Clinical Pastoral Education holds 20th Graduation

Koforidua, Jan. 21, GNA - The Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) a programme under the Catholic Diocese of Koforidua, which trains people from all walks of life irrespective of gender, religious or ethnic background for chaplainry work, has held its 20th Graduation at Koforidua in the Eastern Region.

In all, six students graduated after going through a 12-week intensive course in first aid, HIV/AIDS, counseling, family system/genogram, among others subjects. The Director of CPE, the Very Reverend Father Alex Bobby Benson said the programme, which is recognized internationally, was started in the United States of America in 1925, and he introduced it into Ghana in 1999 and was the first of its kind.

Rev. Fr. Benson said before one qualified to be a chaplain, the person needed to go through all four units comprising 12 weeks each. He said the programme involves both theory and practicals and takes students to the field to get into contact with persons in situational crisis, especially those infected with HIV/AIDS and the affected families.

Rev Fr Benson said, apart from those who graduated, about 30 students have undertaken the programme and only three have completed all the four units. He emphasized that CPE has come to stay in Ghana and called for governmental support to enable more professional chaplains to be trained.

He expressed appreciation to MISSIO, a German-based Non-Governmental Organization that has been supporting the programme. The guest Speaker, Mr Emmanuel Sobotie, Chaplain of the St Dominic Hospital underlined the need to get more people trained as Chaplains to be employed at Hospitals, Prisons, reformed homes and educational institutions.

Mr Sobotie, who is an alumnus of CPE said a casual visit to the hospitals would reveal that doctors, nurses and other paramedics were so over stretched in attending to the numerous patients that they had little or no time or energy to add extra duty of counseling to their work.

He advised the graduands to be cautious, compassionate, committed and effective since in the course of their work they would be handling cases involving rape, drug addiction, alcoholism, suicide, HIV/AIDS, abortion among other trauma-related cases.