Code of Maine Rules › 02 - DEPARTMENT OF PROFESSIONAL AND FINANCIAL REGULATION › 514 - BOARD OF COUNSELING PROFESSIONALS LICENSURE › Chapter 5 - LICENSED PASTORAL COUNSELORS › Section 514-5-3 - Education

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
1. Qualifying Degree
The applicant shall provide documented proof of a master's
				  degree or a doctoral degree from a regionally accredited institution that meets
				  the core curriculum requirements of Section
				  3(2) of this chapter,
				  and is a:
- Master of Divinity or Doctor of Divinity degree; or
- Master's or doctorate degree in pastoral counseling.
Alternatively, the applicant may provide documented proof of
				  an equivalent degree from a program approved by the board that meets the core
				  curriculum requirements of Section
				  3(2) of this
				  chapter.
2. Core Curriculum
				Requirements
The degree program completed by the applicant pursuant to
				  Section
				  3(1)
				   of this chapter included a minimum of 20
				  semester hours or quarter-hour equivalent as an organized sequence of study
				  that includes curricular experiences and demonstrated knowledge that
				  substantially satisfies each of the areas of study described in paragraphs A
				  through E below, plus the 400 hours of clinical pastoral education required by
				  paragraph F.
Except for clinical pastoral education, full area credit will
				  be recognized for a three semester hour course in the designated area. Except
				  for clinical pastoral education, partial area credit will be recognized for a
				  course that contains components or significant aspects of an area, and area
				  requirements other than clinical pastoral education may be satisfied by
				  academic work completed in one or more separate courses. In determining whether
				  a course pertains to an area, the board will consider the content of the course
				  as set forth in course descriptions, catalogs, syllabi, lesson plans,
				  assignment lists, reading lists, or other contemporaneous documents; completed
				  coursework produced by the applicant; any reliable information furnished by the
				  applicant, the instructor who taught the course, a member of the academic
				  department which offered the course, or a senior administrative official of the
				  institution; and the title of the course. No one course will be recognized as
				  satisfying more than one area of study.
In evaluating the applicant's academic credentials, the board
				  shall consider the unavailability of the foregoing materials due to passage of
				  time. In the event of a denial hearing, the board shall give due regard to the
				  credibility of the applicant in evaluating any testimony of the applicant
				  relating to course content, provided that the applicant has first demonstrated
				  to the board a good faith effort to obtain the documentation described in the
				  preceding paragraph.
A. Pastoral
				Theology and Psychology.
B. Testing
				and Measurement, or Research Methods.
C. Studies in at least two of the following
				areas:
(1) Basic Pastoral Care.
(2) Crisis Intervention.
(3) Cross-cultural Issues.
(4) Faith Development.
(5) Grief Counseling.
(6) Helping Relationships.
(7) History of Pastoral Care and
				Counseling.
(8) Hospital
				Ministry.
(9) Life Cycle
				Ritual.
(10) Psychology of
				Religion.
(11) Professional
				Orientation.
(12) Spiritual
				Direction.
(13) Human Growth and
				Development.
(14) Theories of
				Counseling.
D. Studies
				in at least one of the following clinical areas:
(1) Psychopathology.
(2) Clinical/pastoral assessment.
(3) Diagnosis and Treatment.
E. Professional Ethics.
F. Clinical Pastoral Education.
Four hundred hours of clinical pastoral education that meet
				  the requirements of subparagraph (1) or (2) below. Clinical pastoral education
				  is a supervised internship in ministry to persons in crisis. Development of a
				  pastoral identity and the integration of the person of the student chaplain
				  into the ministry are the central goals. A typical program of clinical pastoral
				  education includes ministry to individuals and their families, written reports
				  of visits reviewed in individual and/or group supervision, group dynamics
				  sessions, and didactic seminars. The ministry is in the context of teamwork
				  with other professionals.
(1) A
				program accredited by ACPE or an equivalent organization; or
(2) The program is not accredited but
				integrates religious or spiritual study, peer discussions, meditation and
				pastoral counseling through living in a religious or spiritual community or
				periodic retreats to a religious or spiritual community. The program has a
				curriculum and syllabus, including content descriptions for didactic
				instruction and seminars; clinical counseling, including group supervision and
				individual supervision; and clinical critique. The program requires program
				staff to prepare written evaluations of student performance in accordance with
				evaluation guidelines maintained by the program.