# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1953_S548
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

548 MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS

2. Clinical Training in Pastoral Care ~

Training in Pastoral Care is not a new endeavor. -
always taught Pastoral Care in our seminaries, and the’:
been, under the blessing of God, a ministry which, ‘in: th
sense of the term, merits the appellation “pastoral.” ~~

In the course of the last quarter century, however.
movement in ministerial education named “Clinical Pasto:
ing” has appeared. This movement postulates that if the
is to minister effectively to people, he must know not only ths
but people as well, and that he can gain such knowledge
only by actually working with them. The knowledge
and their psychological reaction to given approaches is p:
valuable in dealing with the mentally and physically i
prisoned and other institutionalized people. Therefore
ing in “interpersonal relationships” is given in a clinical :36é
a hospital, prison, or other institution. Actual visiting ari
sultation with patients under the supervision of a trained
is combined with studies in psychology, psychiatry, hospi
ministration, medical practice and terminology, and othe
subjects. Thus the student is better able to preach and
the Word of God to people who are often difficult to
who, by reason of infirmities of many kinds, presen!

resistance to the Gospel.

The idea of Clinical Training in Pastoral Care original
a chaplain in a mental hospital more than a quarter of
ago. It was then picked up by other chaplains, and
organization to promote clinical training for pastors, called
cil for Clinical Training,” came into being. Some time la’
group of chaplains formed the “Institute for Pastoral Car
two organizations have conducted courses in a number of hh
for two decades, and many theological students and pastorg,
them also a number of our own men, have been bene

these courses.

The conviction that all institutional chaplains, in o eh
charge their duties efficiently, should have such training. :
gained ground. The Federal Prison system was the first
that all chaplains in Federal prisons have clinical tr
accredited as chaplains by the Council for Clinical Trai
chaplaincies were established in State mental hospitals
States, this requirement was also written into th 4
governing the appointment of these chaplains. Many pri
tals followed suit, and so- today there are large areas:#
pastors without clinical training simply cannot secure appol
as chaplains in institutions. More and more hospitals are