Growing up in Connecticut, Paul took an early liking to northern New England and chose to go to college in Vermont. He received a B.A. from Middlebury College , with a double major in psychology and philosophy. He was awarded Phi Beta Kappa . Paul then taught psychology, sociology, and religion to high school juniors and seniors for four years, while going to graduate school part-time. He received an M.S. in counselor education from Southern Connecticut State University.

Paul sought out a doctoral program that combined his interests in philosophy, psychology, and religion/spirituality. This led him to California Institute of Integral Studies , a graduate institute that has an international faculty and teaches from an integration of Eastern and Western systems of knowledge. Paul received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology and did his dissertation on the personal development of gay men.

In his present life, Paul draws--both professionally and personally--from an integration of East and West (click here for a Taoism bibliography) . As a psychologist, his theoretical orientation is humanistic-transpersonal, with therapy's work occurring on many levels (metaphor, cognitive-behavioral, and relational). He enjoys working with as great a diversity of clients and their problems as possible; his areas of specialty are in issues of gender identity/expression and of sexual orientation. Paul is a member of the American Psychological Association . He is a member of Division 44, Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Issues , of the American Psychological Association; and a full member of The World Professional Association for Transgender Health .

Paul has served on various committees and engaged in other forms of activism regarding the rights of sexual and gender minorities. In 1995 he received UNH's Bill Kidder Staff Award "in recognition for outstanding efforts in fostering understanding and tolerance about sexual orientation." Paul has published research on rural gay men in northern New England. He also teaches a course on social work practice with sexual and gender minorities in UNH's SW Department . Paul served as the chair of The President's Commission on the Status of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues for the '02-'03 academic year. He is a member of PFLAG - Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. More recently, Paul has been involved in efforts concerning religious/spiritual diversity. These include helping to create a workshop on religious/spiritual diversity for Student & Academic Services staff, as well as serving on the Spiritual Cafe Committee that hosts community discussions about religious/spiritual diversity.

In his personal life, Paul tries to maintain a balance of activity and quiet. With his family, he is committed to the serious pursuit of fun on a very regular basis. Paul loves to pun, but tries to restrict doing so to tolerant audiences. He reads voraciously, most notably newspapers and historical fiction. Travel, dancing, cooking, and writing poetry are hobbies that Paul finds renewing. Reading his poetry at open mic nights is a passion.