Professor’s Book Wins International Award

“Addiction, Attachment, Trauma, and Recovery: The Power of Connection,” a book by University of Scranton Professor Oliver Morgan, Ph.D., won a 2020 Independent Press Award in the category of Addiction and Recovery.

The prestigious international competition is judged by experts from different aspects of the book industry, including publishers, writers, editors, book cover designers and professional copywriters. Selected award winners and distinguished favorites are based on overall excellence.

“We are thrilled to announce the winners and distinguished favorites in our annual 2020 Independent Press Award. This year included a myriad of excellent independently published books. It is clear that independents are prospering in every corner of the earth. We are so proud to be highlighting key titles representing global independent publishing,” said awards sponsor Gabrielle Olczak.

In “Addiction, Attachment, Trauma, and Recovery: The Power of Connection,” the latest installment in the Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology, Dr. Morgan provides a fresh take on addiction and recovery by presenting a more inclusive framework than traditional understandings. Cutting-edge work in attachment, interpersonal neurobiology and trauma is integrated with ecological-systems thinking to provide a consilient and comprehensive picture of addiction.

According to Dr. Morgan, professor of counseling and human services at Scranton, humans require connected and nourishing relationships for healthy living. Early and lifetime adversities, however, bring fragmentation and disconnection, and create the conditions for ill health. They create vulnerabilities. In order to cope, individuals can turn to alternatives, or “substitute relationships,” that ease the pain of disconnection. These can become addictions.

Dr. Morton’s book, “Addiction, Attachment, Trauma, and Recovery,” calls for change in the established ways we think and behave about addiction and recovery. It reorients understanding and clinical practice for mental health and addiction counselors, psychologists, and social workers, as well as for addicts and those who love them.

Dr. Morgan joined the faculty at Scranton in 1990. He has authored or co-authored ten book chapters and proceedings, covering topics that include addiction, pastoral care, spirituality and clinical practice. He has also co-edited five books and published more than twenty peer-reviewed articles in his field. He has received numerous awards during his tenure at Scranton, including the Magis Award for Excellence in Adapting Classic Principles of Jesuit Pedagogy into the Curriculum; being named a Leahy Faculty Fellow in the Panuska College of Professional Studies in 2002 and being named the University’s CASE Professor Nominee in 2008.

Dr. Morgan is a National Certified Counselor, a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Pennsylvania and a Master Addiction Counselor.

Dr. Morgan earned his bachelor’s degree from Fordham University, his master’s degree from Hahnemann Medical University and his Master of Divinity degree from Weston School of Theology, and his Ph.D. from Boston University.

In 2020, the Independent Press Award had entries worldwide. Participating authors and publishers reside in countries such as Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, India, Ireland, Portugal, Sweden and others.

For more information about the Independent Press Award, visit independentpressaward.com; and to see this year’s list of winners visit

https://www.independentpressaward.com/2020winners, or to see the list of 2020 Distinguished Favorites visit: https://www.independentpressaward.com/2020distinguishedfavorites.