ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care & Education

What ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care & Education does

ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care & Education, legally the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, is a U.S. non-profit membership organization founded in 1967 through the merger of four antecedent bodies (Association of Clinical Pastoral Educators, Council for Clinical Training, Institute of Pastoral Care, and the Lutheran Council's Department of Institutional Chaplaincy and CPE). It functions as the sole programmatic accreditor for Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) in the United States with direct recognition from the U.S. Department of Education dating over 55 years, and is recognized by CMS as a national approving body such that ACPE-accredited residency programs remain eligible for Medicare Pass-through funding. The organization accredits more than 400 CPE programs at 300+ locations, certifies a roster of roughly 640 Certified Educators, 45 Certified Associate Educators, 265 Certified Retired Educators, and 110 Educator Candidates, and serves approximately 2,500 members spanning spiritual care professionals, chaplains, psychotherapists, pastoral counselors, 78 seminary members, and denominational/agency members.

ACPE's product portfolio is anchored by CPE Program Accreditation and ACPE Educator Certification, with adjacent modules including the Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy (SIP) Level 1/Level 2 program, Spiritual Care Specialist (SCS) Training, CPE unit enrollment and registration, events and professional development (Annual Conference, REM Invitational, Psychotherapy Spring Retreat), a Member Directory and Find-a-Therapist search, the ACPE Educator Resource Pool (interim/contract staffing), professional liability insurance, two journals (Reflective Practice Journal and the Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling via SAGE), JEDIA Grants, and Hemenway Scholars. Underlying technology consists of an online learning management and certification tracking system, virtual meeting platforms supporting distance-learning CPE, a member database and portal (profile.acpe.edu), and ongoing platform consolidation to a single-login experience planned for Q2 2026.

Revenue is generated across multiple streams: recurring membership dues from about 2,500 individual and institutional members; training and certification program fees (e.g., SIP Level 2 at $400 for members); advertising and sponsorships (display ads at $175, text ads at $0.15/character, conference sponsorships starting at $2,500); mailing-list and contact sales ($0.25/electronic contact, $1.00/printed label for members); $150 annual International Affiliate Memberships; and event registration revenue from the annual conference and professional development events. Distribution runs through self-serve member portal access, direct partnerships with hospitals, VA medical centers, healthcare systems, and seminaries, international reciprocity arrangements with CASC, Norwegian CPE, ACPE Ireland, and ANZACPE, and a J-1 visa International Student Visitor Program. ACPE has ~2,500 members nationally and internationally and is headquartered at 1 Concourse Parkway, Suite 800, Atlanta, Georgia, led by Executive Director/CEO Lynnett Glass and Board Chair Matt Rhodes.

Name

ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care & Education

Legal name

Association for Clinical Pastoral Education

Website

https://acpe.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1967

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ACPE is a U.S. non-profit that accredits Clinical Pastoral Education programs and certifies CPE educators, serving roughly 2,500 members including healthcare systems, VA medical centers, seminaries, and chaplains across the U.S. and five international reciprocity partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Accreditation & Certification Services

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131), Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Ministerial Training Institutes (Clergy Formation) (EDAHAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Healthcare & Clinical Professional Development (CME/CE) (EDAGANAJ), Seminaries (Graduate Theology & Ministry) (EDAHAKAA), Divinity Schools (University-Affiliated) (EDAHAKAC)

Keywords

• Clinical pastoral education
• Spiritual care certification
• Pastoral accreditation services
• CPE program standards
• Spiritual care training

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees for various categories including Certified Educators (640), Certified Associate Educators (45), Certified Retired Educators (265), Educator Candidates (110), Spiritual Care Professionals (285), Seminary Members (78), Denomination/Faith Group/Agency Members (21). Total approximately 2,500 members nationally and internationally.
2. Training and Certification Programs: Revenue from Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy (SIP) training programs, CPE unit enrollment, and certification fees. SIP Training Level 2 priced at $400 for members. Additional fees for certification and recertification processes.
3. Advertising and Sponsorships: Website advertising including Standard Ads ($0.15/character) and Display Ads ($175). Sponsorship opportunities for annual conferences starting at $2,500.
4. Mailing List Sales: Sale of member mailing lists to members ($0.25/contact for electronic lists, $1.00/contact for printed labels) and non-members on case-by-case basis.
5. International Affiliate Membership: International Affiliate Membership for organizations outside USA at $150 annual fee, providing mentoring and support while enhancing organizational scope.
6. Event Registration and Conferences: Revenue from annual conferences, psychotherapy training events, spring retreats, and professional development events. Pre-conference offerings and day-rate options available.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

