Paul Dickerson

Hello! I'm Paul. Welcome to my profile! How may I help you? I'm a licensed clinical social worker in Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maine with nearly 40 years experience working in the field of human services helping people address and resolve complex life problems. My professional journey began as a child welfare caseworker serving families in crisis. This work opened my eyes to the prevalence of mental illness across the spectrum of American family life. It became clear to me that despite the enormity of this problem many families were having difficulty gaining access to much needed mental health services. Many of these families became frustrated with the long wait for mental health services and would give up rather than continue trying to get help with result being their unaddressed problems became worse over time, often eventually reaching a crisis point placing them under scrutiny of a system that would penalize them for not having gotten help sooner and often ended up viewing them as irresponsible, neglectful, and abusive. Over time, like my clients I too became frustrated trying to help them navigate an overburdened, human services system featuring high caseloads and understaffed departments struggling to manage the high volume of referrals. This reality led me to determine I might be able to better help those in need by becoming a mental health therapist; a role in which I could more directly, and immediately help those seeking mental health services before they reach the crisis point. So it was that I decided to pursue a masters degree in social work at Widener University, where I studied from 2003 - 2005 while working full time as a county caseworker.

Since graduation, I've provided therapy in a variety of treatment settings serving both adults and adolescent clients struggling with mental health and/or addiction. I am a competent and compassionate therapist who has worked at both inpatient and outpatient settings including, youth residential treatment programs, psychiatric hospitals and prisons, as well as in the community based mental health clinics, partial hospital programs, intensive outpatient programs, and in private practice. I enjoy helping clients from all walks of life, and diverse cultural backgrounds, utilizing a biopsychosocial perspective of human development with focus on the determining role race, ethnicity, religion, social class, sexual orientation and gender identification can play in conceptualizing a client's understanding of themselves, as well as how they perceive the world and respond to it accordingly. In my work with clients I strive to demonstrate respect for each clients beliefs, values and life experiences and how these can be sources of strength and inspiration as they begin understanding reasons for their problems while seeking solution to them. I have experience counseling individuals, couples, and groups needing therapy for Depression, and Anxiety, Anger, Bipolar Disorder, Greif and Loss, Aging, Marital/Relationship Problems, Parent-Child Conflict, Addiction and Codependence, Trauma, Aging and Adjustment Difficulties.

I bring an open minded, non judgmental approach to working with clients while extending them a warm welcome to each each session to build trust and confidence between us throughout our therapeutic journey. I am deeply curious about what makes individuals and groups tick and the role their life experiences play in their responses to life. During therapy I objectively listen to my clients, while demonstrating respect for how they interpret and respond to their problems while empowering them to find solutions of their own making.