Corrections_Today_March_April_2020_Volume 82, Number 2

Correctional Chaplain Perspectives

In these specialized roles, chaplains need highly specialized training. First, as religious pro- fessionals, they need religion- or tradition-specific training; for example, graduate level seminary degrees, or intensive mentorships with their tradition’s elders. And sec- ond, like all professionals, chaplains need institution-specific training to understand the purpose of their institutions; for example through en- rollment in a correctional academy. Clinical Pastoral Education A third type of training is also needed for correctional chaplains be- cause behind bars they never simply function as leaders of their own faith group, nor do they just support cus- tody or treatment goals. This third, even more specialized training is quite common, and is even required, in the military and in healthcare but not yet in corrections: Clinical Pas- toral Education, or CPE. In America, CPE that is accredited by the U.S. Department of Education is offered by the Association of Clinical Pasto- ral Education (ACPE). 2 Chaplaincy within secular institu- tions requires religious professionals to shift and expand their focus beyond both their previous faith- specific roles and the specialized silos of their institutions. Leaders of congregations are used to being the religiously-authoritative leader of a group of like-believing followers. Being a chaplain within a secular institution is quite different. Insti- tutional chaplaincy encompasses emotional and spiritual care to peo- ple of all or no faith. It also focuses on the interaction between faith and the specific context at hand. In

example is the typical delineation within corrections between cus- tody and treatment. Vitally, CPE emphasizes the necessity of finding connections based on our shared humanity and addressing experiences of difference and disagreement by deepening one’s personal humility and compassion for others. Ulti- mately the goal of chaplains is to rehumanize contexts that are strained by suffering and trauma. This is accomplished through a process of intensive personal reflection on one’s actions and assumptions as they come up in chaplains’ day to day work. Thus, contrary to the tendency in which increased specialization breeds increased disconnection from others, the educational goal of CPE is reconnection. CPE is experiential rather than just informational. Rather than adding new ideas and strategies, CPE challenges students to take all the puzzle pieces already on the table (their heritage, faith, personality, and skills) and bring them together into their day to day practice and pres- ence. Rather than gaining tools to fix problems people bring them, chaplains learn to trust the power of attentive presence and non-anxious listen- ing. In CPE, chaplains become more grounded in their own faith, more able to consistently show compassion, and more skillful in facilitating others’ self-discovery of their own spiritual and emotional resources. Shifts in goals, shifts in power Chaplains need to learn to shift their perspective as they become part of secular, goal-oriented institutions. For example, a chaplain’s primary

ministry with employees, chaplains empower their colleagues to do their jobs more effectively, healthily and humanely. For clients — in our case incarcerated people — correctional chaplains support them to reconnect with healthy coping strategies and spiritual resources relevant to reha- bilitation and/or life behind bars. Specialization that recon- nects rather than isolates One unintended consequence of specialization is the inevitable isolation or disconnection between peoples and groups dedicated to different specialties. For example, the more specialized healthcare gets, the more hospitals isolate people who are sick and dying, and the less illness or death are experienced as normal parts of life. Another For clients — in our case incarcerated people — correctional chaplains support them to reconnect with healthy coping strategies and spiritual resources relevant to rehabilitation and/ or life behind bars.

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