About Us
The Supervisors of the Greater Toronto Area work together to offer programs to assist faith group leaders, candidates for ministry, and spiritual care workers to develop a professional identity and appropriate skills in the delivery of spiritual and religious care. Courses are "clinical" insofar as the participants engage in spiritual care under supervision. They are experiential, set in a wide variety of contexts using a process that follows the guidelines of the Manual of the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care (CASC). Clinical Psychospiritual Education units may be extended (part time), Full-time, or part of a year-round Residency.
The CASC Supervisors of the Greater Toronto Area affiliated with the Toronto School of Theology (TST) of the University of Toronto and its instructors are adjunct faculty of the University of Toronto.
Courses are listed in the TST course calendar and may be taken for degree credit. The Canadian Association for Spiritual Care (CASC) certifies Supervisors and accredits centres that adhere to the its national policies and procedures.
In 1958, the Toronto Institute for Pastoral Training was established to provide clinical pastoral education in Toronto. It was formed by the Dean of Medicine with the cooperation of the Department of Psychiatry in the University of Toronto and the Deans and Principals of most of the theological colleges on the campus of the University of Toronto. It was, thus, an early ecumenical venture.
Initially the Institute was entirely separate from the theological colleges. Participants in its programs were clergy with some years of experience in ministry. The direction of the Institute was in the hands of a Board with administrative services being provided by the Extension Department of the University of Toronto. With the appointment of an Assistant Director for Field Education in Toronto School of Theology, Toronto School of Theology Board of Trustees approved a recommendation that Toronto School of Theology assume full administrative responsibility for Toronto Institute for Pastoral Training in 1971.
In addition to the full-time units of Clinical Pastoral Education offered by Toronto Institute for Pastoral Training, a program was developed for theological students to take place during the school year. Today this is known as the Extended Unit of Training and involves two days a week of training in an institution, hospital, detention centre or parish under a CASC certified supervisor.
Based on the recommendation of the Toronto School of Theology/Toronto Institute for Pastoral Training Relationship Review during the academic year 1985-1986, the Toronto Institute for Pastoral Training was reorganized and renamed as the Toronto Institute for Pastoral Education.
In 2011, to reflect the name change of CAPPE (Canadian Association for Pastoral Practice and Education) to CASC (Canadian Association for Spiritual Care), we renamed ourselves the CASC Supervisors of the Greater Toronto Area. In 2022, Clinical Pastoral Education has been renamed as Clinical Psychospiritual Education.