Accredited training and credentialing for Pastoral Supervision. Credential is certification as Diplomate in Pastoral Supervision. Accredited training and credentialing for Pastoral Counseling. Credential is certification as Pastoral Counselor or Associate Pastoral Counselor. Accredited training and credentialing for Clinical Chaplaincy. Credential is certification as Board Certified Clinical Chaplain or Board Certified Associate Clinical Chaplain. If you would like to learn more about the life and work of the CPSP, please  contact us . Visit the  Pastoral Report   to learn more about the  College of Pastoral supervision & Psychothearpy  ...

Over the years CPSP has been fortunate to have many good and dedicated individuals who have stepped up to the plate to volunteer their service for the larger well-being of the community. In fact, over the 25 years that CPSP has been in existence there have been countless hours of labor rendered by these good people who nurtured and supported a community growing from the original 15 founders to over 1200 members currently. Folks like Bill Carr, a founding member and CPSP’s first treasurer was one whose signature attested to the business of CPSP in the required filings for the state of Virginia, together with Raymond Lawrence, the General Secretary. As a treasurer of CPSP, Bill meticulously attended to the finances of the organization and the disbursement of its funds. In a similar way, CPSP is served by Charles Kirby, our current treasurer to whom we owe a huge debt of gratitude for his dedication and unassuming service on behalf of the CPSP Community. Like Bill Carr once did, Charle...

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Clinical Pastoral Education training program focuses on the development of self-awareness, formation of pastoral identity, professional pastoral functioning, and the ability to address issues from a competent clinical and pastoral perspective. The CPE residency program is designed for the ordained person with a seminary degree and at least one unit of Clinical Pastoral Education.  Residency stipend: $25,500 plus medical benefits. On occasion, a lay person may qualify for admission. CPE residents and interns serve as ecumenical chaplains, under supervision, to assigned areas throughout the UAMS Medical Center and clinics. The setting provides a rich base for clinical experience and opportunities for continued personal, professional and pastoral development. The Part-time Extended Unit of CPE is designed for busy individuals who wish to complete CPE training on over an extended period of time on a part-time basis. This is not a s...

On behalf of the CPSP Leadership Team, we warmly invite you to join us for the 24th Annual CPSP Plenary in Virginia Beach, Virginia, March 30 – April 3, 2014.  We will meet at the Sheraton Oceanfront Hotel for informative speakers, dynamic group process and a fun filled evening of karaoke.   Dr. J. Harold Ellens will be the recipient of the Helen Flanders Dunbar Award. The CPSP plenary gathering is unique in many ways and one of the most important aspects of our gathering is the mutual sharing of our work and our lives in a small group context. Please come prepared to share yourself and your clinical work as we come together to hear and to respond to each voice in the community. Full details of the Plenary Registration, Schedule and workshops will be forthcoming

The organization that set out to change the face of Professional Chaplaincy and the Clinical Pastoral training movement, the Spiritual Care Collaborative, has been dissolved as a corporation.  “On May 14, 2012, the Steering Committee of the Spiritual Care Collaborative (SCC) voted to dissolve its formal Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) structure.”   In its founding the SCC was hailed as a new breakthrough in collaboration between pastoral care and counseling organizations.   The SCC announced that it was formed to “provide a common voice for professional pastoral care, counseling and education organizations in the United States and Canada.  With the goal “to speak with a unified voice as clinically trained, qualified pastoral/spiritual caregivers who serve as chaplains, pastoral educators and counselors in specialized settings including hospitals and other healthcare organizations, military, prisons, and the business workplace.” Rather than creating h...

In the recent decade, public attention on the work of care for the terminally ill has greatly increased, largely through government funding of such work.  The American Board of Medical Specialties approved palliative medicine as a new medical specialty in 2006, followed by the first board certification granted for physicians in palliative medicine in 2008.  Clinical Chaplaincy has been an integral part of this emerging model of care.  In response, CPSP has developed a subspecialty certification for Board Certified Clinical Chaplains, “Board Certified Clinical Fellow in Hospice and Palliative Care” (FHPC). This will be a subspecialty credential for those first credentialed as Board Certified Clinical Chaplains (BCCC) or Board Certified Pastoral Counselors (BCPC). Procedure: CPSP Chapters will receive requests from candidates for this certification, and will review the request.  The candidate for FHPC subspecialty certification may download the applicat...