Hello, I’m Ben.
I am a trauma-informed somatic inquiry facilitator that works with people 1-on-1 to help them live with greater freedom and authenticity.
How I Work With You
Together, we slowly and compassionately meet and integrate those painful parts of yourself that block your innate happiness and authentic self-expression.
Core negative beliefs, emotional blocks and wounds, compulsions and addictions, past traumas, deep shame, savage self-criticism, false identities and learned coping mechanisms...these are the bars of the cage that we create for ourselves and which I offer to help you explore.
The core of our suffering resides in the body, so I take a somatic approach that gives space and support for the body’s natural intelligence (which we so often suppress) to emerge and heal the wounds by itself.
My Qualifications
Through my own personal journey with trauma and healing, I discovered the power of somatic approaches in transforming the painful beliefs and stuck survival patterns that lie at the root of suffering.
I am a Certified Facilitator of a range of trauma-informed somatic modalities:
Embodied Processing: w/ trauma & addiction therapists Matt Nettleton and Ryan Hassan
Kiloby Inquiries: w/ addiction expert and spiritual teacher Scott Kiloby
Living Inquiries: w/ therapists Lisa Meuser and Fiona Robertson
I combine these into what I call Somatic Inquiry.
Ben ~2015/16
I took this photo in an attempt to remind myself of the consequences of drinking.
I have since discovered better strategies.
A Little About Me:
How Did I Get Here?
From when I was about 18 or 19 until the age of 28 I drank alcoholically.
I’ll save you the whole story, but the 16 word summary is as follows:
It was lame.
I hit ‘rock bottom’ one day and stopped.
Things got better from there.
But even without the booze, I was still always insanely anxious and binging on coffee, chocolate and YouTube.
Because the suffering was still there.
So, in response to my predicament I went on Le Quest Épique et Spirituelle to figure out what in the name of vodka I could do to figure out life, even a little bit.
Cue the standard spiritual adventure: Vipassana retreats, Zen retreats, plant medicines, devouring books on spirituality and addiction, getting in touch with teachers around the world.
I learned loads of great stuff.
But a lot of spiritual stuff just focuses on being still and quiet. That’s all well and good until the next bout of anxiety hits.
Eventually, I found what I was looking for. Deep, body-focused work centred on the core beliefs and feelings that were the root cause of my suffering.
Somatic Inquiry.
This is the only modality I have ever found that is capable of touching the really dep suffering:
My core feeling of lack and deficiency. The sense that I’m a loser. The fear of other people. The sheer shame of taking up space in the world.
That’s the stuff that was the real cause of the suffering. Not the booze.
I threw myself into it the work. Digging up and diving into the core deficiency stories, the painful memories, the feelings of shame. Opening up to them. Letting them be seen and felt without pushing them away.
Radical relief from suffering ensued. And then the addictive behaviours and coping mechanisms started slowly falling away by themselves.
Life is still messy. And I’m far from free from all addictive tendencies. But their impact on my life is greatly reduced and having the freedom to just be (most of the time) is utterly refreshing.
Decision time.
Find out more about what I offer on the left.
Book a free initial call on the right!
I have put together an article to explain what this method is and why it’s so effective so you can find out if I’m barking mad or actually legit.
Book a free 30-minute call with me to discuss where you’re at, to find out a bit more about me and see if I might be able to help you. No pressure. No commitment.
