01 · Who Benjamin works with

Benjamin works with stress, Anxiety, self esteem and career difficulties

Benjamin lists 11 specialisms and 16 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.

Welcome - There’s Hope for a Better Future Feeling stuck? Is what brought you here to seek help? I want you to know that seeking help is the first step toward change. As a therapist, I’m here to support you in easing the discomfort you’re facing and guiding you toward becoming the best version of yourself. Together, we’ll focus on your strengths - because out of 8 billion people on this planet, there’s no one else exactly like you. Let’s work on helping you embrace who you are and build a life that feels meaningful and fulfilling. You don’t have to do this alone. Hello, I’m Ben, a Licensed Professional Counselor with over 25 years of experience. Although I have been trained in a significant variety of counseling techniques, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Existential Therapy, Reality Therapy, Person-Centered Therapy, you’re likely not here to hear about therapy techniques. What you want to know is this: Can I help you live a better life? My answer is yes. Together, we’ll identify what’s holding you back and create a path toward a future filled with hope and purpose. Although I have worked with young and old, males and females, I’ve experienced great success helping men work through transitions such as divorce, career shifts, or personal setbacks and are seeking to rediscover their purpose. Many men feel they need to handle life’s challenges alone, but you don’t. I’m here to help you rebuild confidence, regain clarity, and find new meaning in your life. My approach is a solution-focused and strength-based approach rooted in empathy and hope. My solid Christian foundation supports my belief that hope is key to overcoming life’s hardest challenges both in the physical and spiritual realms. I also believe we all have the power to make better choices, and that small, consistent steps can transform your life. You don’t have to stay stuck. There is hope for a much better future. A better life is waiting, and I’d be honored to walk that path with you.

Benjamin Strauel, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Benjamin works

The 7 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.

Client-Centred TherapyPerson-centred · Rogerian

The therapist does not steer toward a technique or a diagnosis. They offer sustained, non-judgemental attention and reflect back what they hear, on the premise that people find their own direction when they are genuinely listened to. Often what people mean by “someone who just gets it”.

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.

Dialectical Behaviour TherapyDBT

A structured skills-led adaptation of CBT built around holding two things at once: accepting yourself as you are and working to change. Teaches concrete skills for distress tolerance, emotion regulation and relationships. Developed for people whose feelings arrive at overwhelming intensity, and strongest-evidenced there.

Mindfulness-Based TherapyMBCT

Trains attention on what is happening right now - body, breath, the thought as it arrives - so distress can be observed rather than automatically acted on. Strongest evidence is in preventing depression from recurring, and it is usually taught as a practice you keep doing outside the session.

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.

Also listed

• Existential Therapy

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

4 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.

• “You list both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Client-Centred Therapy. Which do you lean on with someone like me?”

  Those two point in different directions - one structured and led by the therapist, the other led by you. The answer tells you what the sessions will actually feel like.

• “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.

• “With 25 years in, what has changed most in how you work?”

  Long experience is only an advantage if it has been examined. This tends to surface whether it has.

• “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

LPC

Licensed in

Michigan

Licence

MI LPC 6401007163

Licence number

6401007163

Licence expires

26 Aug 2027

NPI

1225231632

Years in practice

25

Gender

Male

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

15 May 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 9 Oct 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.