(Updated 1/24/24)

CLINICAL PASTORAL EDUCATION (CPE) 
Throughout history, religious leaders have served as spiritual guides, crisis counselors, unwavering supporters, and teachers. That pastoral tradition is central to Goodwin Living and our faith-based roots. We are among a small number of senior living communities nationwide that offer Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). CPE is an educational process that trains leaders from all different faiths in pastoral ministry and chaplaincy. Goodwin House began CPE in 1998. It is the only CPE site in Northern Virginia and one of about 350 centers in the U.S. CPE is a requirement for ordination in pastoral/spiritual ministry for many faiths and denominations.

Goodwin Living CPE students engage in ministry in a variety of clinical placement sites, including Goodwin Living communities, Goodwin Hospice, and Inova hospitals in Northern Virginia. 

Our communities are ideal settings in which to teach and practice pastoral skills. More than 1,000 residents and more than 900 team members come together from various cultural and faith backgrounds to experience the ups and downs along life’s continuum.

Goodwin Living chaplains mentor students in spiritual care with older adults. CPE students benefit from the rare opportunity to develop relationships with older adults, their families, our diverse staff, and caregivers. Students refine their skills in providing spiritual support with visits in hospice, care, hospital, and home contexts. Seminars cover depression, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and the care of frail elders. This milieu provides a wide range of opportunities for learning about mutuality in pastoral care and counseling, extending from residents to their families and to the staff who care for them. Students learn by engaging in ongoing pastoral support, hospital visits, crisis and transition intervention, group leadership, public worship, and pastoral administration. Graduates take what they learn from elders at Goodwin House into their own diverse ministry settings.

Goodwin House residents support CPE through their involvement with students, membership on the CPE Professional Advisory Group, serving as professional consultants, presenting seminars, and through financial gifts that support the students and the ongoing CPE program.

Chaplain Liz Pomerleau, ACPE Associate Certified Educator, is the Director of Clinical Pastoral Education, ext. 7576. 

CLINICAL PASTORAL EDUCATION (CPE) STUDENTS
Click HERE to see photos and short bios of the Winter 2024 CPE students.