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Jay Lappin, MSW, LCSW

Family Therapy Director


"To enter a family system, unless it is one's own, is to enter a different culture. To be successful, the clinician must begin to act as a systemic anthropologist, observing the rules and rituals that govern the family's behavior. The therapeutic goal becomes a search for the elements of strength with that particular family culture that offer the potential for change. As the family makes use of previously untapped resources, the therapist's involvement becomes less and less, until, like any good anthropologist, s/he leaves the culture behind and intact."



Jay Lappin, MSW, LCSW is a family therapist, trainer and author. In 1976, he received his Masters Degree in clinical social work from Rutgers University. Prior to that, he was an adult probation officer, was drafted and served as an enlisted mental hygiene counselor at the US Army Regional Correctional Facility, Ft. Gordon, GA.


Since graduating from Rutgers, he has conducted workshops, lectures, keynote speeches and consultations throughout the United States and in Canada, Germany, and Taiwan. He has presented at state and national conferences including: the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, The National Association of Social Workers, The American Orthopsychiatric Association and the Psychotherapy Networker Symposium. His work on family therapy, couples therapy, diversity and relationships has been published in professional journals and texts and he has been quoted in popular magazines and newspapers such as Cosmopolitan, Self, USA Today, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Courier–Post. Since 1981, he has been a Contributing Editor for the Psychotherapy Networker. www.psychotherapynetworker.org


Mr. Lappin spent fourteen years at the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic, where, under the direction of Dr. Salvador Minuchin, he was a senior trainer, research therapist, and the Associate Director of the AAMFT Approved Post-Graduate Certificate Program in Family Therapy & Systems Consultation. Prior to entering private practice full-time, Mr. Lappin also worked for two years as a supervisor for the Penn Council for Relationships Family Therapy Program (Formerly Marriage Council of Philadelphia).
For 14 years Mr. Lappin was the primary contract provider of Family Focus - a family-friendly, skill-based systems training and consultation program with Delaware's Department of Services for Children, Youth and their families. Mr. Lappin has provides consultation, curriculum development, training and technical support to human service organizations.


He currently teaches two courses on family therapy; One, a summer course for the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education’s Applied Professional Human Development Program; The other is co-taught with Jorge Colapinto for Drexel’s Master’s Degree Program in Couple and Family Therapy, where Mr. Lappin also provides clinical group supervision.


Mr. Lappin and his wife, who have “launched” two sons, live in South Jersey where he maintains an active clinical practice. You can reach Jay at: 856-858-5346.

Licensure:

• Pennsylvania Licensed Social Worker
• New Jersey Licensed Clinical Social Worker
• New Jersey Licensed Marriage and Family Counselor

Professional Affiliations

• American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) www.aamft.org
  
  • Clinical Member
  • New Jersey AAMFT Board Member (past)
  • Site Visitor for the Commission on Accreditation
  • Approved Supervisor
  • Chair of the AAMFT Committee on Supervision (past)
• National Association of Social Workers (NASW) www.naswdc.org
  • Clinical Diplomate
  • ACSW
  • Qualified Clinical Social Worker
• American Orthopsychiatric Association - Fellow
• American Family Therapy Academy (AFTA) www.afta.org
  
  • Vice President (past)
  • National Secretary (past)
  • Board Member (current)
• Minuchin Center for the Family Advisory Board www.minuchincenter.org

Honors and Distinctions

• Distinguished Contribution to the American Family Therapy Academy Award (2006) with Joyce Lappin.
• Delaware Interagency Council for Children & Families Award for Family Focus Collaborative Program of the Year (1995).
• AAMFT 1993 Excellence in Media Award with Bruce Buchanan, MA, MS, for Family Matters, National Public Radio Show hosted by Daniel Gottlieb, presentation of family therapy.
• "Restoring the Soul of the Family” co-written with Bruce Buchanan, MA, MS, selected for inclusion in the Evolving Therapist: Ten Years of Family Therapy Networker, Collection of best articles from the Family Therapy Networker (1992).