• Classes take place one weekend per month (Friday 3–6pm ET and Saturday 10am–4pm ET) September 2025 – May 2026.
  
  
• In between each weekend class, students continue their learning through an online curriculum of video teachings, readings, and writing assignments.

• A retreat to integrate learning is held at the Garrison Institute in Garrison, NY. In-person attendance is required for completion of the course; virtual participation is not possible.
  
  
• Participants complete 50 hours of required clinical carepartnership (contemplative care work) either in-person or online by volunteering at a hospital, hospice, nursing home, prison, community center, senior center, or similar health center during the nine-month program. Students are strongly encouraged to complete 100 hours and those taking the program for graduate credit in our  Master of Arts in Buddhist Spiritual Care are required to complete 100 hours. See FAQ for more details.

• Participants are supported through opportunities for Mentorship with trained contemplative carepartners
  
  
• Participants are supported by monthly peer meetings, virtually or in-person.
  
  
• Personal learning objectives, mid-term and final evaluations support students’ learning, as well as provide feedback for the training program.
  
  
• All assignments and evaluations are required but 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.

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.

2025–2026 TRAINING DATES AVAILABLE SOON

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:

1. To perceive the suffering around them

2. Bring interpretative rigor to what they perceive

3. 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.

• Space is limited. Applications will be reviewed as they are received. The deadline for applications is August 2025. 
  
  

• The application process involves submitting an online application and fee, submitting a letter of recommendation, and a Zoom-based interview with a Foundations teacher/mentor. In order to maintain insurance compliance, NYZC is required to have background checks performed on Foundations in Contemplative Care students because they volunteer as part of the training. Learn more about the application process and access the application form here.
  
  
• The cost of the nine-month program is $3,775 (tuition) plus the price of the required in-person retreat ($900 for a Triple room; $1,020 for a Double room; or $1,200 for a Single room).

   

• A limited number of partial tuition scholarships are available for participants who identify as Black, Indigenous, or as a Person of Color (BIPOC) and those with financial need. Payment plans are also available. For more information, please contact us at info@zencare.org.
  
  
• A deposit of $2,337.50 is due when students are accepted to the program.

   

• The balance payment is due two weeks before class begins. Payment plans are available to all.
  
  
• Payments are nonrefundable.

   

• The non-refundable application fee is $150 and covers administrative oversight.