ACPE accredits Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) programs at healthcare institutions and seminaries, certifies individual CPE educators and supervisors, and delivers spiritual care training programs — including CPE Units, Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy (SIP), and the Spiritual Care Specialist (SCS) Training Program. It also publishes standards, journals, and operates member services supporting chaplains, mental health professionals, and pastoral counselors across U.S. and international partner networks.

Product overview

ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care & Education operates as an accreditation and certification organization offering a unified portfolio of spiritual care education services. The core offerings include CPE Program Accreditation for training centers, ACPE Educator Certification for individual practitioners, and Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Programs as the primary educational product. Additional modules include the Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy (SIP) Program for mental health professionals, Spiritual Care Specialist Training Program, and professional development through events including the Annual Conference. The organization supports members through directories (Member Directory, Find a Therapist), funding programs (JEDIA Grants, Hemenway Scholars), the ACPE Educator Resource Pool for staffing, professional liability insurance, and publishes the Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling and Reflective Practice Journal. International reach is maintained through reciprocity agreements and the new International CPE Landing Page.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CPE Program Accreditation Formal accreditation of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) programs at healthcare institutions, seminaries, and other training centers. Includes site visits, standards review, accreditation status management, and accreditation of educators, accessible via the CPE Program Accreditation page on acpe.edu.
• ACPE Educator Certification Multi-stage certification process for individuals pursuing ACPE Certified Educator status, including admission, certification manual procedures, fee structure, and Certification Commission oversight. Serves aspiring educators across CPE and SIP specialties.
• Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Programs The primary educational offering providing accredited spiritual care training at CPE units housed in clinical settings (hospitals, VA medical centers, seminaries). Delivered as foundational CPE units, residencies, internships, and fellowships that count toward the 1,600 hours required for board-certified chaplaincy.
• Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy (SIP) Training Program Multi-disciplinary training program for licensed and pre-licensed mental health professionals (counselors, social workers, marriage and family therapists, pastoral counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists, addiction specialists, and graduate students) covering spirituality's role in psychotherapy. Includes Level 1 and Level 2 training tracks and a SIP Trainer Certification pathway.
• Spiritual Care Specialist (SCS) Training Program Specialized training program for spiritual care specialists, with separate pathways for student interest and trainer certification, supporting non-chaplaincy spiritual care roles in clinical and community settings.
• International CPE Programs (Reciprocity Tracks) International educational opportunities enabling students and educators to pursue ACPE-recognized CPE credentials across borders, including formal reciprocity agreement placement and the International Student Visitor Program (J-1 Visa).
• ACPE Professional Development Events (Annual Conference, Retreats, Invitationals) Recurring conferences, workshops, and training events including the Annual Conference (e.g., 2026 'Elevating Community, Deepening Practice' in Phoenix, AZ), Psychotherapy Spring Retreat, REM Invitational, and SIP Level 1 and Level 2 trainings — offered with both member and non-member pricing.
• CPE Unit Enrollment & Registration Enrollment and registration services enabling prospective CPE students to register for CPE units at any of ACPE's accredited programs, supporting the 1,600-hour board certification pathway.
• Professional Liability Insurance (Member Benefit) Professional liability insurance coverage made available to ACPE members as a membership benefit for CPE educators, certified educators, and pastoral counselors in active practice.
• ACPE Member Directory (Find a Therapist included) Online directory service listing ACPE members (Certified Educators, Associate Educators, Spiritual Care Professionals) plus a public-facing 'Find a Therapist' directory connecting individuals with ACPE-certified therapists and pastoral counselors.
• International CPE Landing Page Comprehensive web-based resource launched by the ACPE International Relations Committee in April 2026 to centralize information about ACPE's international CPE opportunities, reciprocity agreements, and pathways for students and educators worldwide.

