Clinical Pastoral Education was offered at Southern Baptist Hospital, New Orleans, in 1954. Myron Madden, Long-time Director of Pastoral Care at Southern Baptist Hospital, supervised hundreds of students, first under the auspices of the Southern Baptist Association for Clinical Pastoral Education and then as a member of the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, Inc., constituted in 1967.

CPE at The McFarland Institute is a direct descendant of this distinguished history. At the turn of the century, The Institute was one of the largest and most diverse CPE programs in the United States. When a change of emphasis – from education to service – was instituted, CPE became a means of insuring that qualified chaplains would be available to serve The Institute and others who needed ministers for specialized settings.

The current emphasis for CPE at The McFarland Institute is the preparation of qualified clinical pastoral educators (Supervisory CPE), and the provision of programs to meet the needs of seminarians, graduate students, and those needing single units (Extended and Summer Level I CPE). Residency programs are not currently being offered.