The national NZA CPE site describes CPE as follows:

"Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) is education and formation for the professional work of pastoral/spiritual care. CPE uses an educational methodology that combines knowledge of theology/spirituality (what we believe), with knowledge of education (how we learn), with knowledge of the behavioural sciences (who we are as human beings). CPE’s methodology utilizes the ‘action-reflection’ model of learning. The ‘action’ component entails practical experience in the work of pastoral/spiritual care within a pastoral/spiritual care setting; this care acknowledges and attends to the human condition, particularly life’s spiritual dimensions. The ‘reflection’ component entails the exploration, articulation and integration of the pastoral/spiritual carer’s experience, the dynamics present, and the theological/spiritual implications. This ‘action-reflection’ process is integral to CPE students’/participants’ understanding and the formation of their pastoral/spiritual care identity and competence. CPE encourages learning from living human documents.
The specific content of a CPE Unit will depend upon the particular interests and needs of the students/ participants and the context(s) in which they offer pastoral/spiritual care. The learning process allows for the addressing of the particular learning goals that each student/participant identifies. The process balances the practical experience of pastoral/spiritual care, small group supervision/interaction, and personal individual supervision, in an integrated programme of experiential and theoretical education.
A CPE Unit is a total learning process of at least 400 hours of supervised learning, integrating clinical experience, group and individual supervision, personal and collegial reflection, and directed critical reading and recording."