LPC, 2 years of experience
New to Grow
Welcome - I'm glad you made it here! My name is Ben, and I am a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Pennsylvania. A little about me is that I currently live in South Philadelphia and I completed my Master's in Community & Trauma Counseling at Thomas Jefferson University. As a therapist, I care about my clients and want them to feel empowered to live their lives in the way they see fit. My goal is to provide a beneficial and overall positive experience for my clients.
During our first session, we will work together to create a treatment plan for your time in therapy. This will begin with me getting some background information on you such as your motivation for therapy, past treatments, your current situation (home, work, relationships), and anything else that you feel it is important for me to know while working with you. After that, we will establish your treatment plan. You can think of this as the roadmap for you time in therapy. As we work together in the coming sessions, we can change the treatment plan if you feel like priorities change or if you discover something different you would like to work towards.
My biggest strength is creating a therapeutic space for clients to authentically show up. I don't go into sessions with expectations of what my clients will say and I consistently provide a non-judgmental environment where it is okay to come as you are. You are welcome, and I would love to work with you.
I have worked with all types of clients, but I have most often have helped clients struggling with depression, anxiety, stress, relationships, life transitions, resentment, and trauma. If you are looking for a non-judgmental space and a therapist who values you just as you are, then I may be a good fit for you. I generally provide talk therapy, however for clients with PTSD, I am trained in EMDR and open to using this technique with those who feel that it may be helpful. Trauma and stress are as physical as they are mental, and EMDR offers a unique strategy to reprocess the memories in which the symptoms originate from. Also, I have always really enjoyed working with people who are skeptical of therapy and it's benefits. I feel that I don't need you to fully trust me from the first session, and part of my job is continuously working to create a safe environment where I can earn your trust. At the end of the day, I think therapy is most beneficial whenever a real relationship is formed between the client and the therapist.
Everything I do in therapy is Person-centered at it's core. While I may have expertise in therapeutic methods, I believe that the client is the expert in their own life. I view my role as the therapist is to support the client and do my best to empower them to achieve the progress they deem as most important in their own life.
I use interventions based in Positive Psychology to help reinforce the strengths that clients' already possess to help them foster resilience, meaning, and fulfillment in their lives.
As an EMDR trained clinician, I implement this trauma-specific treatment modality to help clients re-process traumatic experiences. It looks different than traditional talk therapy, but if you feel that your past traumatic experiences are causing present day issues, then I would recommend it.
As a trauma informed clinician, I do not presume to know your experience or the ways in which trauma has impacted your life. I put a heavy focus on client safety and ensuring to the best of my ability that clients leave sessions with me feeling safe and heard.