Jay Lappin, MSW,  LCSW

Family Therapy Director                             856-858-5346


"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.  A s 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 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 Family Therapy Networker.

  Mr. Lappin spent fourteen years at the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic, where 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. In 1995, the Family Focus Program was awarded Delaware's Interagency Council for Children and Families Award for "Collaborative Program of the Year." Mr. Lappin has provided consultation, curriculum development, training and technical support to human service organizations outside Delaware including Delaware County, Pennsylvania Children and Youth Services and the Seminole Tribe of Florida. His professional interests include diversity, large-scale systems change, and work with low-income families.

 

 Based  in New Jersey,  Mr. Lappin lives with his wife and two teenage sons and  maintains an active clinical practice.     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Areas of Specialization

  •   Family Therapy

  •   Couples Therapy

  •   Individual Therapy

  •   Working with Diversity

  •   Large-Scale Systems Change

  •   Low-income Families

  •   Organizational Development

  •  Training, Supervision and Consultation


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 

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