Jon Wasp started NextGen Counseling as a passion project.
The behavioral health management consultant and his wife, Diane Wasp, funded startup costs for the Dickson City counseling center out of their own pockets.
“This is Main Street health care. Some kids need counseling, and we're here to provide it. We want to normalize it. We want people to look at this as a regular part of growing up. And if you need this service and you need support, we're here to do that in a non threatening way,” he said.
The state’s Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs granted NextGen its licensure in October 2025. Now, the Wasps welcome youth aged 12-19 to come to their location on Dickson City's Main Street for counseling and treatment.
NextGen’s available services
NextGen focuses its care on youth 12 and older showing signs of substance use, problematic gaming, gambling, and mental health issues such as depression or anxiety.
Services available include behavioral health assessments, counseling and outpatient treatment.
They'll accept private insurance and are waiting for their Medicaid contract to be approved.
The Wasps want families to be centered in their children's treatment.
“The more we can involve families, if the family unit is a positive support system, the more we can involve families, the better. If the family is not a positive support system, or if there's not much of a family … we're here for them just the same as we are for somebody who's got mom and dad who are worried about them,” Jon Wasp said.
Teens 14 and older can consent to treatment on their own.
“So that means now that parents don't even have to know about it. If you're a kid who thinks that you need help, you can seek help without your parents' permission, and they wouldn't even have access to what's in your record unless you were at risk of hurting yourself or someone else,” he said.
That element of care contributes to the environment the couple wants for the center.
“I hope it becomes a safe place for kids to come. Not every place where they lay their head at is safe. So I hope it becomes a safe place where they could come and relax,” Diane Wasp said.
Early intervention
The Wasps felt they could make a large difference working with young people.
“I want you to think about brain development like the pedals in a car, the gas and the brake,” Jon Wasp said. “The gas portion of our brains develops much faster than the brake portion of our brains. The brake portion doesn't happen until we're like, 16 to 26. But the gas portion, what makes us feel good, that comes on very early.”
Jon Wasp worked in behavioral health for more than two decades.
“When I was working with the opioid dependent population, one of the things that I saw often with those who came in methadone was that their onset of use was between 10 and 12 years old,” he said.
Dr. Mark Albert works as the center’s medical director. He’s seen addiction impact young people throughout his career.
“This is a void that's not filled right now, you don't understand how important this is. If they're starting at 11, 12, 13 or 14, that's when you have to hit them,” Albert said.
Focus on gambling addiction
A Penn State report found that between 2.5% and 6.4% of Pennsylvanians may be a problem gambler. And the 2025 Pennsylvania Interactive Gaming Assessment: Online Gambling Report found that online gambling in Pennsylvania continues to increase.
Jon Wasp said one in ten youth meets the criteria for problem gambling, which is defined by the National Council on Problem Gambling as “gambling behavior that is damaging to a person or their family, often disrupting their daily life and career.”
“Games of chance are everywhere, but it's also gaining a lot of attention for teens and adolescents, because, well, they carry around micro computers in their pockets all the time, and they have access to sports betting apps, and they have access to in app games and purchases,” Wasp said.
Albert said he does not think parents realize that their children might be online betting.
“The gambling addiction is a big one here. All the sports bets, these kids are into that big time. I think that is something that's very underrepresented,” Albert said.
Wasp said teens might not understand the stakes, especially with apps that allow small dollar bets.
“You don't have real responsibilities, but you might have a job. Well, that's all betable money,” he said.
Next steps for NextGen
NextGen already persevered through obstacles to opening.
Dickson City borough approved the counseling center’s zoning application in August 2024. They received initial approval from the state in November 2024, but a fire next door halted the center’s progress.
Now, the center welcomes patients as it awaits its contract from Medicaid.
They also have submitted an application for a county contract that they expect will be reviewed later this year. But Jon Wasp said he’ll serve anyone who comes for help.
“We are going to help everybody who needs help … When it comes to paying for health care, that's a me problem, not a kid problem. I don't think that somebody who's walking in our door who needs help should feel that burden,” he said.
Albert looks forward to serving the community for addiction and mental health.
“As a physician, my hope is to save some lives. So I'm looking forward to helping some kids,” Albert said.
And the Wasps know their work can positively impact young people.
“We're going to try to help get people, especially young people, into the best place that they could be. Their best days are ahead of them, and they just don't even know yet," Jon Wasp said. "They don't have enough lived experience to know that all of the good things that can happen for them haven't all happened yet.”
