Ben Jones

We can seek out therapy for various reasons but it's often when something isn't working with how we are living. There may be suffering that's never been expressed or acknowledged, or a vague sense of something being 'off', or perhaps we need to gain insight into the headwind of life and how it has shaped us.

Some of what I am contacted to explore includes unfulfilling relationships, a lack of meaning and direction in life, an absence of intimacy with others, difficulties with sex or sexuality; the death of loved ones, traumatic memories that feel immovable, questions surrounding ones identity, or struggles with anxiety and depression. However whatever is going on, my aim is to meet you in your uniqueness and help you explore what you feel moved to speak about, while also supporting what may want to be worked with more deeply. 

My approach is rooted in the trust that we all do the best we can - the best that we know so far - shaped from how we grew up and where we need to exist today in our lives. We all craft a solution to these experiences of past and present which although carrying great sense can often limit our attempts to change and grow. This may feel like old and stuck patterns, issues within relationships that keep repeating, or a general sense of disconnection and a struggle to be in the world with others.

Therapy and particularly the therapeutic relationship is one in which something different can happen: we can pay close attention together to what arises whether that be thoughts, emotions, dreams, or in other channels, gently shifting and making new meanings from these. It is always collaborative, starting with a conversation and the time and space to turn things over at a pace that feels right, but each therapy gathers its own creative, emotional sense so reconnection and healing can unfold.

The ways we gather understanding are not limited to only talking. We might explore body based experiences: taking a shared interest in movement, breath, gestures or internal sensations, or even working outside. But equally we may not, and neither think about or consider any of these. More important is the process of making deeper contact with where you are - to take the risk of being real - allowing you to live more easily, creatively and in a more meaningful way.

I have a limited number of reduced cost spaces for students, the unemployed or those on low income. Please check with me regarding this.

Each session will be for 50 minutes, usually weekly, although I am open to various practical arrangements.

Beyond psychotherapeutic schools of understanding, the ground of my practice has also developed through my own embodied practices. I've spent over a decade engaged in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, exploring how play and contact emerge in this art when trust develops, as well as through meditation, authentic movement and dance.