Quantifiable outcome

• 400+ CPE programs accredited across 300+ locations
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Canadian Association of Spiritual Care (CASC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReciprocity agreement for mutual recognition of CPE credentials between ACPE (USA) and CASC (Canada), enabling professionals to seek recognition as ACPE Certified Educators based on equivalent Canadian credentials.
• Norwegian CPEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReciprocity agreement enabling credential recognition between ACPE and Norwegian CPE organizations, allowing professionals to pursue certification across borders.
• Association for Clinical Pastoral Education IrelandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational reciprocity agreement facilitating credential recognition and educational exchange between ACPE and ACPE Ireland for CPE professionals.
• Australia and New Zealand Association of Spiritual Care (ANZACPE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReciprocity agreement with ANZACPE enabling cross-border recognition of CPE credentials and professional development opportunities for spiritual care educators in Australia and New Zealand.
• SAGE PublicationsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling access through SAGE Journals platform, a member benefit providing professional journal access.
• Emory UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerACPE archives housed at Pitts Theological Library, Emory University. Partnership for HR processing of staff positions including Director of Education role.
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnder its statute, CMS recognizes ACPE as a national approving body, ensuring that ACPE-accredited programs remain eligible for Medicare Pass-through funding for residency programs.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals: NAADAC is a national membership and credentialing body for addiction counselors, structurally analogous to ACPE in providing CE-credit oversight, certification, and annual-conference–driven member engagement for behavioral health professionals. It represents a broader-incumbent analog in an adjacent behavioral-health credentialing niche.
• Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE): CAPTE is the recognized programmatic accreditor for physical-therapy education in the U.S., making it a structural analog to ACPE as a programmatic accreditor with USDE-recognized status. It operates the same accreditation/certification/standards business model in an allied-health vertical.
• National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA): NASPAA is a membership-based programmatic accreditor for public-affairs education with similar member-recurring-revenue, accreditation-standards, and annual-conference operating mechanics. As a peer specialized accreditor, it shares ACPE's regulatory-anchored nonprofit business model.
• American Psychological Association (APA) Office of CE Sponsor Approval: APA's CE sponsor approval program performs CE-credit oversight for psychology continuing education, broadly analogous to ACPE's role in accrediting CPE and SIP programs. As a broader-incumbent mental-health professional association, APA shares the professional-credentialing-and-CE business model.

Direct peers

• Association of Professional Chaplains (APC): APC is the leading U.S. membership and credentialing body for healthcare chaplains, overlapping with ACPE on chaplaincy certification standards and serving many of the same hospitals, VA centers, and health systems. Like ACPE, it issues board certification requiring CPE hours, making it the closest functional peer in the chaplaincy ecosystem.
• ANZACPE (Australia and New Zealand Association for CPE): ANZACPE accredits CPE programs across Australia and New Zealand under a reciprocity agreement with ACPE. Its scope, mission, and member-based operating model directly mirror ACPE's structure in a regional market.
• ACPE Ireland: ACPE Ireland is a sister organization under formal reciprocity with ACPE USA, accrediting CPE programs and certifying educators in Ireland using substantially aligned standards. It is functionally a regional peer operating the same product in a different jurisdiction.
• Board of Chaplaincy Certification Inc. (BCCI): BCCI is an interfaith chaplaincy certifying body whose board-certified chaplain credential depends on ACPE-acquired CPE hours. It is tightly coupled to ACPE's training pipeline and operates the downstream certification layer that ACPE-prepared students feed into.
• National Association of Catholic Chaplains (NACC): NACC certifies Catholic chaplains and accredits CPE programs parallel to ACPE, drawing from the same pool of spiritual-care professionals and competing for many of the same health-system CPE slots. Its denominational focus on Catholic institutions overlaps directly with ACPE's seminary and chaplaincy programs.
• Canadian Association for Spiritual Care (CASC): CASC is the Canadian counterpart to ACPE, holding a formal reciprocity agreement for cross-border credential recognition. It accredits CPE programs in Canada, serves seminaries and hospitals, and competes for international student placements — making it a near-clone peer in a parallel geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/acpe_edu
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCm4qxQ_4f_tC4wqDQV3OWGw
• Facebookfacebook.com/groups/AssocforCPE
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/groups/Association-Clinical-Pastoral-Education-Inc-6566819

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care & Education