At the age of eight Dean had a strong awareness that someday he wanted to be both a Catholic priest and a healer. This was a compelling intuition that shaped the rest of his life. He entered Minor Seminary when he was thirteen and remained in a seminary environment until he was twenty-six, when he was ordained.
He began his professional life as a priest in 1967, but quit to get married in 1973. He then went back to graduate school for two years to study Pastoral Counseling with the goal of becoming a spiritually oriented psychotherapist. In 1975 he began working for a Pastoral Counseling agency and in 1976 was hired as a psychotherapist by a public mental health agency. It was at this agency in 1978 that he began working with his first Multiple Personality Disorder client. His work with her and later with others who also had well developed internal ego states had a significant impact on how he came to understand the internal workings of the psyche.
In 1979 he started a private practice in Oklahoma where he was licensed as an LMFT offering transpersonal counseling as well as workshops and seminars for other therapists. In 1982 he founded and sponsored the Oklahoma City C. G. Jung Study Group. In 1999 he moved to Eugene OR to be with his life partner, Karen.
In 2000 he became the manager of The Royal Avenue Program, a crisis respite program for indigent persons with a psychiatric disability. He also maintained a small private practice during this time. Dean retired from The Royal Avenue Program in 2013 and now devotes his time to his private practice as a Spiritual Director, writing and enjoying the good life.
Dean lives with Karen on a beautiful acreage in the country. He has two daughters, four grandchildren, one dog, and four chickens.
Dean's books, Embracing the Self, and Spirituality for Non-Believers, are available on Amazon.