CHAPLAINCY PROGRAM
Chaplaincy Program with Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy (SIP)
Exploring how spiritual and religious beliefs, purpose, and the search for meaning affect both professionals and their clients — integrating them ethically, respectfully, and effectively into the therapeutic process.
Format
Two-level curriculum
Hours
30 total (15 + 15)
Certification
Optional, 20 hrs consultation
Standards
APA · NASW · AAMFT
Who It’s For
✓Mental health professionals: psychologists, psychiatrists, marriage and family therapists, counselors, social workers, addiction specialists.
✓Graduate students in related disciplines who seek to integrate spirituality, religion, and life meaning into clinical practice.
✓Chaplains and spiritual leaders who wish to enhance their pastoral care with psychotherapeutic and ethical tools.
Program Components
Formal Curriculum
Two levels, each with 5 courses of 3 hours = 15 hours per level. Total: 30 hours.
Certification
Optional process for those who want to demonstrate formal competence: 20 hours of professional consultation, case presentation, peer review, and clinical application evidence.
Communities of Practice
Post-course regular meetings to share cases, challenges, ongoing learning, and peer supervision.
Train-the-Trainer
Trainer training program to expand the reach of the initiative while upholding institutional standards.
Evaluation
Self-assessments, instructor assessments, peer feedback, and post-certification tracking.
Ethical and Regulatory Standards
Integrity, diversity, inclusion, human rights respect, and adherence to professional codes such as APA, NASW, AAMFT.
Curriculum — Level 1 (15 Hours)
1.1 · Foundations and Ethics of Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy
Theoretical foundations of spirituality, its history in psychotherapy, integration models, and professional ethics.
1.2 · Developing Spiritual Conversations in Psychotherapy
Initiating, sustaining, and structuring spiritual conversations with clients while respecting worldview and avoiding bias.
1.3 · Spiritual Assessment
Tools and methods to ethically and culturally assess clients’ spiritual dimension, including instruments, interviews, and qualitative approaches.
1.4 · Spiritual Interventions — Part 1
Using healthy spiritual resources of clients to promote well-being: meditation, rituals, community, spiritual resilience.
1.5 · Addressing Spiritual Struggles
Supporting faith crises, doubt, spiritual pain, and internal religious conflict with compassion and narrative approaches.
Curriculum — Level 2 (15 Hours)
2.1 · Spiritual Interventions — Part 2
Advanced explicit spiritual interventions: contemplative practices, sacred texts, nature, music, art, prayer, meditation.
2.2 · Working with Harmful Spirituality/Religion
Exploring spiritual trauma, religious manipulation, abuse, and pastoral wounds, and how to heal them ethically.
2.3 · Therapist’s Spirituality and Belief System
Reflection on the therapist’s personal spirituality, biases, and spiritual countertransference in clinical settings.
2.4 · Spiritually Integrated Case Conceptualization — Part 1
Building case conceptualizations that include spiritual dimensions alongside biopsychosocial factors and differential diagnosis.
2.5 · Spiritually Integrated Case Conceptualization — Part 2
Advanced case conceptualization practice, peer feedback, and certification preparation.
Certification
✓Prerequisite: licensed professional or in process, plus completion of Level 1 + Level 2
✓Process: 20 hours of professional consultation, case presentation, peer review committee, application evidence
✓Renewal every 2–3 years with ongoing education and professional community participation
✓Continuing education credentials recognized for state license where applicable
At a Glance
✓30 total curriculum hours across two levels
✓Optional certification: 20 hrs consultation + peer review
✓Aligned with APA, NASW, AAMFT ethics codes
✓Open to mental health professionals and chaplains