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Yangti Yoga’s Clinical Pastoral Education

At the heart of Vajrayana Buddhadharma is the exploration of the nature of mind.  The work of better understanding the varieties of the way that we experience mind as well as the world within which we interact has the potential to offer incredible wisdom Yangti Yoga’s Clinical Pastoral Education program is informed by this rich history of inner exploration and compassionate action. Our program  is directly aligned with the Mission, Vision, and Values of its accrediting body, the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE).  We offer students from all backgrounds the opportunity to deepen their learning and skillset around spiritual care-giving and diversify their knowledge base, contemplative experiences and training .

 

An important facet of Yangti Yoga's mission is the belief that deeper human insight and understanding can pave the way for a more peaceful world. Through shared practices and open dialogues, we aim to build bridges of empathy and respect among different faiths and traditions. Our programs are designed not only to deepen individual spiritual practice but also to foster a sense of community and collective growth towards global harmony.

 

The utter brilliance of the tantric path is the magnificent expression of the power, artfulness, and dynamism of human spirituality. We are committed to the preservation of the integrity of the tantric tradition and is dedicated to the varieties of translation associated with the maintenance of such traditions. Whether it be textual translation, or the translation of these practices from one cultural idiom into another, or the exploration of tantric spiritual methods within the context of chaplaincy.

 

Part of our connection to chaplaincy stems from the understanding that spiritual care is a powerful way through which the Buddhist ethical imperative can be expressed in a lived, dynamic contemplative manner. To this end our Clinical Pastoral Education program builds on our two-year Vajrayana Spiritual Care Formation program in preparing spiritual caregivers to transition into professional settings. ​

CPE is designed to help the aspiring spiritual caregiver integrate their contemplative practice with the direct experience of caregiving in relationship. The hybrid format of the program helps to create a cohesive peer group while allowing for flexibility of participation nationally and internationally.​

 

Clinical placements are student-generated and represent a wide range of opportunities to provide care: medical establishments (hospitals, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes), hospice facilities and home hospice organizations, departments of correction, universities and other educational institutions, as well as robust community-based placements. Criteria for a viable placement include: 

 

  • A population able to engage in diverse caregiving encounters

  • An onsite preceptor who can provide logistical support and placement oversight

  • The ability to document one’s encounters either formally or informally

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Is CPE Right For You?

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HOW TO APPLY

Download the ACPE application below​​

Submit your completed application and essays to: cpe@yangtiyoga.com

Questions? Reach out to us at cpe@yangtiyoga.com

UNIT DATES

UNIT 1: SUMMER
MAY 23 – AUGUST 30, 2026

In-person weekend Retreats at Yangti Yoga Retreat Center in Buckland, Massachusetts are required and begin and end each session (May 23–24 and August 29–30)


Classes meet via Zoom weekly on Tuesdays from 12–5 pm EST beginning May 26–August 25, 2026.


APPLICATION DEADLINE: APRIL 30, 2026 (ACPE Scholarship Application Deadline April 15, 2026)

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis up to the final deadline.

UNIT 2: EXTENDED
SEPTEMBER 26, 2026 – APRIL 25, 2027

In-person weekend retreats at Yangti Yoga Retreat Center in Buckland, Massachusetts are required at the beginning and end of each session (September 26–27, 2026 and April 24–25, 2027). 


Classes meet every other week via Zoom on Tuesdays from 12–5 pm EST beginning October 6, 2026–April 13, 2027

 

​APPLICATION DEADLINE: AUGUST 1ST, 2026

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis up to the final deadline.

TUITION

Tuition is $3000 per unit, not including the cost of attending the weekend retreats (lodging or camping, transportation). Scholarship applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis. ACPE offers a scholarship for the summer unit, more information may be found here: ACPE Scholarship Application deadline to apply is April 15, 2026

 

There is no application fee to apply to Yangti Yoga CPE.

 

APPLY HERE – submit a completed application and essays to Amelia Catone at CPE@yangtiyoga.com

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POLICIES & PROCEDURES:

  • The Yangti Yoga CPE program is committed to providing an educational experience for anyone interested in developing the skills to provide professional spiritual/values-based care.

