Ben is a thoughtful, committed, and culturally sensitive counsellor who is passionate about working with diverse populations and creating a warm, safe, welcoming, and non-judgmental space where each client feels heard, respected, and understood. He provides counselling to youth, adults, individuals, couples, and families and brings over 14 years of experience as a clinician on the frontline and in leadership teams. Ben’s wide range of experiences includes supporting people struggling with addictions, abuse, anxiety, depression, stress, life transitions, trauma, grief and loss, relationship concerns, behavioral problems, and parenting issues.
As a registered social worker (RSW) with a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from the University of Calgary, Ben is also authorized to perform psychosocial assessments by the Alberta College of Social Workers. His approach to counselling is highly collaborative, client-centered, and individually tailored to meet each unique client’s specific needs. Building a strong therapeutic relationship with each client that is grounded in trust, understanding, and mutual respect is important to Ben, and this helps empower clients to engage in reflection, personal growth, and change. Since people do not always have control over what life presents, Ben understands that at times, life’s impacts bring stress, worry, frustration, and anxiety. He works to provide clients with the right support, help, and guidance so that they can cope with challenges and re-discover their path to a more fulfilling life.
Ben’s counselling style is eclectic and rooted in a range of theoretical approaches including psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioural, person-centered, acceptance and commitment, dialectical behavioural, solution-focused, trauma-informed, and attachment-based. He also uses motivational interviewing combined with intentional listening skills to engage with and empower clients, to facilitate the natural process of change, and to honour each client's autonomy.
For Ben, strengths are innate characteristics that reside in each person and he believes that people’s best strengths and resources can be found within themselves. However, in times of hardship and pain, people often have difficulty seeing their strengths. By creating a safe, supportive, and non-judgmental environment, Ben helps to empower clients to find and build their strengths and to make positive changes in their lives. He also understands the importance of resilience as the ability to cope with a crisis and recover from adversity. Ben supports clients in building greater resilience by helping them to enhance their strengths and skills, by empowering them to take more control of their own lives, and by supporting them in adapting to the parts of life that they cannot control. Ben welcomes you and looks forward to supporting and walking with you through your healing and recovery journey!
In his spare time, Ben plays tennis and table games. He also loves cheering for his boys during their sports and game activities.