The Saint Athanasius Center for Spiritual & Psychosocial Care offers distinctly Orthodox opportunities for education, training, certification, and collegial practice in pastoral ministry, human services, and therapeutic care. The center is especially dedicated to extending the Essex Synergic Therapeutic Complexity (ESTC) framework to Orthodox clergy and laity involved in pastoral and therapeutic care in various settings. The ESTC framework was first developed by Professor Renos Papadopoulos, a longtime spiritual son of Saint Sophrony at the Monastery of Saint John the Baptist at Essex, who for more than 30 years also served as director of the Refugee Care program at the nearby University of Essex. The ESTC framework is not a helping theory, nor does it offer helping techniques. Rather, it is a collection of helping principles. Being grounded to Saint Sophrony’s hypostatic theology, these principles undergird and guide helping efforts with individuals, families, and communities – and preserves their complexity, uniqueness, and totality as human beings in the Image of God.
Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) for clergy
The only CPE program in North America designed exclusively for Orthodox clergy.
Pastoral Care Revisited (PCR)
A synchronous, peer-facilitated enrichment opportunity for clergy of the Orthodox Church which offers insights from various theological and helping resources. Each PCR course features visiting guests with expertise in fields that contribute to a rich and running dialogue between participants. Course topics include servant
leadership, supporting recovery from addiction, family enrichment and care, and more.
