Programs at the JTS Center for Pastoral Education
The Center provides experiential education in spiritual care through its supervised internship program in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE).
JTS offers an incredible CPE program. I learned a tremendous amount about the links between self-care and transformation, and the creation of a more caring and compassionate world.
—Rabbi Annie Lewis, JTS alumna
Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Programs
Our Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) programs enable students to connect in caring relationships with vulnerable people as they search for meaningful responses to the challenges of illness, hospitalization, death and dying, mental illness, and other life challenges. Students engage in small group seminars and receive individual supervision, deepening their spiritual and professional development, awareness of self and others, and spiritual caregiving skills.
Seminary students, religious leaders, and professionals from diverse religion communities are welcome to enroll in the Center’s CPE programs.
NEW YORK CITY SUMMER CPE PROGRAM
Full-time Summer Program: May 15–August 9, 2024
Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM–5:30 PM
In the full-time New York City Summer CPE Program, students spend three days a week providing spiritual care at hospice, hospital, elder care, or mental health settings, and the other two days at JTS for educational seminars.
This program earns one (1.0) unit of credit through ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care and Education.
Tuition: $800. All students in the New York City Summer Program are eligible to receive a full tuition scholarship of $800. See below.
Scholarship Support
Students in the New York City Summer CPE Program are eligible for scholarships granted to the center through agencies and foundations, including the Caring Commission of the UJA-Federation of New York. These scholarships provide full coverage of the $800 tuition and a stipend toward living expenses.
JTS rabbinical and cantorial students are also eligible to receive the Paul A. Kaplan Memorial Fellowship in Pastoral Care.
The CPE Method
CPE is grounded in the “reflective practitioner” model of learning, which helps students integrate their identities, beliefs, and prior knowledge with new insights that emerge through the process of practicing spiritual caregiving.
The educational components of CPE include student presentations of verbatims—written reports of spiritual care visits—as well as group seminars emphasizing attuned engagement with others, seminars on spiritual care topics, and individual supervision.
Application Materials and Instructions
We are currently in the process of overhauling our CPE application system for Summer 2025. To hear from us about the launch of this new system and upcoming units, please fill out this inquiry form. Be sure to select Division of Lifelong Learning and Professional Studies under “School of Interest,” and select Clinical Pastoral Education under “Area of Study.”
Accreditation
All JTS CPE programs are accredited through ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care and Education. For comprehensive information about Clinical Pastoral Education, please go to ACPE.
Military Chaplaincy
The Center for Pastoral Education facilitates the process for students to pursue military chaplaincy training. The US Military Chaplain Candidate Program gives rabbinical and cantorial students the opportunity to experience firsthand what military chaplaincy entails, preparing them to move into the position of military chaplain or reserve chaplain after ordination and to enrich their rabbinate or cantorial path. The Jewish Welfare Board (JWB) offers an array of resources to prospective, current, and former Jewish military chaplains.
CPE @ Camp Program
Full-time Summer Program: Dates will be coordinated with summer camp schedules
Students working at a Jewish summer camp will focus on providing spiritual and emotional support to staff and the camp community through 1:1 conversations and group sessions. They will participate in Zoom classes with a cohort at other camps and an ACPE Certified Educator and will complete asynchronous assignments.
This program earns one (1.0) unit of credit through ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care and Education.
Tuition: $800. All students in the CPE @ Camp program will receive a full tuition scholarship and a $2200 stipend in addition to their compensation from camp.
Director
Harold and Carole Wolfe Director of the Center for Pastoral Education; Assistant Professor of Pastoral Education
Rabbi Naomi Kalish is the Harold and Carole Wolfe Director of the Center for Pastoral Education and assistant professor of Pastoral Education. Prior to coming to JTS, Rabbi Kalish taught clinical pastoral education (CPE) at New York–Presbyterian Hospital to students from diverse religious, denominational, national, and cultural backgrounds. Rabbi Kalish has served on the Interprofessional Education Faculty at Columbia University Medical Center. She has taught chaplaincy and pastoral care courses and programs for the Academy for Jewish Religion, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, Yeshivat Maharat, and JTS. Rabbi Kalish has extensive experience in interreligious dialogue and its application for peace-building and community relations. She earned her BA from Tufts University and an MA in Jewish Philosophy and rabbinic ordination from JTS. She is a doctoral candidate in Education and Jewish Studies at New York University.
