Foundations in Contemplative Care is a transformational 9-month training for integrating spiritual practice with care. Since 2007, the program has supported people from around the world in bringing a contemplative approach to care into their intrapersonal, interpersonal and professional lives.
This training is ideal for:
Submit your application and application fee by May 12, 2025 and receive a $300 credit toward the Foundations training. Your application is not considered complete without the application fee payment.
Note: Physicians, advanced practice registered nurses, and physician assistants are encouraged to learn more and apply to the Contemplative Medicine Fellowship.
In addition to the integration of important skills, our ability to authentically care for others is intricately equal to our wholehearted care of ourselves. The contemplative practice and learning in this program is oriented toward a deep inquiry into the nature of the self, the interdependent aspects of caring, and how to truly be of service with others and the world.
Monthly classes meet Fridays from 3–6pm ET and Saturdays from 10am – 4pm ET and may be attended virtually via Zoom or in-person at the New York Zen Center. In-person seats are first-come, first-served and must be reserved during registration for all classes.
The required in-person, graduation retreat will be held at the Garrison Institute in Garrison, NY. Virtual participation is not possible.
2024–2025 TRAINING DATES
Carepartnership
No previous carepartnership experience is required. Each of us has the capacity to embrace the suffering of another person and provide compassionate care. The training is designed to support those new to the practice as well as lay and professional/clinical carepartners wishing to integrate spiritual practice and care.
Contemplative/Spiritual
We welcome applicants from any (or no) spiritual tradition who have had an ongoing personal contemplative practice (e.g. meditation, yoga, centering prayer, etc.) for at least six months and share a commitment to exploring the intersection of contemplative practice, care, and compassionate service.
Prior participation in a silent retreat is suggested but not required. For those who don’t enter the program with this experience, you are encouraged to attend a silent retreat during the program. NYZC’s Sesshin qualifies for this requirement.
Note: Physicians (MD and DO), advanced practice registered nurses (nurse practitioners and certified nurse midwives), and physician assistants interested in the contemplative approach to care may wish to apply for our Contemplative Medicine Fellowship program.
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.
The Foundations program may also be taken for credit that can be applied toward the Master of Arts in Buddhist Spiritual Care offered in partnership with University of the West.
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 81 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 contact us at info@zencare.org.
Submit your application and application fee by May 12, 2025 and receive a $300 credit toward the Foundations training. Your application is not considered complete without the application fee payment.
Scholarship Opportunities: We are pleased to offer a limited number of partial-tuition scholarships to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students. Payment plans for those with limited financial means are also available.
Foundations Guiding Teachers are joined by a team of faculty who enrich the core curriculum by inviting exploration through the lens of their discipline and by mentors who individually support Foundations students throughout the program. 2024-2025 program team - Click on any name to be taken to their bio.
To apply for the Foundations program, please complete the online application and submit your application fee and completed reference form to the Zen Center.
Learn more about the application process and access the online application form here.
You can access the reference form here.
We welcome applicants from any (or no) spiritual tradition who have had an ongoing personal contemplative practice (e.g. meditation, yoga, centering prayer, etc.) for at least six months and share a commitment to exploring the intersection of contemplative practice, care, and compassionate service.
Training days occur on one weekend a month, Friday 3:00–6:00 p.m. ET and Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. ET. The retreat is Wednesday–Sunday. For a detailed schedule please click on the “Locations & Dates” tab above.
Monthly classes may be attended either virtually via Zoom or in-person at the New York Zen Center. The in-person seats are first-come, first-served and must be reserved during registration for all classes.
The required in-person, integration retreat will be held at the Garrison Institute in Garrison, NY, in May. Virtual participation is not possible.
The tuition for the course is $3,775. (This does not include the cost of the required in-person retreat, which is: $940 for a Triple room; $1,040 for a Double room; or $1,340 for a Single room.)
We are committed to working with you to make financial arrangements as possible through payment plans. Please write to us for further information at info@zencare.org.
See the “Admissions & Tuition” section above for details.
Participants commit to attending eight training weekends (in-person or online) and one in-person retreat, completing all reading and written assignments, attending peer group meetings, engaging in mentor meetings.
In addition, participants commit to completing 50 hours of volunteer carepartnership (contemplative care work) either in-person or online by the time of the last class in May. 100 hours is strongly suggested and is required for those taking the class for credit.
Participants may complete their carepartnership either in-person or online at hospitals, hospices, nursing homes, prisons, community centers, senior centers, or similar health centers.
Students complete clinical hours where geographically convenient and are responsible for securing their own clinical placements. NYZC will give you a letter of introduction that you can provide to potential placements.
Students are encouraged to be creative, and seek a site which challenges them in a new way (beyond what you already know) and allows you to experience a broader understanding of what it means to serve. While the training will help students in a current full-time job or volunteer role, the Foundations clinical volunteer requirement should be within a new setting.
We also encourage you to focus at one site, as you will have a deeper experience than spreading the hours across multiple sites. If it is needed, another site can be added.
No. Each of us has the capacity to embrace the suffering of another person and the ability to partner with them in compassionately alleviating suffering.
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.
The Foundations program may also be taken for credit that can be applied toward our Master of Arts in Buddhist Spiritual Care offered in partnership with University of the West.
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