She previously served as a visiting assistant professor in the counselor education program at the University of New Orleans where she also earned her doctorate. Her current research interests include multiple roles and relationships in counselor education, ethics and value conflicts, multicultural issues in counseling, and family systems work. Dickens has experience working in a variety of community mental health settings, including intensive outpatient facilities, university outpatient centers, inpatient treatment centers for eating disorders, and in-home counseling services.