Benjamin Raffles, NCPS

Benjamin Raffles is a counsellor with eight years' practice as a qualified practitioner and a longer history managing counselling services. He previously ran an independent practice and set up a low-cost counselling option to broaden access. He now works from his independent practice in Somerset, United Kingdom. Benjamin holds the NCPS credential. Benjamin uses an integrative style that mixes complementary approaches to match each person's needs. He draws on person-centred, Gestalt and transactional analysis ideas alongside existential thinking. Sessions are aimed at practical change as well as deeper understanding. In meetings he prioritises the client's experience. He listens with empathy and respect, and treats the person as the expert on their own life. At the same time he offers gentle challenges and new ways to see familiar problems. People come to him with stress, anxiety, low self-esteem, depression and life changes. He also focuses on relationship strain, abandonment, caregiver stress, communication problems, control issues, panic and phobias. Topics such as guilt, shame, isolation, life purpose and money worries are supported too. Benjamin frames therapy as collaborative work. He helps people find small shifts that make day-to-day life easier, and supports those aiming for larger change. Sessions can be encouraging and sometimes demanding, depending on what a person needs.

Approaches that guide online therapy

Benjamin describes his work as integrative and often uses person-centred principles, which focus on listening, empathy and placing the client's experience at the heart of sessions. This helps when someone needs a supportive space to talk through feelings and make gradual changes.

He also draws on Gestalt ideas that encourage present-moment awareness and small experiments in session to reveal unhelpful patterns. These techniques can be useful for people struggling with anxiety, relationship difficulties or feelings of isolation.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will discuss goals, try different methods when needed, and agree with the client what feels most helpful. This remains a collaborative process throughout therapy.

Specific online session formats are not listed in the biography, so please confirm which options are offered before booking. In general, online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy week, reduce travel time and allow for shorter check-ins when that suits someone. They also let people choose a setting that feels calmer for them and can help maintain continuity of care when life circumstances change.