About Ben

If you’re here, there’s probably something heavy and nagging away in the background of your waking mind. Maybe you can’t switch off, replaying conversations and unbearable moments between 12-3am. (I pick that time window as my Google Analytics tell me that that’s when a lot of people are active on my site!) Maybe you feel numb and exhausted, or stuck in patterns that you can’t make sense of. Maybe you carry a strong conviction that you’re “not enough” or conversely, “too much”, whatever you do.

If that fits you, you don’t have to untangle it alone. I can give you a rocksteady place to explore what’s really going on underneath the shame, self-criticism and overthinking, at your pace, with someone who isn’t judging you.

My name is Ben, and I’m a hypno-psychotherapeutic counsellor. I work with people who want to understand themselves more deeply, break free from old habits, and feel more grounded in who they are and not just who they think they should be.

My approach blends hypnotherapy with down-to-earth, person-centred and existential counselling. In practice, this might look like:

• talking things through and making sense of your story; I’m interested in getting to what “truth” is for you

• using imagery, relaxation or “inner exploration” when it feels right

• paying attention to how your body and nervous system are coping, not just your thoughts

I don’t do cold, distanced interrogations or “tea and biscuits” therapy. I’m interested in how life actually feels from the inside and am willing to get in the trenches with you, where necessary. Clients often tell me they feel safe, understood, and sometimes surprised by what emerges when we slow things down together.

Why I Do This Work

I didn’t set out to become a therapist. I started in engineering, then worked for several years as a secondary school maths teacher. But over time, I found myself drawn more to people’s inner worlds than equations, especially during challenging periods of my own life, including burnout during the pandemic.

Training in hypnosis and psychotherapy through the National College of Hypnosis and Psychotherapy (NCHP) gave me tools to understand myself more deeply. Being in therapy myself has been hugely challenging, I won’t lie, but it also helped me grow in ways I hadn't expected and I now offer that same space to others. It's not always easy, but it can be powerfully life-changing, and I can show you because I have walked that path, an am still walking, as I don’t believe we are ever the finished article!