John P. Keegan

Prior to working in higher education at Hunter College, Dr. Keegan worked, trained, or volunteered in a variety of areas counseling, social services, education, and criminal justice fields for over 20 years. He worked with children and adults with many different types of disabilities (physical, psychiatric, cognitive, intellectual, and addictions) in Wisconsin, Colorado, Arizona, Indiana, and New York. He provided counseling and community-based case management for adults with physical and psychiatric disabilities, as well as substance use disorders. He also has a variety of experience in social services and education, including supervising housing programs for adults with disabilities, evaluating county long-term care services, coordinating volunteer and outreach programs at an AIDS service organization, and serving as an assistant counselor and baseball coach in a junior high school. His doctoral training included personality and vocational assessment and adjustment counseling for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and a one year pre-doctoral psychology internship in neuropsychological assessment and adjustment counseling.

He has been a member of several counseling associations and served on the boards of a number of rehabilitation counseling and education associations. These include the Rehabilitation Counselors and Educators Association (President 2020), the National Council on Rehabilitation Education, and the New York Rehabilitation Counseling Association (President 2013-2015) and works to advocate for the profession of rehabilitation counseling through both leadership and scholarship.

• Ph.D., Rehabilitation Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• M.S., Rehabilitation Counseling, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• B.A., Psychology, University of Notre Dame

In the counseling program, Dr. Keegan has taught Psychosocial Aspects of Disability, Medical Aspects of Disability, Interviewing and Counseling Techniques, Counseling Theories, Advanced Counseling Skills and Contemporary Issues in Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling, Practicum Seminar, and Internship Seminar I & II. Dr. Keegan was honored in 2014 with the Hunter College School of Education Ladas Award for Exemplary Teaching.

Dr. Keegan’s research interests include psychosocial aspects of disability, vocational services, employment, and health promotion in the rehabilitation counseling field. This includes health promotion for people with disabilities, as well as promoting health and wellness for counseling students and professionals. He is also interested in advocacy and professional issues in the field of rehabilitation counseling.

Selected Publications

• Nerlich, A. P., Landon, T., & Keegan, J. P. (2022). A vision for rehabilitation counseling: Appreciative inquiry through the eyes of our legacy leaders. Rehabilitation Counselor and Educators Journal. https://doi.org/10.52017/001c.31744
• Nerlich, A. P., Johnston, S. P., Anderson, C. A., & Keegan, J. P. (2021). Advocacy in the
  time of COVID: A “shot across the bow” for rehabilitation counseling. COVID-19 Special Issue of Journal of Rehabilitation, 87(1), 8-16.
• Ditchman, N., Keegan, J., Batchos, E. J., Haak, C. L., & Johnson, K. S. (2017). Sense of community and its impact on the life satisfaction of adults with brain injury. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 60(4), 239-252.
• Keegan, J., Ditchman, N., Dutta, A., Chiu, C. Y., Muller, V., Chan, F., & Kundu, M. (2016). Social cognitive and planned behavior variables associated with stages of change for physical activity in spinal cord injury: A multivariate analysis. Rehabilitation Research, Policy, and Education, 30(1), 89-106.
• Keegan, J., Chan, F., Ditchman, N., & Chiu, C. Y. (2012). Predictive Ability of Pender’s Health Promotion Model for Physical Activity and Exercise in People with Spinal Cord Injuries: A Hierarchical Regression Analysis. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 56, 34-47. (American Rehabilitation Counseling Association – 2013 Research Award- First Place)