Annette Smith, who has been with the Family Guidance Center (FGC) for nearly five years, was recently named Coordinator of the FGC’s Crisis Intervention Unit (CIU).

Smith first joined Family Guidance Center in 2013 as a clinician in the Family Crisis Intervention Unit (FCIU) in Phillipsburg, working with youth at risk of becoming involved with the Juvenile Justice System. After four years as the Lead Clinician and becoming a License Professional Counselor (LPC), she transitioned to the Outpatient department of Family Guidance in the Washington office prior to taking on her new post with the CIU.

The CIU encompasses four programs: the Designated Screening Center (DSS), FCIU, the Involuntary Outpatient commitment (IOC) program and the Traumatic Loss Coalition of Warren County (TLC).

“The Family Guidance Center offers an array of important services in the community and the CIU is a key component of a much larger picture,” said Smith, who lives in Washington with her husband Mike and daughters Addie and Cecilia. “I look forward to working with our consumers and the challenges they face in my new job.” 

“Annette brings a wealth of experience to this position,” said Rich McDonnell, Executive Director of the Family Guidance Center. “We are confident that she will do a great job for us  and the people we work with.” 

Smith’s background is truly diverse. Raised in Hackettstown, she graduated from Pope John XXIII High School in Sparta and then went on to American University in Washington DC where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a minor in Criminal Justice.  After a year of working for a defense contractor in Northern Virginia, Smith joined the United States Marine Corps and served six years on active duty as a Logistics Officer, primarily in southern California. Having attained the rank of Captain, she was honorably discharged and took a management position with Frito Lay, Inc. In 2004, after being transferred back to New Jersey Smith left Frito Lay to be a stay at home mom to her two daughters.

She later returned to school and earned her Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Centenary University in 2011. After graduation, she worked in Integrated Case Management (ICMS) for Mount Carmel Guild Behavioral Health, a division of Catholic Charities of Newark.

The Family Guidance Center has been providing behavioral health services to the Warren County community for over 60 years and provides services to over 4,000 individuals each year who are diagnosed with a mental illness or substance use disorder. The individual, their family members and their communities are all impacted by this diagnosis.  Some realize their illness as a result of a crisis, others learn of their illness through their everyday struggles that keep them from living a life free of anxiety, depression or desperation.  Families can be just as fragile as their loved one as they learn how to cope and support their husband, wife, daughter, son, mother or father through a time in their lives when hope is just a word and not a reality.