The American Association of Pastoral Counselors was a

professional organization A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) usually seeks to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that profession, and the ...

of pastoral counselors from a variety of religious and

psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between t ...

traditions. In 2019, AAPC consolidated with the

Association for Clinical Pastoral Education Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) is education to teach spiritual care to clergy and others. CPE is the primary method of training hospital and hospice chaplains and spiritual care providers in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. C ...

(ACPE) and now exists within the organization as the ACPE Psychotherapy Commission.

Membership

The association defined a pastoral counselor as "a minister who practices pastoral counseling at an advanced level which integrates religious resources with insights from the behavioral sciences" and

pastoral counseling Pastoral counseling is a branch of counseling in which psychologically trained ministers, rabbis, priests, imams, and other persons provide therapy services. Pastoral counselors often integrate modern psychological thought and method with traditi ...

as "a process in which a pastoral counselor utilizes insights and principles derived from the disciplines of theology and the behavioral sciences in working with individuals, couples, families, groups and social systems toward the achievement of wholeness and health." The association is

nonsectarian Nonsectarian institutions are secular institutions or other organizations not affiliated with or restricted to a particular religious group. Academic sphere Examples of US universities that identify themselves as being nonsectarian include Adelp ...

and includes members from a variety of faith groups. American Association of Pastoral Counselors previously certified different levels of pastoral counselors,

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

pastoral counseling centers, and approved programs to train pastoral counselors. As of 2008, American Association of Pastoral Counselors had a membership of over 3,000 pastoral counselors and 100 pastoral counseling centers.

History

The association was founded in 1963 with the purpose of establishing standards for professional preparation and professional ethics in what was then the relatively new field of pastoral counseling.

Professional standards

In 2004, American Association of Pastoral Counselors joined with five other religious mental health professional organizations ( Association of Professional Chaplains,

, National Association of Catholic Chaplains,

National Association of Jewish Chaplains A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

, and Canadian Association for Pastoral Practice and Education) to establish common standards for ethics and professional conduct.

Consolidation with ACPE

In 2019, members of AAPC voted to consolidate with the

(ACPE). AAPC as a legal entity was dissolved, and the two organizations now function as one. Former members and leaders of AAPC now exist within ACPE as the ACPE Psychotherapy Commission.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pastoral Counseling Professional associations based in the United States Practical theology Counseling organizations