     

    Prospective students will be interviewed by the ACPE Certified Educator and a member of the PAG. While preference will be shown to practitioners of the Buddhadharma, any qualified applicant may be admitted into a cohort. No applicant will be discriminated against based on race, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, religious/spiritual tradition/values-based orienting system, national origin, sexual orientation, or disability. Students will be considered for admission to CPE programs who meet current educational and experience requirements of ACPE for each level of CPE.

     

    To be considered for acceptance into Yangti Yoga’s CPE program, students must be emotionally and, with reasonable accommodation, physically able to perform the duties of a chaplain student. They must demonstrate a capacity to consistently establish and maintain caregiving, educational, and peer relationships; openness to learning, change, and growth, and be able to provide spiritual care that addresses the needs of those served.

  • An applicant’s suitability for admission to any CPE program is a matter of professional judgment by the ACPE accredited program in accordance with its admission policies. Requirements for admission to CPE programs include but are not limited to:

     

    1. a completed ACPE application

    2. an admission interview with qualified interviewers, for persons applying for an initial unit of CPE, to determine readiness for clinical learning

    3. either graduation from high school/completion of a GED or ordination by a religious/spiritual tradition or commission to function in spiritual care by an appropriate religious/spiritual authority as determined by ACPE

    4. fulfillment of education or experience requirements established by the ACPE accredited center.

    5. A signed Use of Clinical Materials Consent Form

    6. Prospective students shall submit a standard ACPE application form and required materials to the ACPE Certified Educator. Application forms are available on the ACPE website, and a link is provided on the Yangti Yoga CPE Program website.

    7. Completed applications are reviewed by the ACPE Certified Educators, who will decide whether to interview a student and communicate that decision within three weeks of receipt of the application. An interview may be conducted via phone or computer.

    8. Admission to CPE will be based on the following criteria:

      1. Stated priority for admission to Yangti Yoga-CPE program.

      2. Graduation from high school/GED or ordination by a faith community or commission to function in spiritual caregiving by an appropriate authority.

    9. For students who have not earned a post-secondary degree, admission to the program will be based on the applicant’s demonstration of the following criteria:

    10. a basic self-understanding of one’s professional identity and vocational calling 

    11. the capacity to understand and adapt one’s vocation to the cultural context

    12. a readiness to engage in ongoing personal and spiritual formation for one’s professional growth 

    13. significant life and/or professional experience that enables the applicant to engage as a peer with other students in this advanced educational experience.

      1. Ability to think critically and write analytically at the graduate level

      2. Understanding and capacity to benefit from the CPE learning process.

      3. Perceived ability to provide care within the mission and function of Yangti Yoga CPE.

      4. Commitment to fully participate in and complete the CPE program.

      5. Overall consideration for the breadth of lived experience of the CPE peer group.

    14. Students will be informed in writing of the decision regarding admission following an interview and asked to submit a response and deposit holding their position in the CPE program. The acceptance letter will specify tuition expectations, any additional costs associated with the program, and expectations regarding time commitment to the program.

    15. CPE students are provisionally accepted into the Yangti Yoga CPE Program pending completed documentation as required by clinical site and state/country of service.

  • The Yangti Yoga CPE program annual notice is published prior to the start of any CPE program and is included in the handbook, posted on the website, and emailed to the students along with other orientation materials. Students are asked to return the signed notice with their registration materials for the program orientation.

     

    Students’ Right to Privacy

    I. This ACPE CPE center/program guarantees students the right to inspect and review education records, to seek to amend them, to specify control over release of record information, and to file a complaint against the program for alleged violations of these rights.

    II. Directory Information is student information not generally considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if released.

    • The Yangti Yoga CPE Program makes available directory information to peers, staff, and others on a need- to-know basis. This information includes name, phone number and email address. If a student wishes to opt out of inclusion on the Directory List, the student needs to contact CPE Educator at least one week prior to the start of the CPE Unit.

