Kathy Turner ’69 M.Div.

Kathy Turner is a pioneering leader in the movement to train spiritual care practitioners for hospitals, parishes, and other settings and is the first woman to be president of the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) and the International Council on Pastoral Care and Counseling.

 

Turner became an Acting CPE Supervisor in 1970 and a Full Supervisor in 1979. She was one of the first female supervisors in the program at a time when there were perhaps a half dozen female supervisors nationally. Much later, she became the first female president of the ACPE and served during the 1992-93 year.

 

During her ACPE leadership, she worked to reshape the Clinical Pastoral Education curriculum to reflect more inclusive values and to foster heightened understanding of the power dynamics of gender and culture. She regards the immersive approach of CPE as an occasion for students to learn foundational pastoral skills. 

 

Turner was the recipient of 2019 Yale Divinity School Lux et Veritas award.