Clinical Pastoral Education

Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center combines an expansive learning environment, innovative curriculum, and a creative interfaith professional education for spiritual care. The program brings theological students and ministers of all faiths (pastors, priests, rabbis, imams, and others) into supervised encounters with persons in crisis. From intense involvement, feedback from peers and teachers, theological reflection on human situations, and an interdisciplinary team process, students develop:

• A new awareness of themselves and the needs of those to whom they offer spiritual care
• Clearer understanding of spiritual care
• Increased skills in interpersonal and inter-professional relationships

Staff and students provide spiritual care at Baylor St. Luke’s, a premier adult hospital and all of its facilities in the metropolitan area and the Texas Medical Center. These settings provide invaluable learning opportunities, ranging from “routine” ministry on assigned floors to crisis-based spiritual care, while on-call.

The CPE curriculum rigorously supports clinical learning through a wide scope of relevant topics. The curriculum is augmented by outside consultants, including psychotherapists and pastoral theologians, who work directly with program participants to assist with special projects that address personal and spiritual narratives. Our spiritual care specialties allow for exploration of specific populations from a spiritual care perspective through our advanced second year residency program. Every day, the seasoned experience and innovative expertise of our knowledgeable faculty promote personal and professional growth.