FOUNDATIONS IN CONTEMPLATIVE CARE
A training program in spiritual caregiving
Now more than ever, we are committed to train and support caregivers in a contemplative approach to care.
Since 2007, the Foundations in Contemplative Care training has transformed the lives of individuals from across the country and around the world by supporting the integration of spiritual practice and care.
We continue to find ourselves in unprecedented times when the entire world is in crisis. In the midst of impermanence and isolation, what is being asked of us? How can we be resilient in new ways to serve others? We are each being called upon to respond to the suffering in the world. How can we answer this call? These are the questions around which Sensei Koshin Paley Ellison and Sensei Chodo Robert Campbell will orient the 2021/22 training. We will also be using dynamic learning platforms to enhance flexibility and build community and relationships, which are key components of our work of transformation through service.
Join Chodo and Koshin on Monday, February 22nd, 2021 from 7:30pm-8:30pm ET for a free, online Information Session to hear about NYZC’s Foundations in Contemplative Care training program and the transformative and practical aspects of contemplative caregiving. Click here for more info and to reserve your spot.
COMPREHENSIVE COURSE OF STUDY
The mission of New York Zen Center is to transform the nature of care through contemplative practice by creating awareness and skill to meet vulnerability, illness, aging and death with dignity and compassion. We approach this mission through the three interconnected aspects of our center’s work: training, care, and contemplative practice.
In the many years that NYZC has provided care and trained contemplative caregivers, the demand for a compassionate approach to life transitions has become ever more urgent. How do we ensure that as a society, we are aware of the changing needs and are taking action to care for the most vulnerable among us?
Program components include two class days a month, 100 clinical hours in a hospital, hospice or residential community, one-on-one mentoring, and self-directed reading and writing exercises. This training is ideal for professional caregivers such as physicians, nurses, social workers, and hospice workers as well as those interested in becoming caregivers.
Program details
Program Components
- Classes take place one weekend (Friday from 3pm to 6pm ET, and Saturday from 10am to 4pm ET) of each month September 2021-May 2022
- We are also planning two required in-person retreats in November 2021 and May 2022. There will not be a class during those months. Please note that these retreats are not included in the Foundations in Contemplative Care tuition.
- Participants are required to complete 100 clinical hours of volunteer contemplative care work (in-person or online) at a hospital, hospice, residence, or community center during the nine-month program.
- Non-local students complete clinical hours where geographically convenient and are responsible for securing their own clinical placements (these can be in-person or online). NYZC will give you a letter of introduction that you can provide to potential placements.
- Participants are also required to participate in monthly (eight in total) one-on-one supervision sessions with a mentor who will be assigned upon acceptance. Supervision is provided as an integral layer of support for your contemplative care work.
- In between each weekend class, students continue their learning through video teachings, readings, and writing assignments.
- Participants have monthly meetings with peers outside of class, virtually or in-person.
- There are mid-term and final evaluations, evaluating both your own participation as well as providing feedback for the training program.
- All assignments and evaluations are required and serve participants’ learning processes; they are not formally graded unless you are taking the course for graduate-level credit.
- During the final weekend, each student presents a final project of their own interest related to Contemplative Care and their clinical work.
Areas of study, to include
- Practicing greater intimacy in interpersonal relationships, active listening, spiritual support, verbal and nonverbal communication, and moment-by-moment awareness.
- Learning how contemplative practice can support caring for those who are experiencing critical life transitions, including illness, dying, grief and loss.
- Exploring healthy boundaries and the ethics of conduct and personal safety in care work.
- Practicing creating and facilitating rituals and memorials as a contemplative care partner.
- Learning how to support others who do care work—including healthcare staff and family caregivers—in their own resiliency.
Location
Throughout the 8 months, we will come together as a world-wide virtual community, using online learning platforms for lectures, dharma talks and group discussion, and in small intimate groups for mentor meetings and experiential learning.
Monthly classes may be attended virtually via Zoom or in-person—pending circumstances associated with COVID-19—at our New York City location. The in-person seats are first-come, first-served and must be reserved during registration for all classes.
We are also planning two required in-person retreats at the Garrison Institute in Garrison NY, in November 2021 and May 2022. Virtual participation is not possible. Please note that these retreats are not included in the Foundations tuition.
21/22 Training Dates:
Classes meet Fridays from 3 pm to 6 pm ET and Saturdays from 10 am to 4 pm ET, with the exception of the retreats as noted:
Friday, September. 10th & Saturday, September. 11th, 2021
Friday, October 8th & Saturday, October 9th, 2021
Thursday November 4 through Sunday November 7, 2021 – Contemplative Care Retreat.
This in-person retreat is required, and not included in the tuition.
Friday, December 3rd & Saturday, Dec. 4th, 2021
Friday, January 7th & Saturday, January 8th, 2022
Friday, February 4th & Saturday, February 5th, 2022
Friday, March 4th & Saturday, March 5th, 2022
Friday, April 1st & Saturday, April 2nd, 2022
Thursday May 5 through Sunday May 8, 2022 – Foundations Closing Retreat. This in-person retreat is required, and not included in the tuition.
Enrollment Requirements
The training program is designed for people who have a Buddhist or contemplative practice.
