Ben Bennett

Hi. I imagine you are here because you can sense something isn’t quite right, and you have a desire for change. Searching for a therapist can be confusing and beginning the process daunting. It is important that you find someone with whom you can be at ease, be yourself, and work through whatever issues you are facing. I hope I can be of service to you on your journey so please read on, and you are welcome to contact me for a short 15 - 20 minute phone or Zoom conversation free of charge if you have any questions.

My approach 

I am a Psychosynthesis counsellor and possess a transpersonal and integrative approach to therapy. I am influenced by Gestalt, Family Systems, Embodied Therapy, and Interpersonal psychotherapeutic thought.

I believe the soul to be central to our existence, its journey paramount, and its innate wisdom our guide. Very often the harshness and pace of the modern world force us into ways of being that are more about survival than freedom. I aim to create a space where the deeper, subtler, often forgotten parts of yourself may have time and space to be seen and heard, to have expression again, with the ultimate goal of self-realisation.

What to expect 

Sessions would employ various ways of bringing you more fully into awareness of any difficulties you are facing and enable you to tap into the unexpressed potential you possess, working with among other things, memory & imagination, visualisation, breath and the body, art, and the world of your emotions. I work mainly with what you bring trusting that you are the expert on your life. However, I will also inquire further into, and challenge beliefs and ideas you hold about yourself and the world inviting you to share as much as you can of your mental, physical, and emotional experience as we go along as I strongly believe we are all a work in progress. This new and ever-expanding awareness is then the basis for deeper understanding and improved choice. The therapy should empower you to change, grow, and experience a more authentic life with increased joy, peace, and agency. I provide a safe, respectful, honest, and non-judgemental space where you can freely share what has brought you to therapy, and through relationship rediscover your true self.

I value truth, justice, and harmony and my work is collaborative and relational. This means the quality of the relationship between us is essential for the work – I see what emerges between us and in the space is of great importance. At times I will share with you how I experience you to illuminate the everyday patterns you may be moving in and through to help you be more conscious of the impact you have, how you navigate the world, and what meaning you have made of what has happened and is happening to you.

Our lives can be among other things complex, painful, and disappointing yet within all of these lie the seeds of our growth, development, and our evolution. Psychosynthesis views the person and the identity as potentially restricted and limited by the wounds that the events of our childhoods and adult lives have inflicted upon them, and also as a soul on a journey, here to learn from these and experience all that we can become; to love and be loved.

The first session and beyond 

In your first session the focus will be us building a shared picture of you and your life. I will ask you a range of questions about you (childhood, family & friends, relationships, work, health, etc.) that help me place your need for therapy in a context. This will enable me to 'meet' you and serve as a starting point for the work that follows.

After this session, if you would like to continue, we can agree to another 5 sessions during which, holding your issue(s) in the foreground, we begin to explore how you navigate the world around you, respond to highs and lows, and make the choices you do, or feel compelled to. It is then sensible to review the work and you can decide if you wish to continue for a longer period of time, fixed or open ended.

• £70 - 50 minute session
• £80 - 60 minute session

I am of mixed heritage. I have a background and extensive experience in acting in and directing for theatre, a drama school tutor, and as a teaching assistant in mainstream education, PRUs, and Special Educational Needs. I previously worked across all three of these fields for 20 years and in a wide variety of roles and organisations.