01 · Who Benjamin works with

Benjamin works with stress, Anxiety, addictions and trauma and abuse

Benjamin lists 5 specialisms and 18 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Benjamin chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Benjamin's own words

What Benjamin says about the work

Reproduced in full and unedited - not summarised, not tightened, not rewritten in a house voice.

I am a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) with 9 years of experience in working with people who are trying to live with and recover from a wide range of struggles including addictions, depression, trauma, family issues, and coping with day-to-day life.

I see you as a person, not as a problem. I believe that the struggles in our life are often just ways of trying to survive. Many of these things may have started as adaptive skills that kept you alive. Over time, these have come to instead serve to keep you stuck and they need to be replaced with something that fits the next season of your life.

I will work to understand your concerns and struggles, and work with you to make a plan to move forward toward the way that you want life to be. I look forward to working with you!

Benjamin Livesay, on the BetterHelp listing · read 7 Nov 2026

03 · How Benjamin works

The 4 approaches Benjamin lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Benjamin lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Benjamin's - a general explanation of what each method is, so the list means something before you have spoken to anybody. They are not a claim about how Benjamin runs a session.

Acceptance and Commitment TherapyACT

Rather than trying to argue a painful thought away, ACT works on loosening its grip and getting on with what matters to you anyway. Sessions spend real time naming your values, then building action around them while difficult feelings are still present.

Cognitive Behavioural TherapyCBT

Structured, present-focused work on the loop between what you think, how you feel and what you then do. Usually means noticing a thought pattern in the room, testing it against evidence, and practising something different between sessions. Among the most heavily researched talking therapies for depression and anxiety.

Motivational InterviewingMI

A way of talking about change with somebody who is genuinely in two minds about it. The therapist does not argue for the change; they help you say your own reasons out loud, which is the part that predicts whether it happens. Common around substance use and health behaviour.

Solution-Focused Brief TherapySFBT

Starts from where you want to end up rather than from how you got here. Sessions look for the times the problem is already smaller and work out what is different about those, so the number of sessions tends to be short and the work concrete.

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Benjamin practises through BetterHelp, so the route in is BetterHelp's. This is that sequence, written by Maker Therapy from the platform's published process - not a description of Benjamin's own practice, and not a promise about how quickly anything happens.

1. A questionnaire, not a booking form

   BetterHelp opens with a set of questions about what you are dealing with, what you want from therapy, and any preferences on the therapist. You are not booking Benjamin at this point.

2. Naming Benjamin specifically

   BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Benjamin is a step you have to take. There is a field for requesting a specific therapist during sign-up, and you can switch afterwards from your account. Starting from a link on this page does not by itself assign you to Benjamin.

3. If the caseload is full

   You will be offered somebody else rather than put on a waitlist. Worth knowing, because it is easy to assume a match is the person you asked for.

4. The first conversation

   A first session is typically history and orientation: what brought you, what has been tried, what you want to be different. It is also where the questions in the next section belong.

5. If the fit is wrong

   Changing therapist on BetterHelp does not need a reason. A first session that does not click is common and is not a verdict on therapy. That option existing is the main practical difference between a platform and a private practice.

05 · Before you commit

2 questions worth asking Benjamin

Built from what Benjamin actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Benjamin's - Benjamin has not seen them and is under no obligation to answer any of them.

• “How do you decide when someone is ready to work on a traumatic memory itself?”

  Pacing is the biggest safety question in trauma work. A clear, unhurried answer here matters more than any credential.

• “How do you handle the gap between sessions if something comes up?”

  On BetterHelp this varies a great deal by therapist. Better to know the rhythm now than to discover it on a bad week.

06 · Practical details

Credentials and licensing

Credential

LCSW

Licensed in

Arkansas

Licence

AR LCSW 28228, OK LCSW 22305

Licence number

28228

Licence expires

31 Jan 2028

NPI

1396227468

Years in practice

9

Gender

Male

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

7 Jul 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Benjamin's name, credential, state, subjects, approaches and biography are read from BetterHelp's therapist roster, which Maker Therapy re-reads once a day; this page reflects the reading taken on 7 Nov 2026. The licence number and NPI are cross-checked against public registers.

The plain-English method descriptions, the first-session walkthrough and the questions are written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such wherever they appear.

Maker Therapy is not BetterHelp, does not take bookings, and has not met Benjamin. There are no reviews or ratings on this page because we have no way to verify one. If you start therapy through a link here, we may be paid a commission - it does not change your price and it does not affect who appears here or in what order.

Something on this page wrong or out of date? Report it and it will be checked against the source.