Hi. My name is Jay Morgan.

As I jokingly like to say,  “All I’ve ever done in my life is deliver newspapers, wait tables, and help children and families.” (Of course, I'm exaggerating, but not much.)

Now that I’m moving closer to the end of my career, I want to help others by sharing what I have learned, and, more often than not, what children have taught me….

About The Author

So you may be thinking, who is this guy? 

Fair question. I went to Hendrix College where I received an above average, liberal arts education. My strategy in college was simple: take the classes I had to take (ho-hum), but then sign up for all the classes that sounded really interesting to me. At the end of my sophomore year, my guidance counselor asked me about the subject in which I intended to major. I had not given it a moment’s thought! On a whim, I asked her which class subjects I had taken the most. She looked over the previous two years and said I had the most classes in philosophy, then religion, and then psychology. I asked her about job prospects in each field. She told me that if I majored in philosophy— and got my PhD— I could teach or write books. At that time, the idea of more education did not appeal to me. I had two more years of undergraduate classes for Pete's sake! I had always been taken by spirituality and loved learning about world religions, but could not believe I was, in any way, cut out to be a “man of the cloth.” That left psychology. I enjoyed all of my psych classes, so why not? Two years later, I graduated with a BA in psychology and a minor in English, class of 1978. My inevitable encounter with the “Real World,” for which everyone had been helping me prepare, had finally arrived…

Time to get to work! My first job was working with juvenile delinquents to help them become productive members of society. But these guys ate my lunch! (I wouldn't begin to understand how to work with conduct disorders and sociopathy until much later.) The higher-ups at the re-entry program had mercy on me and moved me to Steppingstone, a shelter for runaway kids. These kids were sad, anxious, and had loads of family problems, but most of them were open, and ready to change. They wanted to both feel better, and do better. 

I worked at Steppingstone for two years and absolutely loved it. But, I began to realize I would make no real money with a bachelor's degree. Still, I knew I had found something I loved. So, I signed up for the graduate program in Counseling Psychology at the University of Central Arkansas, put in my two weeks' notice, and started waiting tables to make ends meet.  

Looking back, I came to see graduate school as a hoop I had to jump through so that I could start my real education, which was actually working with troubled kids and their families. But when I graduated, there were no jobs for masters level clinicians. Being extremely tired of waiting tables, I took a bachelor's level position at Rivendell, a long-term residential treatment facility for children and adolescents. I admit, at first, I was a little bummed not doing actual therapy, but slowly I began to see the position was most serendipitous. I got to work with children on the unit, eight hours a day, five days a week, implementing the behavioral program. Looking back, I realize this was the absolute best way to start my career– on the front line seeing behavioral psychology in action and immersing myself in it. I know this one thing helped me so much more than sitting behind a desk and seeing children for one hour therapy sessions, twice a week. 

The Rivendell behavioral program consisted of verbal cuing, rewards, and consequences. As a Floor Therapist, I clearly saw what worked– and what didn't–  all through the eyes of a master's-level clinician. I did eventually become a therapist and a Psychological Examiner. I took a short detour into some administrative positions, but quickly discovered they were not for me. My passion is, and has always been, working with the kids and trying to help them, and their families, do better. 

During this time, I got married to LeeAnne. After four years of couple-dom, we started a family when, one would be correct to say, the real, real education begins. I was older when we had Hannah, our first child (In therapy, I sometimes tell parents who lack confidence that I was 35 when I had my first child and I was, “almost mature enough to pull it off”). For a second time, I found myself in a most serendipitous position. I had worked with emotionally, and behaviorally disturbed children for five years, and here I was having children of my own. As I watched Hannah, and later Emily grow and develop, some interesting insights came to me, insights I would not have had were it not for my psychological training and experience. Many of these I shared in my first book, Fingerpainting in Psych Class. 

I am extremely happy to say I am still married to LeeAnne. Hannah is an outpatient therapist, specializing in children, teens, and young adults, while Emily is a transplant pharmacist working with patients so that transplanted organs are not rejected. (The older I get, the more I can see how their chosen careers could also be serendipitous. It’s comforting to know there are close family members to help me if I develop mental health issues, or if one of my original parts wears out.)  

After 10 years working at Rivendell, I decided to devote my time to keeping kids out of the hospital. My outpatient practice then began under the tutelage of Dr. Warren Seiler, a gifted child and adolescent psychiatrist, and my greatest mentor. I am still working with children and still helping families. Looking back over the last 40+ years to the present, clearly, there are more and more kids (and parents) who need real help–help that works. 

Thank you for checking out my book. More consciousness is not a pipe dream— It’s available to anyone and everyone. These posts are snapshots of the big picture. If you would like to go deeper, please consider my other books, which are listed below

Welcome to the only quest that really matters—transcending the ego and reconnecting with our higher self. This journey will help you in every aspect of your life, not only with parenting. I hope to see you on the journey!

Jay Morgan

𝒥𝒶𝓎 𝑀𝑜𝓇𝑔𝒶𝓃