Mental Health Clinical Pastoral Education—A Specialized CPE Program
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThere are a number of issues with regard to the article. The Introduction lack clarity about the focus of the article and the structure of the argument. It is not clear why the author needs to give the reader some history of CPE. Why not simply indicate what it is and the goals according ACPE guidelines. You could footnote sources for readers interested in the history of CPE. In 1.4, the first sentence is not the goal. It appears to be six goals not seven. The results are confusing. It appears that the author is using qualitative measures taken from students varied responses or reflections regarding thier experiences. While this is valuable, it is also limited. You can cherry pick statements to indicate that your program is beneficial. You should at least tell the reader what method you are using. Also the begining of the results section there is a lotof jargon and no clear presentation. The author makes a number of claims and uses concepts that readers may not be familiar with. 2.3 Self-differentiation (Table 1): [Then remove the italics and make that part of teh paragraph. Line 517. This was a bit confusing. How is self-awareness and making use of yourself spiritual growth?
The author's paper appears more of an apology for this program, rather than a clear presentation of the benefits. In other words, there is no indication of the shortcomings of the program. I can think of one glaring shortcoming. Is there any didactic that addresses how the medical system in the U.S. is captive to neoliberal capitalistic apparatuses, which clearly impacts some patients experiences. What about other systems, such as sexism, racism, and classism? Are students introduced to these and if not why not? The absence of all of these indicates that chaplains may unwittingly function in colluding with these systems that harm people in various ways.
Author Response
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Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsI congratulate the author on the choice of the research problem of his study. The article submitted for review is a solid study on a specialized clinical pastoral education program in mental health for theology students of all denominations, religions and cultures. It is useful to provide an introduction to the origins and history of clinical pastoral education in several countries around the world. The main objective of the study is to determine the impact of the Mental Health Clinical Pastoral Education program on changing the thinking of students undergoing practical training at McLean Hospital in order to improve the competence of future mental health chaplains. The synthetic but comprehensive presentation of the objectives and teaching instructions of the program is particularly noteworthy. From a scientific point of view, the most valuable are the examples of changes in the thinking of participants in the Mental Health Clinical Pastoral Education program obtained through qualitative research. According to the author, the conclusions from the application of this educational program are very positive. There is little criticism of the program, despite the fact that it has only been developed at McLean Hospital for a few years. Critical comments would undoubtedly be valuable material for the leaders of this program. However, I must admit that the author has presented convincing arguments confirming the educational value of the Mental Health Clinical Pastoral Education program. A weak point of the entire structure of the article is the lack of a separate methodological section containing a more detailed description of the research method used. Although general comments on the method can be found in various places in the article, the research problem and how it was solved are not clearly formulated. It would be worth supplementing this. The article is recommended for medical staff and chaplains at mental health clinics, as well as students preparing to serve the sick. After supplementing the methodological section, I recommend the publication of the reviewed article in the journal Religions.
Author Response
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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe topic of this article is highly interesting because it discusses the development, implementation, and significance of a Specialized Mental Health Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program designed for clergy and religious students from diverse spiritual, religious, and cultural backgrounds. The author’s concern it to describe how this program can provide religious leaders with the necessary skills in mental health assessment and spiritual care in a multidisciplinary context.
The proposed research method is based on interdisciplinarity. The author's approach to bring psychology and theology closer together is welcome in the current academic context. Despite the fact that continuing professional training programs focused on mental health are rare in the contemporary world, the author attempts to overcome psychologists' skepticism toward religion and propose a coherent program with a curriculum that integrates traditional components of clinical pastoral education, such as clinical practice, supervision, teaching sessions, case presentations, and group leadership training. At the same time, the author includes new elements in this program, such as reflections on faith, verbal protocols for meetings with patients, and immersive experiences that foster relational capacity.
The results presented as case studies indicate that program participants report progress in developing emotional intelligence, professional confidence, and leadership skills. The author includes feedback from graduates in his article, highlighting the program's impact on their ability to work in a clinical and communitarian milieu.
Critical remarks:
- It is recommended that the author specify in the introduction what other attempts have been made over time to bring psychology and theology closer together and whether there have been other attempts besides Boisen's to overcome historical skepticism toward religion in the mental health disciplines.
- Although the feedback from course participants is valuable, more rigorous evaluation methods are needed to determine the effectiveness of the program.
- We recommend that the author specify possible solutions for overcoming the reluctance in secular clinical settings to integrate religious perspectives into treatment.
Author Response
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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsI have read the article, and it is much improved. I suggest publishing it.
