Benjamin Raffles

Benjamin Raffles is a counsellor registered with NCPS and has eight years working since qualification in private practice. He is based in the United Kingdom and lists stress, anxiety, relationship strain, self-esteem issues, depression and coping with life changes among his core concerns. Benjamin also notes a focus on life purpose and midlife questions alongside issues such as panic, phobias and loneliness.

He trained and practised earlier in a community setting and helped set up a low-cost counselling service to broaden access. He now runs his own practice in Somerset and combines different ways of working to match people’s needs. That means sessions can look different depending on what a person brings.

Benjamin describes his style as integrative, drawing on person-centred ideas, Gestalt and transactional analysis alongside existential thought. In practice he aims to centre the client’s experience and to offer practical ways of thinking and feeling differently. Sessions involve speaking honestly about the problem and testing new ways of seeing things.

He aims to support clients through both small shifts and larger life changes. That may include working on communication difficulties, caregiver stress, money worries, or moving through guilt and shame. He also helps people who feel isolated or who are questioning life purpose and direction.

Sessions are conducted in English. International clients are not currently accepted. The subscription used for sessions can be cancelled at any time, and fees vary with location. To start, people choose the online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire and then schedule a first session.

Approaches used online and how they help

Benjamin draws on person-centred ideas, which focus on listening and reflecting back what matters to the client. This approach helps people clarify their own feelings and decide what matters next. He also uses elements of Gestalt work, which emphasises present-moment experience and practical experiments to notice patterns and try different responses. Gestalt techniques can help with relationship difficulties and emotional blocks.

Transactional analysis ideas are another strand he uses, helping people examine the ways they relate to others and the scripts that influence behaviour. That can be useful for communication problems, control issues and recurring conflict. Together these approaches give different lenses to understand worries about life purpose, guilt, shame and isolation, and to test new ways of coping.

Finding the most helpful approach is part of the work. He will discuss different methods with the client and decide together what to try, based on the client’s goals and what feels practical. This is a collaborative process that can change as needs evolve.

The biography does not list which online formats are used, so confirm session options before booking. Online counselling can make it easier to fit sessions around work, reduce travel time and allow shorter check-ins on busy days. Some formats also require less bandwidth or let people choose not to use video, which can be helpful when a quick conversation is needed.