With this in mind, the requirements for entering the program are the following:
- Regular and committed Buddhist or other contemplative/spiritual practice and study for at least six months
- Silent retreat experience
Application Components
- Completed reference form from a Buddhist teacher or someone who knows your contemplative/spiritual practice
- An interview via Skype or Zoom.
- Background check conducted by NYZC
- Your current resume
Graduate Credits
This is a graduate-level training that includes several self-directed and peer group learning components. It does not certify you to become a chaplain. However, successful completion of the Foundations Program does make you eligible to apply for our Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) training program. Also, once you are accepted to the Foundations Program, you have the option to register through our partner institution, New York Theological Seminary, to receive eight graduate credits for this program. There is an additional charge paid to NYTS for these credits. To learn more about NYTS and our relationship with them, please go here.
Continuing Education Credits
Social Workers
New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care, Inc., SW CPE is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #0192. The Foundations program is approved for 120 contact hours.
Learning Objectives:
Using the Buddhist precepts as a springboard for discussion and activity, students of The Foundations in Contemplative Care Program will learn
- to perceive the suffering around them,
- bring interpretative rigor to what they perceive,
- see events from multiple points of view and be moved to compassionate action through the principles of bearing witness and not knowing.
Speaker Disclosure Statement:
New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care’s staff and teaching faculty have no conflict of interest relative to the Foundations Program.
For more information regarding contact hours, please call the NYZC office at 212-677-1087.
- Space is limited. Applications will be reviewed as they are received.
- Tuition for the nine-month program is $3,460 (payable by check or credit card). This does not include the cost of the two required in-person retreats.
- Financial aid is available each year. We are committed to working with you for our shared learning and can make financial arrangements through scholarship or payment plans. Please write Susan Kline, the Education Administrator for further information: Susan@zencare.org
- The first non-refundable payment of $1,800 is due 2 weeks after students are accepted to the program.
- The balance payment of $1,660 is due on Friday, August 27th, 2021 (two weeks before class begins).
- If a student withdraws before September 10th, 2021 (the day Foundations begins), the student receives a 25% refund of the second payment.
- If a student voluntarily leaves or is asked to leave the Foundations program after it begins (September 10th, 2021), tuition will not be refunded.
- The non-refundable application fee is $125 to cover administrative oversight.
The following faculty is actively engaged with the management of the Foundations in Contemplative Care 2020-2021 program. Faculty for the 2021-2022 program are to be announced. Click on any name to be taken to their bio.
2020-2021 CORE FACULTY
Sensei Chodo Robert Campbell GC-C
Sensei Koshin Paley Ellison, MFA, LMSW, DMIN
MENTORS
VISITING TEACHERS
Leslye Noyes, PsyD, MDiv, LP, LMHC
And others
pROGRAM FAQS
You can access the application form here.
Applications are now being accepted on a rolling basis as space permits.
Please return a completed application, application fee, and completed reference form to the Center. We will review your materials and if appropriate, contact you about setting up an interview via Skype or Zoom.) After the interview, you will be notified regarding your acceptance.
You can access the reference form.
In addition to practitioners from all streams of Buddhism, the Center welcomes applications from individuals of various faiths who have an ongoing personal contemplative practice (e.g., meditation, centering prayer, etc.) and who share our commitment of exploring the intersection of contemplative practice, caregiving, and social action.
For most months, training days are one weekend a month Friday 3:00–6:00 p.m. ET and Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. ET. Retreat weekends are Thursday–Sunday. For a detailed schedule please click on the “Dates” tab above.
Throughout the 8 months, we will come together as a world-wide virtual community, using online learning platforms for lectures, dharma talks and group discussion, and in small intimate groups for mentor meetings and experiential learning.
Monthly classes may be attended virtually via Zoom or in-person—pending circumstances associated with COVID-19. The in-person seats are first-come, first-served and must be reserved during registration for all classes.
We are also planning two required in-person retreats at the Garrison Institute in Garrison NY, in November 2021 and May 2022. Virtual participation is not possible. Please note that these retreats are not included in the Foundations tuition.
The tuition for the course is $3,460. (This does not include the cost of the two required in-person retreats.) We are committed to working with you to make financial arrangements as possible through scholarship or payment plans. Please write Susan Kline, the Education Administrator for further information: Susan@zencare.org
Participants commit to attending eight training weekends and the two in-person retreats, completing all reading and written assignments, and meeting with a mentor one-on-one eight times during the training.There is also a required monthly peer group meeting (led by your mentor). In addition, participants commit to completing 100 hours of volunteer caregiving work (in-person or online) by the time of the last class in May.
Participants may serve as a volunteer caregiver at hospitals, hospices, and other health centers, as well as community centers and senior centers. Placements may be in-person or online. Students who live outside of the New York City metropolitan area are responsible for finding a clinical site for volunteering near to where they live.
No. This is an introductory training program. Each of us has the capacity to embrace the suffering of another person and the ability to provide compassionate care to another.
This is a graduate-level training that includes several self-directed learning components. It does not certify you to become a chaplain. However, successful completion of the Foundations Program does make you eligible to apply for our Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) training program. Also, once you are accepted to the Foundations Program, you have the option to register through our partner institution, New York Theological Seminary, to receive eight graduate seminary credits for this program. In addition to the tuition paid to NYZC for the program, there is an additional charge, paid to NYTS if you want to receive credit.
“Have good trust in yourself, not in the One that you think you should be, but in the One that you are.” – Taizan Maezumi Roshi
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