October 2, 2023

A practicing licensed professional counselor in New Jersey, Keith Morgen, Ph.D., was previously named northern New Jersey Regional Director for the organization.

HACKETTSTOWN, NJ, September 28, 2023 — Centenary University Professor of Counseling and Director of the Graduate Counseling Programs Keith Morgen, Ph.D., LPC, ACS, has been elected President of the New Jersey Addiction Professionals Association (NJAPA). The organization is the New Jersey affiliate of NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals, which represents the professional interests of more than 100,000 addiction counselors, educators, and other addiction-focused health care professionals in the United States, Canada, and abroad.

The NJAPA fosters public awareness of addictions as treatable disorders. A primary focus is to advocate for legal and medical reforms in the treatment of addictive disorders, as well as to advance the science in the field through research, study, and scholarship. The organization also elevates and maintains the standards of education for certification and licensure required to treat people with addictive disorders.

A practicing licensed professional counselor in New Jersey, Dr. Morgen operates a counseling practice with clients diagnosed with substance use and mental health disorders. He is also a former President of the International Association of Addictions and Offender Counselors (IAAOC) and currently serves on the NAADAC older adult practice standards subcommittee, which is focused on older adult substance use disorders care. In addition, he is the author of Substance Use Disorders and Addictions (SAGE Publications, 2016), which is scheduled for a second edition release in 2024. He was also the winner of the 2022 Society for Social Work and Research Book Award for his book, Aging Behind Prison Walls: Studies in Trauma and Resilience (Columbia University Press, 2020), co-authored with Tina Maschi, Ph.D., of Fordham University.

“I am honored to be chosen as the next President of the NJAPA,” said Dr. Morgen.  “The trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic left in its wake an ever-increasing need for quality addiction and mental health care in New Jersey and nationwide.  My goal as President of the NJAPA is to assist our talented membership of dedicated professionals in their efforts to help all those in need of care.”

As Director of the Graduate Counseling Programs at Centenary, Dr. Morgen oversees graduate programs in clinical counseling (with an addictions track approved as an educational provider by the Addiction Professionals Certification Board of New Jersey) and school counseling (CAEP accredited). Dr. Morgen is also a past recipient of the University’s Distinguished Teaching Award.

In addition to serving the NJAPA, Dr. Morgen envisions his Presidency as a mechanism to benefit the Centenary graduate counseling students.  “My role in the NJAPA has the potential to open up numerous professional development and networking opportunities for our counseling students while also providing up-to-date classroom material on the current issues facing the addiction counseling field in New Jersey and nationwide.”

Dr. Morgen begins his term as the NJAPA President on January 1, 2024.

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Centenary University offers extraordinary learning opportunities that empower students to develop intellectually, emotionally, and interculturally—keys to career and personal success. Under the leadership of President Dale Caldwell, Ed.D., the University aspires to advance its reputation as a world class institution offering innovative programs, including the world’s first Master of Arts in Happiness Studies, to lift the future for our students and local communities.

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