ACPE is the premier organization that provides the highest quality Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) programs for spiritual care professionals of any faith and in any setting. We do this through a rigorous accreditation and certification process for centers and educators that provide CPE. The depth of our training enables students to realize their full potential to strengthen the spiritual health of people in their care as well as themselves. ACPE is nationally recognized as an accrediting agency in the field of clinical pastoral education by the U.S. Secretary of Education through the U.S. Department of Education.
CPE began in 1925 as a form of theological education that takes place in settings where ministry is practiced and in the classroom. Since ACPE formed in 1967 about 75,000 individuals from the United States and many other countries internationally have completed units of CPE. These CPE students come from many different ethnic, cultural, and faith groups. ACPE certified CPE is offered in many kinds of settings: in hospitals and health care including university, children's, and veterans' facilities; in hospices; in psychiatric and community care facilities; in workplace settings; in geriatric and rehabilitation centers; and in congregational and parish-based settings. The textbooks for CPE include in-depth study of "the living human documents." By "living human documents," we mean both the people who receive care as well as a study of ourselves, the givers of care. Through the practice of ministry and the reflection thereon with supervisor and peers, the experiential learning that is CPE takes place.