CPE Integration Praxis

Instructor:  Carrie Doehring, PhD cdoehring@iliff.edu 303-765-3169 Office: I-302

Course Synopsis

This course helps students integrate their completed CPE experience into their professional formation, ongoing coursework at Iliff and their knowledge of professional chaplaincy ethics and the process of becoming board certified as a chaplain or ordained as a religious leader specializing in spiritual care. Students will form a cohort group to discern how their CPE experience is part of their vocational discernment process at Iliff. Verbatim case studies will be used alongside readings in spiritual care and chaplaincy, in order to explore how students embodied their faith and core values through practice and professional ethical decision-making involving respect for diverse spiritual/religious identities and traditions. Verbatim case studies will also be used to analyze their engagement with and systemic assessment of their CPE context, especially in terms of leadership opportunities for increased agency and efficacy working towards social justice and peace. They will also use case study experiences alongside readings about professional ethics in chaplaincy to explore ethical decision making.

Prerequisites

IST 2012 Pastoral Theology & Care
IST 1000 V&O
IST 1001 IPD
IST 4004 CPE

Readings will be posted in weekly course instructions and the bibliography.

Evaluation: Preparation for and participation in weekly discussions will ve graded as complete/incomplete, with a final grade of Pass/Fail

2022 3 2 Spiritual Care Learning Goals .docx

2022 Learning Covenant in Spiritual Care Courses 2021.docx

Policies & Services: S ee the link on the left side menu for information about Iliff-wide course policies.

Week 1: We'll begin with a zoom meeting on Monday, March 28 at 3 pm MT. You can j oin Zoom Meeting by using this link:
https://iliff-edu.zoom.us/j/92426278159?pwd=ZExXSkZneHE1bjlPaTZWR21vbmVwdz09
Meeting ID: 924 2627 8159
Passcode: 164202

Learning Covenant in Spiritual Care Courses

Confidentiality: Personal disclosures are not to be discussed outside of class without agreement and permission. Students can talk about their stress/emotional reactions with trusted others, as long as the focus is on them and not the content of what other students share. In case study assignments that are not fictional, students need to disguise the identity of care seekers. Students must be aware of and abide by the mandatory reporting laws of the state in which they provide professional caregiving. If they are designated spiritual caregivers within their religious tradition, they need to also be aware of what their religious organization requires. If students have reason to suspect or have first-hand knowledge of recent, current or ongoing child abuse or neglect perpetrated on a child currently under the age of 18 years, elder abuse, sexual and domestic violence, or threats of homicide or suicide in any of the pastoral situations they use for fulfilling the requirements of this course they need to seek immediate consultation with supervisors, denominational leaders, and the professor of this course so that proper reporting procedures can be ascertained. Current information on (1) "clergy as mandated reporters" and (2) links to state laws can be found at the Children's Bureau of the US Department of  Health and Human Services. Faculty will abide by the bounds of professional and Title IX reporting laws rather than absolute confidentiality. Under Iliff’s Mandatory Reporting Policy, all employees, with the exception of the Dean of the Chapel and Spiritual Formation,[i] are mandatory reporters. The primary purpose for sharing this information with the Title IX Coordinator is to ensure the impacted party receives information about rights and resources, and that Iliff is able to respond appropriately to such incidents.

Self-Differentiation: In preparing forum posts and responses, assignments, and spiritual care conversations, students are responsible for (1) tracking how they experience stress in their bodies and stress-related emotions, and (2) using practices that foster self-compassion and empathy, such that their emotional/stress reactions are resources for learning, not liabilities.

Levels of self-disclosure: The purpose of self-disclosure is to develop competencies in spiritual care, especially a commitment to one’s own process of spiritual integration that enhances self-differentiation and a capacity for empathy. The purpose of self-disclosure in this learning context is not for personal healing. In deciding how to use/disclose personal experiences in discussions and assignments, students need to track their levels of stress before they share in class discussions, and in assignments/forum postings, and to not disclose experiences that overwhelm their capacities for self-differentiation, spiritual integration, and critical thinking skills. Students need to use their support systems when they become overwhelmed and in making decisions about what kinds of personal experiences to share in weekly posts and journal/case study assignments.

Respect for differences: Students are responsible for using social and theological empathy to imaginatively step into and respect the worlds of those who are different from them in terms of beliefs, values, practices, and social location.

Group and team learning depend upon timely posts and assignments: Every effort must be made to post on time. If posts will be late, faculty, students must notify faculty, forum discussion groups, and/or learning partners. If assignments are consistently late and if late assignments jeopardize their learning partner’s deadlines, students may be required to withdraw from the course. Normally incompletes are not granted because all learning in the course is collaborative.

Availability of faculty: Faculty in spiritual care courses will normally respond within 24 hours to emails (Contact Carrie Doehring by email). Messages sent within Canvas are sometimes hard to track amidst other Canvas notifications. Spiritual care faculty offer support but not spiritual care or counseling and are available to help students with referrals for spiritual care, spiritual direction, and counseling. 

Self-care: If this course makes you aware of sources of stress you'd like to work on with professional support, please see details about these professional services available for Iliff students: Self-care for students through Iliff's EAP

Academic Standards: All students are expected to abide by Iliff’s statements on Academic Integrity, as published in the Masters Student Handbook.  Students should demonstrate academic and professional communication skills that include coherent expression of ideas, use of good grammar, and appropriate citation of sources referenced in responses and assignments. In this course, we use APA format for citations and references.  Iliff's writing lab has a link to suggested sites for writing resources and style guides. Use this link to find the Purdue Online Writing Lab, and their guide to APA 7 formatting.  All course participants should use inclusive language and language that respects the diversity of sexuality, gender, and sexual orientation.

Discussion posts and responses are also expected to meet these academic standards (vs. more casual standards that apply to other online conversations/emails). Please proofread assignments and discussion posts before you submit them. Seek support from the Iliff Writing Lab (Links to an external site.) as needed.

 

[i] College and university chaplains are included in the category of Confidential Resources, which usually includes those working in the Counseling Center, Health Center, and the University Chaplain. Faculty/staff members who happen to be similarly licensed in their field (e.g., who may be accredited as professional chaplains or licensed mental health professionals). are not exempt from reporting. Student chaplains are usually mandated reporters.