Hard time quietening your mind? I help overthinkers, people pleasers, and ADHDers who look fine on the outside but feel quietly exhausted underneath. With me, you get a warm, unhurried space to slow down, breathe, and stop performing. Together, we’ll move toward your most authentic self – the one who sets boundaries, trusts their gut, and stops apologising for taking up space. We’ll help you get back to living fully and compassionately instead of feeling like you’re just surviving.
We’ll unpack why you’re anxious, why you can’t say no, and why rest never arrives. Here’s the truth: your anxiety isn’t the biggest problem – suppressing who you really are is. You’ll learn to feel grounded in your body with awareness, secure enough to kindly disappoint people, and confident enough to stop second-guessing everything.
Sessions feel like real conversations – warm and compassionate, yet honest. Clients often tell me they feel like they can finally breathe again, like a weight’s been lifted. If you’re ready to enjoy life again, reach out. You don’t have to wait until you’re falling apart to deserve support.
About me: Hey! I’m Ben. When I’m not working, you’ll find me surfing, exploring nature, travelling with my fiancée, reading, or catching up with family and friends over a laugh and cuppa. I genuinely enjoy helping people reconnect with who they really are and what they really want.
FAQs
Accreditations
- Masters in Counselling (University of Waikato)
- Member Australian and New Zealand Mental Health Association (ANZMH)
- Provisional Member of the New Zealand Association of Counsellors (ProvMNZAC)
- Psychology Today Verified Counsellor
- Member New Zealand Association of Positive Psychology (NZAPP)
- Counsellor for I Am Hope (Gumboot Friday)
- Bachelor of Management Studies (Marketing Major BMS, Chairman’s Award Top Marketing Student)
How does counselling work?
In a counselling session we’ll sit across from each other. You will talk and I will patiently listen with empathy and compassion. Together, we’ll identify harmful thought and behaviour patterns. I will help you understand your lived experiences, thoughts, feelings, behaviours, beliefs and values. As we move through counselling, we’ll explore your past, present, and future, your hopes and dreams, as well as your fears and regrets.
Then, we’ll address strategies to help you regulate and control your thoughts and behaviours. Instead of fixating on your faults, you will learn how to be compassionate with yourself. You’ll learn how to be your most authentic self.
Expect to experience and begin to identify new feelings and emotions. At times, I will ask you to challenge the beliefs that do not serve you. The trust that we have established and your willingness to be open will allow transformative work to occur. You will be able to set clear wellbeing goals for yourself and construct a plan to achieve them.
How is my approach different?
Too often, clinicians will use a medical model that focuses on altering people’s behaviour without fully understanding what makes them who they are.
My approach is to take a whole-picture and whole-person approach. I will help you understand your lived experiences, thoughts, feelings, behaviours, values and beliefs that have shaped who you are.
That way, we can then create a tailored and personalised approach that fits your unique strengths, values and preferences instead of looking to fit you into a box.
I draw from Narrative Therapy, Acceptance Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and mindfulness based approaches.
Fees and working hours
- Appointments are 55-minutes and fees are $150 for individuals.
- Working hours: 10am – 4:30pm Monday to Thursday.
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Get Directions
50B Campbell Road, Mount Maunganui, New Zealand
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https://www.chatwithben.co.nz/
December, 2025
Friday
August 26,2019
- Tuesday
- 9:00am - 10:00am
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