Dr. Dickerson, His Dissertation, And God: An Autobiographical Study Of Chemical Addiction And Personal Recovery-Introducing S.T.E.P.S. For The Treatment Of Chemical Dependency

Dr. Dickerson, His Dissertation, And God, is an autobiographical study of the life and times of one black man and his struggle to overcome poverty, racism and eventually alcohol and drug addiction. Millions suffer from some form of addiction. Dr. Dickerson's life story depicts the feelings, situations, and conditions of many. It portrays the spectrum of human affliction and anxieties, fears and frustrations, desires, degradation, hatred, hopes and utopian dreams. Finally the story ends with the exercise of apocalyptic faith in the ultimate triumph of good over evil. Dr. Dickerson's doctoral dissertation consist of a research project enhanced by fifteen years of clinical experience in the field of chemical dependency, and his own first-hand knowledge of substance abuse acquired through his own addiction and recovery from alcohol and drugs. This section also includes a Psycho-Educational Work Book that will provide topics and exercises for the Specialized Training and Educational Program System (S.T.E.P.S.) developed by Dr. Dickerson. Spirituality also plays a major role in finding and maintaining sobriety. The book section titled DNA, Life, and God is a depiction of Jesus Christ, who Dr. Dickerson acknowledges as his Higher Power. The term "Higher Power" is mentioned nine different times, in one form or another in the Twelve-Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. The founders of Alcoholics Anonymous were Christians who realized that the program could also work as long as members acknowledge that the Higher Power of their choice is greater than themselves.

Leon Dickerson, Ph.D, ACSW, CASAC, is a licensed Certified Social Worker, and a Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor. He was born in New York City in 1947, and grew up in Harlem where drugs, poverty, and crime were prevalent. Although overwhelmed and nearly destroyed by the negative effects these elements had upon his life, Dr. Dickerson managed to survive the turmoil of street city life. The author received his Doctorate Degree in Clinical Social Work from New York University in 1994. He is in private practice specializing in chemical dependency. Dr. Dickerson, a born again Christian, truly believes that social victims like himself who recover from the broken homes ravaged by alcoholism and manage to escape drug addiction and alcohol abuse, should not only thank God (their Higher Power) for their miracle, but should serve as living models and examples to others living in similar situations.