    • During the CPE unit, students may be asked to either write or be interviewed for an article about him or herself in program publications for Yangti Yoga. This may include name, short biography and photograph, biographical information (e.g., school, affiliation, hometown, etc.) Any such material is to be reviewed for editing by each student and permission will be received in writing prior to distribution.

    • All other information is released only with the student’s written, signed, dated consent specifying which records are being disclosed, to whom, and for what limited purpose.

    III. A student record is: 1) any record (paper, electronic, video, audio, biometric etc.) directly related to the student from which the student’s identity can be recognized; and 2) maintained by the education program/institution or a person acting for the institution.

    At this center, while the student is enrolled, the student’s record consists of an electronic file confidentially maintained by the CPE Educator of record containing:

    • ACPE application face sheet, with directory information, and essays

    • Materials submitted with the application

    • Letters of reference, any correspondence, forms

    • Evaluations and certificate of each unit completed

     

    The official records maintained by the program on each student after the student has completed his/her time of enrollment will include:

     

    The following items retained indefinitely:

     

    The center will retain the following items from the student record for ten (10) years:

    • Student final unit self-evaluations

    • Supervisory final unit evaluations

    • Student’s response to end of unit evaluation, if submitted

    • Face Sheet

     

    Current students can restrict directory information and/or record access at any time during attendance. Restrictions will be honored even after the student’s departure. Former students cannot initiate new restrictions after departure.

    I. Other details of our center’s record’s management protocols:

    • A student has the right to object to content. If not negotiable, the written objection will be kept with and released with the record. Grades are exempt from this right.

    • Supervisory Notes: the ACPE Certified Educator may keep process notes on a student. These process notes are for the exclusive use of the writer and are not considered part of the student’s record. They must be kept separately from the student record.

    • At the beginning of each unit of CPE students enroll themselves online for the unit with ACPE where they are asked to provide their name, address, date of birth, gender, denomination, and ethnic background.

    • At the completion of each unit of CPE, the CPE Educator registers the unit with ACPE as a function of submitting the final evaluation, noting the level of CPE undertaken and the amount of credit given.

    • Material written by students, such as verbatims and case histories that contain information about other persons, including other students, will either be destroyed or, if they are part of the student’s record, will have the identifiable information about everyone other than the student redacted. When peers are referenced in student’s evaluations, only initials should be used.

    • Students are responsible for maintaining their own files for future use. The center destroys the student’s permanent file of evaluation reports after 10 years. Students will be informed at the time copies are given to them that it is their responsibility to keep copies for future use.

    • Health records must be kept in locked, limited access files, separate from other student records. Their use and release are subject to ADA and HIPPA. Certain safety and employment records are also subject to other federal regulations and state laws and are kept separately.

    • A student may review her/his record within 45 days of the request. When a student record contains identifiers of another student, those will be redacted.

    • Regarding research: If information in student records or in a CPE educator’s records is considered of research value, and a CPE program or ACPE desires to collect and use such material for research, a release form shall be made available for the person’s signature. No personally identifiable material will be used for research without the person’s written permission for its use.

    • Exceptions: Certain exceptions concerning the release of information exist to protect the health or safety of the student or others, and for the purpose of accreditation or complaint review, or as required for legal processes. Before releasing material in any of these circumstances, consult with the ACPE Executive Director or ACPE Associate Executive Director.

    II. Access to Student Records:

    Those affiliated with the Yangti Yoga CPE Program who serve as “education officials” and hold “a legitimate education interest” may have full access to student records without student consent.

    Persons who may have access to some of the content of the student’s record are those persons who serve on an interview committee for an applicant, the Human Resources personnel who process the student’s background check and related forms, and the Information Services personnel who process the request for computer access at the student’s clinical site.

     

    Violations of these protocols may be reported to the Chair of the Accreditation Commission at:

    ACPE, Inc.

    1 Concourse Parkway

    Suite 800

    Atlanta, GA 30328

    Or via email: accreditation@acpe.edu

     

    The Yangti CPE Center is provisionally credited for Level I, Level II and Certified Educator training by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, Inc. www.acpe.edu

  • The Yangti CPE Center is provisionally accredited for Level I, Level II and Certified Educator training by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, Inc. www.acpe.edu

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