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Spiritual Care Specialist Training (SCS)
Please see Events calendar as well for the latest updates. |
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In times of crisis, the first place many people turn is their local church or faith community. Studies show that 25% of those seeking help for mental and emotional challenges seek out a clergy person before attempting to access clinical care. This is higher than the percentage of people who first go to a psychiatrist or medical doctor.*
People practicing in care ministries, whether professional or volunteer positions, sometimes find themselves at a loss as to how to respond to the kinds of problems around which their care-receivers are seeking help. Addiction, mental health challenges, trauma, and domestic violence are only a few issues that may require a mental health perspective.
Have you ever wanted to learn more about these kinds of issues and build your repertoire of helping skills, so that you can provide a more competent and confident ministry of care? ACPE’s 48-hour course in Spiritual Care Specialist training supports people working in all manner of caring ministries (congregational clergy, lay pastoral caregivers, chaplains, allied caregivers of faith, etc.) to do their work more effectively, ethically, and safely.
Issues and topics in the core curriculum always include:
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Podcast: The Spiritual Care Specialist Training Program was featured on Spiritual Care Today, the official podcast of the Journal of Pastoral Care Publications, in a discussion between Aaron Pawelek and Tres Adames, developers of the program: |
Different Versions of the SCS Program:
All versions of the SCS program adhere to the same basic core curriculum. As different trainers join us, emphases emerge. Not all variations are always available:
- Aaron Pawelek, LICSW, MSW, MTS is a member of ACPE’s psychotherapy commission. He is also a psychotherapist in practice at the New England Pastoral Institute (NEPI) in Salem, New Hampshire. ( https://www.nepastoral.org/about/your-first-visit/ ) Aaron teaches the core curriculum online with an array of scholarly and practitioner voices, in order to provide a social justice lens through which to approach the curriculum.
More on Aaron’s Class and Work
- Marion Williams, MA, LPC, NCC, REAT offers a creative approach to pastoral care (simple easy to access drawing and meditation techniques that allow participants to explore spiritual care in fresh and engaging ways). She is teaching over Zoom. Marion brings not only expertise in counseling and theology but also creative methods for learning. Marion also works at Women’s Wellness in CT. ( https://womenswellnessct.com/staff/marion-williams-lpc-ncc/ )
More on Marion’s Class and Work
- Tres Adams, MDiv, BCPC has been a pastoral counselor and educator for over 13 years. He uses his Master of Divinity and Bachelor of Arts in Media Communication to inform his creative and practical approach to teaching. Tres’ current offering emphasizes pre-recorded self-paced modules with assigned homework (allowing for greater flexibility) along with scheduled live group sessions (online). His class explores spiritually-integrated caregiving through creative tools like film reflections and practicum simulations role-playing caregiving scenarios with professional actors.
[For current trainings, see the top of this page, or our Events Calendar and look for SCS or Spiritual Care Specialist trainings.]