CPMAP · LEVEL 1 / ENCOUNTER

Learn to accompany the people you love

Spend six months studying the CatholicPsych Model of Applied Personalism. Bring what you learn about the human person into your family, your parish, and your own interior life.

Former program ~~$13,500~~ per level · Level 1 today $3,000

Enroll in Level 1 for $3,000

Why we opened the doors to CPMAP

For years, if you wanted to study CPMAP with us, you enrolled alongside people preparing to become professional Catholic mentors. A parent who wanted to understand a struggling child had to pay for the same supervision as someone preparing to take on a caseload.

St. John Paul II’s invitation to “open wide the doors to Christ” helped me see what we could change.

Today everyone starts with the Formation Track. You get the teaching, a Formation Director, and a group that meets with you each week. We moved supervised professional practice into a separate track for the people who will actually use it. That’s how we brought tuition down to $3,000 for Level 1.

For the life you already have

Perhaps your father needs more help now and every conversation about it turns into an argument. Or someone at your parish has trusted you with a loss you’ve never faced yourself. What does it mean to stay with that person when you can’t fix what hurts?

Parents, clergy, teachers, health professionals, and people discerning a call to mentorship all begin in the same place. You can come for your own formation. You can decide about professional training later.

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A week in Level 1

Study on your own time

Every other week you receive recorded lectures in all three subjects. You can pause over a difficult passage, return to the reading, or listen again before your group meets.

Bring one real encounter to your writing

In your reflections you put the course material alongside something you have actually lived. At the end of the level you draw the three courses together in a final paper.

Meet with the same people each week

Your Formation Director leads a 60-minute small group on Zoom. You come at your assigned time each week, so the people listening today will know the conversation you had last week. Allow about five to eight hours a week for the group, lectures, reading, and writing combined.

The Knowable Person

In Fundamentals of Personalism, you study St. John Paul II’s account of dignity, freedom, and human action. Think about someone who has disappointed you. What else is there to know about that person beyond the thing they did?

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PHILOSOPHICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

What does an action tell us about the person who chose it?

CATHOLIC SPIRITUALITY

What happens in me when I try to trust God?

The Revealed Person

The Psychospiritual Interior Life brings Catholic spirituality into conversation with emotional development. With Fr. Benedict Groeschel and Fr. Adrian van Kaam as guides, you consider how your history of trusting people can enter into your prayer.

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CATHOLIC SPIRITUALITY

What happens in me when I try to trust God?

The Observable Person

Core Psychological Principles looks at attachment, development, and the patterns we learn in relationships. You practice recognizing those patterns in your own responses, especially the ones that are harder to see in the moment.

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PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE

What do I do when someone I love pulls away?

Dr. Greg Bottaro, founder of CatholicPsych

Why I wanted more people to have this formation

Dr. Greg Bottaro, founder of CatholicPsych

When I spoke at the State of the Institute, I kept coming back to the people who wanted to study with us but had no intention of opening a practice. We had parents and people working in parishes who wanted to learn what John Paul II’s understanding of the person could mean for the people right in front of them. I wanted them to have a way in.

We tried an audit option once. I looked at the list afterward and saw how few people had actually watched the videos. That stayed with me. If we were going to open the program up, I wanted to keep the part where somebody knows you, expects to see you next week, and can ask how that difficult conversation went. That’s why the weekly formation group belongs to everyone in CPMAP.

Hear from earlier CPMAP graduates

These students trained under the earlier certification program. In their own words, they describe what it was like to study the model and practice accompaniment.

Formation first. A professional path if you choose it.

Each of the four levels lasts six months. In Level 1, Encounter, you begin with your own interior life. In Level 2, Engage, you look more closely at the person in relationship. Level 3, Accompany, turns to intimacy and the gift of self. Level 4, Transform, brings the work together in a capstone.

When the two tracks separate

Everyone begins Levels 1 and 2 in the Formation Track. You can continue in personal formation through all four levels. Formation tuition is currently $3,000 per level, and you decide whether to enroll in each one separately.

If you want to practice CatholicPsych mentorship professionally, you can apply for the Partner Track during Level 2. Students accepted into that track undertake supervised client work in Levels 3 and 4 and pay separate tuition. Level 1 is an educational formation program. Professional practice requires further training.

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Before you enroll

Who can apply?

Adults who are ready for advanced study can apply. You don’t need a psychology degree. We ask applicants about their wholehearted belief in the teachings of the Catholic faith and their regular prayer life over at least the past year.

What does the $3,000 cover?

You pay $3,000 in total. Applying is free. Tuition covers six months of formation, including the three courses, reflection work, and your weekly group with a Formation Director once you are admitted and placed.

How do I get a place in a cohort?

Review and sign the student agreement, pay Level 1 tuition, then complete your application. Payment places you on the paid waitlist for the next available cohort. CatholicPsych reviews your application and confirms your placement and start date separately.

What if I’m not accepted or I need to withdraw?

If CatholicPsych declines your application, we automatically refund your full $3,000 to your original payment method. You do not need to request a refund.

If you withdraw before your assigned cohort starts, you may receive a full refund for one calendar month after payment, then a 50% refund until the cohort begins. Once your assigned cohort begins, no refund of any amount is available, even if you paid less than one month ago.