Supervised Pastoral Education

St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton

St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton is an accredited teaching facility with the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care (CASC). All Supervisor-Educators are current members of CASC and have SPE Program approval via the Accreditation Committee.

What SPE programs are currently offered within St. Joseph’s Health System?

September 4, 2018 – Sept 2, 2019 – A twelve-month Residency program is being offered at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. The Teaching Supervisors are Roy Dahl and Kelly Collins for the CPE component of the program. A PCE supervisorwill be responsible for supervising the PCE component. Applications will be accepted until March 2, 2018, or until a maximum of five (5) residents have been accepted into the program. If wishing to apply after this date, please call to inquire as to the status of the program. A minimum of four (4) residents is required for the program to be offered.

We sometimes offer an intensive summer CPE unit; however, we are unable to do so for 2018. We plan to resume these intensive summer CPE units in May 8, 2019.

What are the prerequisites of the Residency Program at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton?

The residency is primarily for those interested in pursuing the designation of Certified Spiritual Care Practitioner in the CanadianAssociation for Spiritual Care (CASC) or in functioning at an advanced level in Spiritual Careministry.

Prerequisites are:

  • One basic unit of SPE
  • Completion of at least one year of a graduate theological degree program
  • Endorsement of a faith group

MANDATORY REQUIREMENT:

It is imperative that prospective residents are able to apply and register successfully for graduate-

level courses at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary as, currently, two specific courses are

required for the PCE component of the program. It is also imperative that prospective residents ensure that they have the course distribution requirements to obtain permission for Advanced education before the second unit of the residency program. This may mean that you need more than first year basic courses of your theological degree.

It is a requirement of the program that unpaid learners (in either intensive or extended units) be able to obtain WSIB insurance (generally through registration in a university graduate course) or the equivalent to this through a private insurer. (If you have questions about this, please contact one of the supervisor-educators for details).

International Applicants

Out of country applicants to the residency must ensure there are no restrictions on theirpermitregarding application and enrollment in courses with an academic/educational institution. As well, the permit must not restrict the ability to work in healthcare. Either restriction will necessarily disqualify the prospective resident from acceptance into the residency.

What is the tuition for the various programs offered at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton?

  • Intensive Unit – $1500.00
  • Residency – $3000.00. A stipend of approximately $22,000 is provided.

Out of the above tuition fees, the Spiritual Care Department will reimburse the resident, as well as the single-unit Learner engaging in an intensive or extended unit of SPE, for the following:

  • CASC Unit Fee
  • Professional Liability/Commercial General Liability Fee (for non-paid Learners only)
  • External non-course relatededucational activities and associated costs, if required by the SPE program at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, i.e., conference registrations, regional CASC meetings, etc.
  • Cost of course tuition, only for two courses at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary (required for PCE unit in the residency program) ***Please note that registration fees, student fees and any health benefit fees or incidental fees are the responsibility of the student and are not reimbursable.

How do I apply for an SPE Program offered at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton?

An application form may be accessedby clicking on the following link:
SJHH Supervised Pastoral Education - Application
Please send the completed application by email to one of the Certified Spiritual Care Supervisor-Educators listed below.
Please note: the non-refundable $100.00 application fee will be credited toward an applicant’s tuition if accepted into any of the SPE units offered.

Who may apply for Supervised Pastoral Education (SPE)?

SPE is available to:

  • ordained clergy
  • theological students
  • persons in a religious vocation
  • lay persons committed to personal and professional growth

All programs are interfaith/spiritual and open to those who have a commitment to personal and professional growth. The ability to articulate one’s educational and vocational goals and to effectively use individual and group supervision is also crucial. Applicants are selected via a process that includes letters of reference and an interview.

Some specific information regarding Supervised Pastoral Education at St. Joe’s

Supervised Pastoral Education (SPE) includes CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) and PCE (Pastoral Counselling Education), both of which are adult education, action/reflection models accredited by the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care (C.A.S.C.). CASC is committed to the professional education, certification, and support of those endorsed by their faith communities in the ministry of spiritual care, counselling, and education. A unit of CPE consists of a minimum of 400 hours of training divided equally between clinical care and small group seminar education. After a minimum of two Basic units of SPE, a student may meet a committee to move to Advanced standing based on a discernment process of readiness together with the SPE supervisor. Following this particular unit, a further discernment process takes place between supervisor and resident/learner to determine whether the outcome of the unit is an Advanced unit or Basic unit. A unit of PCE consists of 120 hours of clinical work and 280 hours of small group seminar education. The residency program at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (SJHH) offers a combination of three CPE units and one PCE unit. Students have the opportunity to gain experience within the environment of the Charlton Campus, the West 5th Campus, and in outpatient clinics. Some summer intensive units may provide placements within the larger context of St. Joseph’s Health System and clinical work takes place outside the Hamilton area.

The Content of Supervision

1.Group Supervision
Each participant will present to his/her peers and supervisor written reports of pastoral/spiritual care experiences for discussion, analysis and theological/spiritual reflection.

2.Interpersonal Relationships Group
This group experience focuses on the process of group dynamics and developing greater awareness of one’s own interpersonal style of relating.

3.Theological/Spiritual Reflection
This is a reflection process to examine one’s theological and spiritual values and beliefs as they meet concrete life experiences and the provision of spiritual care to others.

4.Spiritual Reflection Service
An opportunity is provided for each member of the learning community to lead his/her peers in exercises of spiritual reflection and to receive feedback in this regard.

5.Didactic Sessions
Resource persons from within the healthcare setting as well as from the broader community contribute to theory sessions related to various aspects of providing spiritual care.

6.Individual Supervision
Participants will meet individually with the supervisor of the unit for more personal reflection on the participant’s learning experience

Our Sites

St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton is a teaching hospital consisting of three campuses and over 800 beds, affiliated with the faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University and Mohawk College. It includes the acute care hospital at the Charlton Campus (50 Charlton Ave. E.), the King Campus (2757 King St. E.) andthe West 5th Campus – The Margaret and Charles Juravinski Centre for Integrated Healthcare (100 West 5th St.).

St. Mary’s GeneralHospital in Kitchener is a 191 bed community hospital. It is an adult acute care facility with a specialized focus as a designated Regional Cardiac Centre.
Your interest in our hospitals and the SPE program is appreciated.

For more information please contact:
Roy G. Dahl, RP, M.Div. –Certified Spiritual Care Practitioner / Certified Spiritual
Care Supervisor-Educator
Kelly Collins, RP, M.Div., MA – Certified Spiritual Care Practitioner/Provisional Spiritual Care Supervisor-Educator

Telephone: 905-522-1155,

Roy Dahl: ext. 35118

Kelly Collins: ext. 32857, ,